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Archive for November, 2009
We attended 2 days of HH the Dalai Lama’s teachings for the Russian buddhists this week. The registration process to get upstairs to the courtyard outside the actual temple where he spoke was confusing, but we managed it. I didn’t register until the 2nd afternoon, & did it at the temple, as the Security Office staff were all at the temple.
We listened to the teachings through English translation on an fm radio. Some of them I found useful, while at other times my mind wondered. He spoke about emptyness & about ending suffering (samsara). At one point his message ovderlapped with other messages like ‘new age:’ & Christian ones: “Put others before yourself & your desires will automatically be fulfilled”. Even if one doesn’t listen to the teachings at all, being there in the temple, surrounded by that spiritual energy is a very healing experience.
The heavy security in the upstairs courtyard (Indian army & police with rifles & Tibetan & Indian plain clothes men) was at odds with the energy of the place & of the teachings. Their actual presence was likely meant to send a strong message.
Two days later we returned to the temple to have prayers said for my friend & her 2 daughters (the mom & 1 daughter are seriously ill). The energy in the main Dali Lama temple, empty save for one monk, was incredible. I could feel it when I moved my hands through the air.
I discovered almost by accident, that we could light butter candles for our friends in the candle room, just a few yards from the temple. Two nuns & a lay woman were making the candles. Don & I lit 100 small candles with 2 tapers. It was a very moving experience & I’m sure our friends will feel these healing prayers being sent to them through the ethers.
When we were at the Norbulingka Institute, we also visited the handicapped children’s craft center, Nyingtoben, located about a five minute walk from Norbulingka. http://www.golden-wheel.net/Nyingtoben.html
Their website is still a work in progress, but you can read about what they offer by clicking on the link. I like their transparency in putting all the operating costs right on the website.
The center houses and teaches up to 50 children, both Tibetan and Indian, who enter the program between the ages of 10 and 18, and stay on as they get older. Most of them seem to be mentally handicapped in some way, and the emphasis is on helping them create and live useful lives, hence the emphasis on crafts.
We met with Mrs. Nawang Lhamo, the founder and director in the old building that houses the offices and the ‘store’ that features the art of the kids. Nawang Lhamo is a lovely, warm woman around 50. You can feel the love and spirit emanating from her. She is also a member of the Tibetan parliament of the government in exile, based near McLeod Ganj.
We purchased an original painting, on canvass, of the Potala Palace, the main home of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet. It was done by a young man about 20, who has a dependency disorder, but is of average intelligence according to Nawang.
The painting was by far the most sophisticated and well-done piece, and was priced at Rs 4000, a high price, but well worth it (~$100C). We had less than half that amount of cash with us, but Nawang told us to take the painting with us and give the rest of the money to the manager of Chondor House, who she knew well (owned by the Norbulingka Institute, Chondor House is Richard Gere’s ‘home away from home’ when he visits McLeod Ganj, and is conveniently located a few yards from our Kirti Monastery Guesthouse).
Nawang Lhamo’s trusting nature and her warmth and deep commitment to helping others, even non-Tibetans, touched me deeply (and Don also I believe). When we left she thanked us for our support and put a white silk scarf around each of our necks.
The Norbulingka Institute was established 15 years ago to promote Tibetan culture, after the basic needs of the Tibetans in exile had been met during the first 35 years in exile.
Although it is only 17 km from McLeod Ganj, visiting the Norbulingka is like going to another world. You’ll see from the pictures on their website that the land the center stands on is beautifully landscaped with trees, bushes, many red hibiscus flowers and lots of flowing water.
We arived at 1 pm and wandered around to get the feel of the place, before having Tibetan cheese momos and thenthuk (Tibetan soup with homemade noodles), and last but not least, Americano coffee and a Tibetan dessert square with chocolate icing.
We visited all the workshops, the highlight of the place, watching wood carvers, metal workers and seamstresses at work. The quality of all the work was amazing. The most impressive work were the enormous buddhas being sculpted in sections from copper and brass, then fitted onto huge wooden frames. The products are sold in a beautiful laid out store nearby, and also through the Norbulingka website.
Our friend & conversation class student at the Hope Center has given us permission to post this picture of him after his walk out of Tibet about ten years ago.
R. was in the hospital for about six months because one leg was numb from the knee down from frostbite. Gradually, inch by inch, the feeling came back in his leg, and it awakened from the knee downward. Everything came alive except for three toes, including his big toe. The doctors had to amputate the toes; there was no other option.
R. was a lucky man; he could have lost both legs.
I became a great aunt in mid September, when my niece, Shanthi gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. That made my mom a great grandmother, as I wrote about last week.
Last week our dear friends Jjumba & Lara welcomed their first child, also a boy, into this world.
Here are a couple of pics of the boys.
Baby M
Baby M
Baby K
Baby K
