Hello everyone!
We are now in beautiful McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala! We have spent a very busy and exciting 11 days here
. We arrived at this picturesque town, tucked into the majestic Himalayan foothills, on Nov. 9th, after three very bumpy bus rides. That same night we attended a movie showing of "Tibet Cry of the Snow Lion", a documentary that outlines the Tibetan struggle against Chinese occupation. It introduced us to some of the history and current issues facing the large Tibetan population residing here, and within Tibet.
The next day group members spent their time exploring the town, or hiking in the Himalayan foothills above McLeod Ganj to Triund. That night the five of us who would not be participating in the meditation retreat met our Tibetan host families and settled in for out 10 night home stay. Right before the 8 other members left for their week long retreat at 11:11 we had time to celebrate 11/11/11 (a much talked about event for the last couple of weeks). Our celebration featured wish making, some dancing, and a cake fight, all in the middle of one of the towns streets!
During the last week our small team of five, appropriately deemed team veg
. momo (due to our astonishing consumption of the delicious Tibetan food - which sort of resembles a dumpling) participated in a variety of activities and projects. We volunteered each day at Yongling school where we washed, sanded and painted the school's walls. We also attended talks at many of the NGO's set up in town including: Students for a Free Tibet and the Tibetan Youth Congress. We also had the opportunity to hear from the principle of Yongling school, Dawa-la, who was not only an incredibly funny character, who painted with us and danced with the kids, but is also a member of the Tibetan Parliament. He briefed us on the Dalai Lama's and the Tibetan government in exile's Middle Way approach. One of our most impressive speakers was Lhasang Tsering, a Tibetan freedom fighter, who shocked us with his message and his passion and who, in just under two hours, found a place in our minds and hearts.
In our spare time we attended Indian and Tibetan cooking classes, went shopping, and tried out yoga and meditation
. We also joined other travelers to hear the story of an ex-political prisoner at one of the local organizations. One of our day trips took us to Gyuto monastery where we attended a public audience with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. Our group was also incredibly fortunate as one morning on our way to the school we noticed a large crowd lining the town's main street. Soon enough we discovered that the Dalai Lama would be passing by on his way home. Before we knew it a caravan drove by and we were able to glimpse the iconic religious leader.
On one of our last days as team veg. momo the five of us discovered the power of friendship on the Triund Trek when a mountain dog faithfully accompanied us on our three and a half hour climb to the top. Rocky will forever be a part of our team! It was an incredible and rewarding day that ended in a celebratory family dinner at an Italian restaurant where we remembered all the great moments of our stay in McLeod Ganj
.
Our last day was spent finishing our painting (which in retrospect I will describe as an extreme painting experience which included small children heading home with hands, faces and clothes smeared with paint!). Very proud of the school's new look, our small group was ready to reunite with the rest of the Youth International team just back from their retreat!
Our reunion was a very loud and joyous occasion filled with screaming, hugging, laughter and the breathless sharing of stories. This reunion made it clear to all of us that in three weeks time goodbye's are not going to be easy for any of us!
Now together again, we can't wait to see what's to come in Vietnam! Thank you for reading!
- Lina
Hi there friends and family! It feels good to be talking (well, writing) again! If you read Lina's blog about her experience in Dharamshala, good
. This will make sense.
We (Kevin, Maura, Olivia, Emily, Kate, Lauren, Reid, and Alexia) had our work cut out for us as we set off at noon to Tushita Meditation Center on 11/11/11 (11:11!!!!!). It sits high up in the Himalayan foothills - and we opted to walk the steep path instead of taking rickshaws. I don't think any of us knew what to expect to get from the retreat while we waited in line to be assigned our rooms and our "Karma Yoga" jobs. We knew we were to be silent, and that we were going to meditate, but we had no idea how much we would learn about our lives and how to live. We departed to our rooms, got settled, and then had our last "loud" meal of the stay. After dinner we dove into the Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation, which entails clearing the mind of discursive thoughts. I found this difficult. I didn't know what to do with this spiritual and quiet side of India. My mind was still racing with the memories of what we have done, and thoughts of what was to come. The retreat continued with a regular schedule of meditation, Buddhism classes, meals, and yoga; punctuated by a gong! Lauren got to ring the gong, which made me pretty jealous
. :(
Throughout the week we learned to try and take on good virtues, and get rid of our bad habits. Mahayana Buddhism is such a beautiful religion and philosophy. It is believed that every person has a purity in them that is waiting to get out. Through meditation one works to remove the "pollution" in the mind and uncover this purity. One must try to see this beauty in others, even people we view as "evil," and thus encompass compassion. I found that our teacher, Jimi Neal, put thoughts beautifully. He said love is wishing another to be happy, and that every living being has been your mother or brother or father or cousin in a past life, so treat them likewise. Beautiful.
In his talk on November 18, Ven Bagdro shone with this compassion. A political prisoner for 13 years, he endured all kinds of horrific torture from the Chinese. His faith in the purity of others keeps him convinced that the people who abused him are not to blame. He had me in tears as he described the methods of abuse and the mental state he was in during his imprisonment
. I asked how he could possibly have found it in him to forgive these people. His father had sent him a book on the Dharma (Buddhist religious text) disguised to be in support of Chairman Mao. Ven Bagdro said this was what kept him from hating the people who were doing this to him. These words are what kept him from killing himself. He truly wants happiness for the Chinese torturers, and prays for them. His strength is unlike any I have ever seen in anyone. And most Tibetans have the same strength of heart.
Please visit these sites and learn about the Tibetan situation-
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/ (we visited in Dharamsala)
http://www.freetibet.org/
I don't want to say much else about the retreat. I can't even put MY experience into fitting words, much less anyone else's. Just that it was very enlightening and I now believe I have the tools to look at the world and really see it's beauty.
Thanks for reading!
Kate
Dharamsala
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India
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Comments

2025-02-08
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Pat Kimmel
2011-11-29
Oh my... you are experiencing so much. I liked when you said...it's all too much to put into words. I sense your growth and wonderment.
Good for you. Happy for you.
Peace,
Pat