Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Dali Lama smiled at me...
He was maybe 3 feet away from us, walking through a crowd on his way to give a speech. And I swear, he smiled right at me. The hundreds of monks sitting around us were grinning like children, fidgeting to get a better look as he walked by. It was a crowd filled with intense happiness and excitement.
I'd like to say that I left the speech more enlightened, but in all honesty the English translation was difficult to understand, and from what I did understand, there was nothing said that I hadn't heard before. Just being there, however, was an amazing experience. We're in Dharamsala, India (the home of the Tibetan government since its exile from Tibet) and we had no idea the Dali Lama would be in town, let alone giving free speeches to the public. After spending a few weeks in China (and questioning so much about the Chinese government), I have even more empathy than before for the Tibetan people. Having this as our last stop really brings our month-long journey full circle.
Dharamsala itself is an incredibly beautiful town. It's in northern India, in what I guess are the foothills of the Himalayas. Backpackers on their way to week-long treks, yoga practioners staying for months at a time and young monks walking around in their maroon robes and crocs (apparantly the shoe of choice of Tibetan monks) coexist in this laid-back mountain town. It's the rainy season right now, so every day a few hours of rain has fallen, which makes a pleasant change from the intense heat of Delhi (and Thailand and China...).
Earlier this week we hiked up a mountain, though the intense rainfall stopped us from reaching the peak. An hour from the top, soaked to the bone and essentially walking through rainclouds, we encountered a tea hut perched on the mountain. We sat under a tarp, drinking chai and eating ramen noodles, waiting for the rain to cease. This hut was almost magical, having every item we could possibly need (and maybe we didn't realize we needed). Wool socks, wool hats, heavy Tibetan blankets-- we bought it all. We were really freezing after a few hours in the rain. When the rain let up and we finally hiked down (never having reached the top), we saw gorgeous views of the towns below (which on the way up were covered in clouds), as well as dozens of monkeys playing in the trees.
Last night we sat on our hotel balcony, looking into the cloud-covered mountains, hearing the monks chanting, drinking a bottle of wine. This after a morning Dali Lama lecture and an afternoon yoga class. Not a bad way to spend a day.
I'd like to say that I left the speech more enlightened, but in all honesty the English translation was difficult to understand, and from what I did understand, there was nothing said that I hadn't heard before. Just being there, however, was an amazing experience. We're in Dharamsala, India (the home of the Tibetan government since its exile from Tibet) and we had no idea the Dali Lama would be in town, let alone giving free speeches to the public. After spending a few weeks in China (and questioning so much about the Chinese government), I have even more empathy than before for the Tibetan people. Having this as our last stop really brings our month-long journey full circle.
Dharamsala itself is an incredibly beautiful town. It's in northern India, in what I guess are the foothills of the Himalayas. Backpackers on their way to week-long treks, yoga practioners staying for months at a time and young monks walking around in their maroon robes and crocs (apparantly the shoe of choice of Tibetan monks) coexist in this laid-back mountain town. It's the rainy season right now, so every day a few hours of rain has fallen, which makes a pleasant change from the intense heat of Delhi (and Thailand and China...).
Earlier this week we hiked up a mountain, though the intense rainfall stopped us from reaching the peak. An hour from the top, soaked to the bone and essentially walking through rainclouds, we encountered a tea hut perched on the mountain. We sat under a tarp, drinking chai and eating ramen noodles, waiting for the rain to cease. This hut was almost magical, having every item we could possibly need (and maybe we didn't realize we needed). Wool socks, wool hats, heavy Tibetan blankets-- we bought it all. We were really freezing after a few hours in the rain. When the rain let up and we finally hiked down (never having reached the top), we saw gorgeous views of the towns below (which on the way up were covered in clouds), as well as dozens of monkeys playing in the trees.
Last night we sat on our hotel balcony, looking into the cloud-covered mountains, hearing the monks chanting, drinking a bottle of wine. This after a morning Dali Lama lecture and an afternoon yoga class. Not a bad way to spend a day.
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