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Lessons by the Himalayas

I just passed the longest vacation I have had since 1998: 14 days at Dharamsala. I kept postponing to finish this post because it is definitely not easy to put the experience into words.

Dharamsala is in the North of India, up in the mountain area close to the Himalayas, a very small village where Tibetans and Indians share a cozy community, aka Little Lhasa. There is not much attraction at its first glance, except the panoramic mountain scenery adorned by the instantly changing weather with mesmerizing spectacle. Yet, in a little walk around you will notice the real charm immediately: friendliness and peacefulness on every face you meet over a hearty greeting: Tashidele! (Tibetan: May fortune be with you). The isolated earth is actually more "tibetan" than the present Tibet - a purely spiritual realm.

I was there to attend the Dalai Lama's teaching for 10 days in his monastery, the Namgyal Monastery, on the mountain 18-hour afar by coach from Delhi. We were cut out from civilisation and totally immersed in dharma learning and contemplating, not just like the life of monks but that of fairies I thought, which was absolutely "luxurious" to experience for once in one's life. (It's still like a dream now.)

This is the second time I met the Dalai Lama and it enhanced further my affection and confidence in Buddha's philosophy in a dramatic way. The 70-y/o spiritual leader is flexible and resourceful but not tricky in conveying his teaching, with a good sense of humour. When one has true compassion towards people you feel his overwhelming soothing energy filling the air, and everything he says just touches your heart like an old friend, or a father, not to mention the inspiration and impact on the intellectual side. (right: press photo)

Such incredible opportunity was possible because my late Master once went to this unfamiliar land alone some 10 years ago at his old age, during the 80's. Tibetans were not friendly to Chinese then. He stayed under harsh condition just to finish the study of the Dharma from the Dalai Lama. Only in years, the habitants started to appreciate the virtues of this old Chinese monk and gradually accepted him and his students who visited the monastery annually. Now the locals would even greet proactively in their limited Mandarin when they saw us. I am entirely grateful for the path laid for getting to learn Buddhism, and I pay my deepest tribute to all teachers of Dharma, represented by the Dalai Lama and my beloved Master.

And I hope you understand what I have experienced... perhaps after a few more posts about it.

posted at 12:59 AM | View by Post