I was planning to stay five nights at Uppe
r Dharamsala but instead I stayed for ten and that was only because the monsoon rain has arrived. I found an idyllic place (white speck on right photo) at Dharamkot, a picturesque village a few kilometres above McLeod Ganj (left photo), the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile and the residence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. McLeod Ganj itself is a busy little tourist town frequented by many locals escaping the heat in the plains and travellers with a Tibetan interest, religious or otherwise. The areas further up offer numerous trekking opportunities to enjoy the stunning mountain vistas and valley views. Upper Dharamsala is a beautiful place but beneath the serenity lies the pain and despair of a displaced nation. Until May 1949, Tibet was an autonomous kingdom, ruled by the spiritual dynasty of the Dalai Lama, the living incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the Buddhist deity of compassion. Then the Chinese People’s Liberation Army marched into Lhasa supposedly to liberate the Tibetan people of their land and their culture. Facing unimaginable persecution, more than 250,000 Tibetan refugees fled their homeland on foot over the Himalaya to seek sanctuary in India, led by the Dalai Lama who was granted asylum in Dharamsala in 1959. Since then, it is estimated that some 1.2 millions Tibetans have been killed and 90% of Tibet’s cultural heritage has been destroyed. Today there is still a continuous flow of refugees coming across the Himalayas as it is common knowledge now that Little Tibet (i.e Dharamsala) is more Tibetan than Tibet itself. I have heard of stories where parents in Tibet have arranged for their children, some as young as eight year old, to cross the Himalaya on foot to seek a more Tibetan life in India. Near McLeod Ganj there is a Tibetan Children Village that cares for these very young refugees. The Tibetans are such a peace-loving and spiritual race............despite being invaded and displaced the Dalai Lama is still advocating a peaceful approach. There is one view that says prayers will eventually win back Tibet but another that says that their spirituality has initially led to the current situation. Whatever it is, a unique, vibrant and spiritually developed culture is now almost destroyed.
During my stay in Dharamkot I had the opportunity to meet and talk to a few Tibetan monks. The Tibetan society is quite unique in that it places a great importance to spiritual life. Its society is generally split into the lay people and the monks. And each family will have at least one child initiated into monkhood at an early age. Lama Dendup, a 30 year old lama from Sikkim, became a monk at 10 and was in Dharamsala to study English. For twenty years his life revolves around learning and practising Tibetan Buddhism. Unlike us, his life is not driven by economic/materialistic needs but rather by spiritual attainment. His living needs are very simple and he has little concept of money matters. It is rather difficult for me to imagine such a life. Likewise another monk, 25 year old Lucky, borned in Switzerland to Tibetan refugees was sent by his parents to a Nepali Buddhist monastery at age 7. 
Since then he has been staying in different monasteries and eventually spend time at a number of Buddhist Universities of which there are many in India it seemed. He finished his Buddhist studies three months ago and has been traveling in India visiting many ashrams and exploring their techniques/approaches. One of his many goals (besides getting Enlightened) is to discover a short cut to be awakened using 21st century technologies/techniques - I told him to hurry as I need it now. This guy is serious..........in a few weeks time he is going to the holy Mt Kailash where he is planning to spend the next five years in a cave. I was planning to meet and talk to a Yeshe (a higher ranked lama) who has been living alone in a forest for 15 years but unfortunately my two attempts to meet him was thwarted by the monsoon rain.
Below are some photos of Upper Dharamsala and its inhabitants..............
I was planning to stay five nights at 
During my stay in Dharamkot I had the opportunity to meet and talk to a few Tibetan monks. The Tibetan society is quite unique in that it places a great importance to spiritual life. Its society is generally split into the lay people and the monks. And each family will have at least one child initiated into monkhood at an early age. Lama Dendup, a 30 year old lama from Sikkim, became a monk at 10 and was in Dharamsala to study English. For twenty years his life revolves around learning and practising Tibetan Buddhism. Unlike us, his life is not driven by economic/materialistic needs but rather by spiritual attainment. His living needs are very simple and he has little concept of money matters. It is rather difficult for me to imagine such a life. Likewise another monk, 25 year old Lucky, borned in Switzerland to Tibetan refugees was sent by his parents to a Nepali Buddhist monastery at age 7. 
Since then he has been staying in different monasteries and eventually spend time at a number of Buddhist Universities of which there are many in India it seemed. He finished his Buddhist studies three months ago and has been traveling in India visiting many ashrams and exploring their techniques/approaches. One of his many goals (besides getting Enlightened) is to discover a short cut to be awakened using 21st century technologies/techniques - I told him to hurry as I need it now. This guy is serious..........in a few weeks time he is going to the holy Mt Kailash where he is planning to spend the next five years in a cave. I was planning to meet and talk to a Yeshe (a higher ranked lama) who has been living alone in a forest for 15 years but unfortunately my two attempts to meet him was thwarted by the monsoon rain. 
No comments:
Post a Comment