Dharamsala

His Holiness the Dali Lama is in the U.S., in California, and we are in Dharamsala and Mcleod Ganj, his home, temple, and the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile.

We arrived to Dharamsala in time for Easter at St. John’s in the Wilderness. Church member Paul Hudson had told us about the church which serves 40 Indian Christian families and visiting international tourists. We were late for the English language service and early for the Hindi service.

We were also three days late for a Passover seder that was held at Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant here in Dharamsala Mcleod Ganj. We’ve had experiences with so many religions here in India. We wish we could have gathered with Jewish people celebrating.

Lhasa, the Dali Lama’s Tibetan home, is said now to be a tourist site for the Chinese.

His home away from home Mcleod Ganj is also a tourist site. Dharamsala Mcleod Ganj is a mix of Indians, Tibetans, Buddhist monks and nuns from around the world and lots of Western tourists, hence Jimmy’s Italian restaurant.

Last night a brass band dressed in white and gold uniforms processed down the street with Hindu men in red turbans and women in red and gold or green and gold saris followed them dancing. Bald headed monks in maroon robes, police in brown berets, tourists with day packs, Tibetan women in traditional jumpers and stripped aprons, Kashmiri Muslims who operate bizarre stalls, all shared in the joy of this wedding procession.

Easter Sunday morning we walked the church grounds, hilly and green and full of old gravestones. Irises were blooming in the cemetery, amidst death, new life. The Easter sermon was on Jesus having no nationality, but a child of God, boundary-less. For communion, people took off their shoes and went onto the chancel and knelt. The minister offered the wafers and common chalice cup. After the service, a group of Indian women all called out to us, “Happy Easter!” One older woman gave each of us a wrapped candy and a little blossom whose fragrance grew in the warmth. That was a moment of Easter.

Later we walked down winding paths and steps, spinning prayer wheels as we circumambulated the Tibetan Buddhist temple. We appreciate seeing how Tibetan Buddhism has many images that look like Hindu images.

We had a few days here with our friends who are active in a U.S. Unitarian Universalist congregation. We shared some UU rituals. With a cloth over a suitcase and a candle, we gathered in a circle for a chalice lighting, check-in and sharing. The next day we hiked together to a sacred lake and had a dream group. Dreams were shared and each of us responded with “If that were my dream…” Two religious rituals of Unitarian Universalism.

Through another church member Cynthia Josayma who lived in Daramsala Mcleod Ganj for many years, we have introductory letters to a Tibetan scholar, his translator, a Tibetan opera singer, and a man who served for 44 years in leadership in the Tibetan government, many years as the Dali Lama’s right hand man. All are gracious and hospitable and generous with their time. They talk freely with us about relations among Tibetans and Indians, newly arrived Tibetans, 2nd generation Tibetans in exile, and long ago refugees. March marked 50 years of Tibetan exile in India.

We got to hear Kelsang Chukie Tethong sing Tibetan opera at a gathering of Afghan Muslims in town for a peace conference.

Tibetan monk and scholar Geshe Sonam Richen granted us a private meeting. We each presented him with a white scarf which he placed around our necks as is the tradition. He has a warmth and a beautifully expressive face. We talked of the commonalities of world religions and his belief that it is good to study world religions and incorporate into one’s own spiritual practice what works. We asked about compassion and non-attachment, and he delineated the difference between attachment which grows compassion and clinging attachment which distorts perceptions. As Buddhism spreads around the world, it adapts to local cultures, but he sees Buddhism as always holding as its essence compassion for all sentient beings.

We visited the Tibetan Children’s Village where 2000 children live and go to school. We were impressed with the well run school and homes, the self-contained, content children, and all the objects and messages preserving Tibetan culture and heritage. Each child is paired with an older child who tutors with homework, teaches the child to cook, and guides the child in learning prayers from Tibetan prayer books. The children study Tibetan, Hindi, and English languages. The TCV motto is "Come to Learn, Go to Serve."

The Norbulingka Institute preserves traditional Tibetan culture and arts. Through apprenticeships, students learn the ancient ways of painting, metal work, appliqué, and woodwork. We watched as craftspeople pounded metal to make a life-size Buddha.

We’ve attended programs and teachings at two monasteries, at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and at the Tibetan Museum, and we have meditated with large groups in Buddhist temples.

Our second Sunday we attended the English language service at St. John’s. The service was led by young adults whose nationalities are from around the world. They played keyboard and guitar and led us in lovely singing.

Getting out beyond the town, there are glorious hikes along terraced green mountainsides with the snow-capped Himalayans in view, rocky paths and ancient steps to Hindu temples, and rivers, waterfalls, and clear pools of water.

We have been reading to each other our journal entries from throughout our time in India, integrating our experiences, and giving thanks for all the opportunities the sabbatical has brought us.

Love,
Barbara and Bill