Landing

December 2^nd  5.30 am. I was so at peace watching the sunrise turn the clouds shades of pink, red and yellow, on the background of a clear, crisp blue sky; then the wheels hit hard on the tarmac and I was thrown up off my seat and the plane veered off to the left as the pilot slammed on the brakes. Grasping the armrests for dear life I heard, “Welcome to Indra Gandhi international airport, Delhi, we hope you have had a pleasant flight.” The flight was fine but my pounding heart and white knuckles screamed that the landing was horrific. As we taxied to the terminal the smell of pollution seemed to seep through the planes joints; ahhh the smell of Delhi in the morning, a putrid, rotting and smoky stench with a  thick dusty texture and a hint of metal tasting Co2. My thoughts were both a mixture of excitement to be back and embarking on a new adventure but also a longing for the tranquility of the English country side and the fresh air of the Scottish North Sea which I had just left. So to stay positive, I decided to take the beautiful sunrise as a good omen to start this trip rather than take the nerve-wracking landing as a bad sign. I knew the day would be an assault on the senses and that I would take a few days to get back into the Indian rhythm of life, so here I go.

December 4^th.

Smelly Delhi can be a fun place and you never know what you might encounter. As I was coming from the airport in a beat up taxi, the driver defying all road laws as if he were on the dodgem cars, we passed a painted elephant being ridden by his owner through rush hour traffic. This was just a bit surreal but I took this as another good omen. It was really great to hang out with Pema, Tashi, Chitso and Tenzin for breakfast before taking the plane to Goa. In Goa, Bagmallo beach is 5 minutes from the airport and you can get a  room, 500 rupees ($10)  with hot water and clean sheets right on the beach. Dinner was a wonderful Goan veg curry done in coconut sauce; yummy! Next morning up early and took the train over a tropical jungle covered mountain range to the Hindu holy site of Hubli and then taxi to the Dreprung Loseling Monastery near Mungod, Karnathaka. The next morning after a last minute rush to get the correct paper work approved for entering this restricted area, I found myself sitting on the marble floor of a very ornate and colourful temple in a sea of maroon robes and shaved heads, listening to His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet teach the 2500 year old teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni (the Buddha of our time). It was as if I have gone back in time.

Dec. 6^th    

His Holiness is teaching the Lam Rim, which translates as the path to enlightenment. It is the condensed version of Buddhist philosophy and practice (wisdom and method) which is normally taught over a 20 year period in the Tibetan monasteries. So every day is packed with transmission and explanation of this profound path. Today and yesterday we examined the practice of the six perfections of generosity, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom, which is way too much information squeeze into two day so my head is buzzing and filled to the brim. The teaching is taking place in Drepung  and Ganden monasteries.  

For info on Drepung        http://www.drepung.org/monastery.cfm.

For info on Ganden monestry      http://gadenjangtse.com/

For info on the present  teaching        http://www.jangchuplamrim.org/ 

For info on the Dalai Lama          http://www.dalailama.com/ 

Both monasteries are huge building with thousands of monks and when you think that the Tibetans have only been out of Tibet for 50 years and had to carve this site of a piece of jungle given to them by the Indian government, it is really truly amazing what the monastic community has accomplished. Not only have they created beautiful temples and produced well educated monks and nuns but have kept the Buddha’s teachings alive but thriving.