McLeod Ganj-- Meditation, Monks, Momos and Mountains!

Hi all,
Sorry we haven't written in a while, these past few weeks have been extremely eventful and busy! Since I last wrote, we have been in the beautiful and charming village of McLeod Ganj. It is amist a panoramic view of the Himalayas, a sea of prayer flags and thousands of Tibetan Buddhist monks wandering the streets in their maroon and orange cloaks. The people here are absolutely beautiful on the inside and out. The Dalai Lama and thousands of other Tibetans have made this amazing place their home after seeking refuge from the Chinese who have taken over Tibet and destroyed their culture, language and religion--although not publicly. They still maintain they aren't doing anything wrong; however, coming here it is absolutely evident just what horrifically negative effects they are having on the Tibetan people. Imprisoned and tortured if they do not adhere to Chinese law, many of them have fled and started up a new life here in Northern India. Despite their struggles and heart aches of being separated from their home-land and family, they appear to be shining and genuine people, who nearly glow with love and compassion! (Of course, I realize this is a simple generalization but from the encounters I have had, especially through volunteering with Tibetan Refugee babies and taking part in a week long intensive Tibetan Meditation and Philosophy course, it is my observation).

Des and I have successfully completed our week long mediation course in silence (mostly-despite discussion groups and question time) where we focused on Shamatha meditation ( achieving a clear state of mind from dullness or agitation) which is necessary to achieve before proceeding with Vapassana (Focusing on particular things and confronting them). We did our course at the Tushita center which is on the side of the mountain above the village looking down. It was unbelievably peaceful not only because of the scenery but also the silence and people. We would wake up every morning at 6 am just at sunrise to a gong and go down to the gompa (Buddhist temple) which had a massive bronze buddha sitting in the percect lotus position surrounded by offerings. (Offerings here range from money to boxes Digestive cookies!) We would wrap up in our blankets and shalls as it is very cold here in the mornings and night at this time of year and  sit on our cushions (also in lotus postion) and after Mark, our Australian meditation leader arrived, the meditations would begin-usually lasting up to an hour. I have discovered that meditating with eyes open is much more effective than eyes close as less thoughts creep into the mind. Mark was brilliant with his wisdom and hypnotic voice. We focused on different gears of meditation ranging from paying specific attention to the breath, the abdomen, the nostrils and the space of the mind--or limitlessness of it.

After meditation we would silently go into the eating area and have our banana porridge and then spend the next hour silently reflecting. I must say, it was challenging and a bit humorous how Des and I ignored eachother for the entire time! We literally had people coming up to us asking at the end of the course (once we could speak again) if we were a couple as we did such a great job of avoiding eachother. Not sure if this is a bad thing ;). We meditated on separate sides of the gompa, ate at different tables and avoided eye contact at (almost) all times. It really was an incredible way to grow individually and thus together by sharing the enriching experience independently.

We had in total 4 meditation sessions per day and then 2 long lectures on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. This was taught by a 74 year old Buddhist nun from Yorkton Saskatchewan! (Go figure). She was a wonderful lady with amazing life stories.

Throughout the day we would do Karma Yoga (doing things for the good of others--my job every day was cleaning the sqat toilets and showers (Yippee!) with a guy from Sweden). Funnily enough, Des got the same gig a few toilets up the mountain. We would also do proper yoga and stretching on the rooftop in the sunshine over looking the amazing view--our backs and bums got pretty sore from all the sitting and  meditating! I remember looking at Des across the gompa one day and he had such a pain-stricken look on his face that I thought he was laughing! --- it turns out his knees had cramped up--meanwhile my leg was fast asleep.

Our reflection groups were really interesting. We had an hour to discuss what we had learnt that day and it was wonderful having people from so many different countries with so many different views. In my group alone I had 2 people from France, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Germany, 1 from Romania and 1 from England. It was amazing how I felt like I had known them all my life--as with many of the people in the group of 43 people taking the course---despite being in silence most of the time. I suppose the energy and head space everyone shares accounts for a lot.

The food was all vegetarian and delicious! Lunch was our feast of the day and then dinner was a simple soup but all that was needed. There were beautiful big trees and walkways to get lost in walking meditation and the monkeys everywhere provided both distraction and comedic relief from the seriousness of it all! They are like cartoon superheros leaping unthinkable distances from trees and stealing peoples food and chai! The babies sat up in the tree watching the food acting aloof waiting for their chance to pounce while the mother monkey watched over them from the rooftop. Many eagles soar over McLeod and it was lovely to watch them at Tushita. Every morning there was a man that would sit outside in the same spot and hum the same sand script song--very peaceful way to start the day.

I had 2 favourite times of meditation. The one was with Anne (the Nun) where we would focus on a "dazzling light" (mine was the sunshine bouncing off of Emerald Lake Saskatchewan where we used to have our family cabin). We would internalize that light and then send it to the next person on our right and so on, as well as those far away from us. The feeling in the room was joyous and full of love--it's amazing what happens when we're all in that loving, peaceful place at the same time!

The other meditation that was incredible was the last night. All day I had been walking around feeling like I was walking on air with joy (I know I"m probably sounding a little wacko by now--but it's true!). I felt giddy for no particular reason and like I had a fountain of love in my heart to spread. That night Mark made us focus on exactly what I had been feeling all day! (The love, compassion and joy). I have never felt so open and present in the present. Tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably--which he says can sometimes be past suffering surfacing---but I know mine were tears of joy. After this, we went outside and lit 3 candles each around this little white building where Lama's ashes and other priceless things are kept (they are all over McLeod Ganj) where people walk around a pray to whatever their highest power of belief is. We then sat on our yoga mats in the dark, with a full moon and the candle lights flickering. The silent energy was inexplicable and the sight beautiful. Following this, we went back into the gompa and listened to the Green Tara group (those taking the initiation into Buddhisim) chant--which lasted the entire night until sunrise.(I only lasted about an hour or two). It was amazingly powerful to listen to.

Speaking to eachother the next day was really weird. I felt exhausted but great from my especially vivid dreams and good sleeps. I felt like I could have laughed for hours and I swear, it looked like some people from the other Tara group had a glow! (Again, I know, wacky). I felt a desperate need to create, to draw, and my mind felt honestly sharper. Things and people seemed shockingly loud. Des had to take a time out and go on a walk on his own as it was just too much to go right back into for many people. It was although we got to know new friends without even knowing them--we went out that night for food and drinks where we could officially chat.

I have a lot of work to do with both meditation and in my daily life. I really respect the buddhist psychology which was really emphasized to us throughout the course. The basis of letting go of the ego, doing things for the good of others, changing attitude so not to become what other people tell you you are, karma, reincarnation, flexibility(not physically), non-attachment (this hits home for material things for me, non-attachment to people I can't quite grasp the concept of yet), letting go of the past and not thinking too much about the future (being present in the present--being mindful), seeing the greatest good in people and appreciating them, letting go of self-pity, changing the mind to not have dualistic battles between the good and bad, patience, being gentle and loving oneself so they can spread that to others, the necessity of exercising not only the body but the mind, the fact that everything is individual but interconnected, beginningless time, limitless mind, not reacting, not grasping, letting go, and letting be.(These are the main principles that I grasped and which meant the most to me).

My experience at Tushita was priceless. It has given me a hunger to learn more, not just with respect to Buddhism, but everything. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Where we ate outside the gompa

Sunset over McLeod

Inside gompa where we meditated and were taught

Me with the Irish--Sinead and Des!

Drinks with Folks from the course

Des Feeding Goat at our hotel

McLeod Village

Des trying to help seemingly-sad calf to move off side of road

Waking up to beautiful sunrise

Morning tea and meditation on our hotel balcony overlooking mountains!

Monkeys and Mountains-Shimla!

We are currently in the little city of Shimla. It is 7000 feet above sea level and on the foothills of the Himalayas...an absolutely amazing place with breathtaking views! Our meditation course has been pushed back and we are enjoying ourselves so much here that we've decided to stay on.

 After taking a local night bus through the very twisty and EXTREMELY narrow roads, I was counting my lucky starts that we had arrived alive! In a crammed bus, squashed between belching, horking, and whatever other terrible manners and smells one can imagine, we gradually climbed higher and higher into the mountains. Literally inches from the edge of what seemed like a million foot drop-without any rails or walls to stop vehicles from going over the edge, I held onto Des with my white knuckles squeezing so hard, I nearly broke his thumb! Somehow, there is a system to the madness, although I can't figure it out. We would literally be head on with another bus and somehow they knew they wouldn't crash- the driver as cool as a cucumber as he chatted away to the person next to him, maintaining polite eye contact the whole time. He would overpass other vehicles for 4 blind bends in a row using a green flashing light and  red flashing light as if it made a difference to our safety!

 I must say though, the stars were absolutely brilliant on the way up. It was amazing seeing the constellations from a completely different angle! And the twinkly lights of the cities as we passed in the shadow of huge hills and mountains left us excitedly anticipating the sunrise where we could see where we actually were!
Anyway, we arrived safely and hauled our rugsacks up the very very very steep roads by foot at 12 am to find the YMCA. An hour and a half later we reached the doors and I have never been so happy to see a bed in my life.

The following morning we were gob smacked as we entered the eating area and had a panoramic view of the city on the edge of a mountain surrounded by layers of other mountains on the horizon--and the Himalayas in view!!! What a place to eat our breakkie.

The city itself looks very European as it was where England controlled the commonwealth for several months. Even now, the army is very prevalent and patrols Shimla all night long. Back in the 40's during the colonial rule, it was where the English travelled to during the hot summer months--an escape from the heat and obviously stunning. I have seen photos of when it snows here (usually around December) and it looks like a fairytale! It is so refreshing to be in a place that is primarily very clean and has little pollution. Des and I went for a jog this morning and my lungs literally ached after ten minutes...I'm sure from the altitude but also from the intense pollution we have been subjected to over the past little while.

I nearly lost my mind from excitement when I saw what I thought were dogs roaming the streets but they turned out to be monkeys! (Rhesus macaques) They are everywhere here and it is unbelievable taking the time to watch them interact up close with their very human like mannerisms and social situations. I wish I could steal a baby and take it away with me. I love they way they cling to their mothers stomachs as they walk and jump. They really are such a funny creature...full of mischief--such messers!

We hiked up to the Jakhu temple today which is dedicated to the Hindu monkey god. Up there, there are hundreds of monkeys and apparently they steal off people so we had to hire a walking stick to shoo them away--we didn't encounter any problems. At the top (which you can see from the whole city) is a massive orange statue of the monkey god. (Apparently designed after the giant Christ in Brazil). There were even more mind blowing views at the top as we could clearly see the Himalayas and used a telescope to get even closer. Des was in his element!

View from Top of Hike

Shimla

Shimla at sunset

Freezing at night! Des sleeping in his toque! 

Des playing pingpong with the locals! Everyone wanted a turn playing with him! 

Toque head after a night out in the cold

Monkeys and Me!

Posing straight faced like a lot of Indians seem to here

Starting the uphill hike

Des and monkey!

Yesterday, I was nearly boiling in the eyes with frustration for the first time since being here. I was trying to send birthday gifts back to my loved ones in Ireland and everyone I went to for help at the post office kept sending me on to other people. Customers were blatantly budging in front of me (We have experienced this lots since being here, but I just can't stand the rudeness of it!) Then we were told that we can't send things unless we go get a white sack from the market. How random is this? We had no idea what they were talking about or where in the huge market to get one so we asked if we could use an envelope and they said yes....but they didn't sell any there so we had to wander until we found a stationary shop. After filling the envelope and sealing it with post office glue and taping the thing to death--it looked soggy and like it wouldn't make it out of Shimla, let alone to Ireland so we had to go on the hunt for a box...in and out of clothing shops until we found a sweater box---but we couldn't find labels for it anywhere and the post office supplied nothing. Grrrr.... Finally after asking a man in a book shop, he cleared the necessary requirements up for us. We had to go to a tailors (which are everywhere in the market here and do absolutely beautiful work) and get them to sew us a white cloth envelope to put the box in. Then we had to take it back to the book shop and seal the seams with old fashioned candle wax stamps and then write the address on the cloth in black ink marker. This was our only hope of it getting to Ireland. What an ordeal! Sorry everyone but no more gifts will be sent from India this year!

What the envelope and wax stamps looked like as the finished product! 

One of the brilliant tailors sewing Carelia's gift

Mr. Narinder Singh of Chandigarh

In the Sikh temple eating the offerings with Mr. Singh

Sitting on a real camel in rock garden

Covering our heads in orange in the  Sikh temple

Narinder reading Punjabi book to me

Narinder and us eating our delicious samosas in the high rise political office!

Narinder giving Des a brochure on Shimla

The lake in Chandigarh

Hand painted timetables at the bus station

Narinder reading Des Punjabi

Wall made of ceramic recyclables

Me and my KFC balloon gift from Mr. Narinder Singh

Little people statues made of old waste

Bird made of colourful bangle bracelet parts

A couple days ago we had one of the best days yet here in India thanks to Mr. Narinder Singh! While in Chandigarh we decided to check our bags in at the local bus stop in order to wander the streets bag-free before leaving that afternoon. While we were contemplating our route, an old man approached us. "I want to welcome you to Chandigarh and to India!" as he placed a bright orange piece of fabric on my shoulder. "My gift for you!" Based on most of the people that had approached us up to that date, we were dubious of his authenticity to really just want to welcome us, as most people that give "free" things or time here want to be rewarded. However, something about him made us resist from shutting him out right away and instead gave him a chance and had a conversation with him.

"I want to help you see Chandigarh. God gives me a hobby now that I'm retired. I want to save you from beggars and men won't follow you or stare when I with you and I want to show you how to get things for very very cheap. You work and save for this trip but people here see you and think you rich. I am trying to get affordable hotels back for tourists here." (This was after paying way too much for our little filthy room the night before---although we hadn't told him this).

It turns out Mr. Singh worked under the secretary of parliament (or something along these lines--was involved in politics anyway). He is 74 and now retired earning 20,000 rupees a month as his pension, (not quite 350 euros) something he seemed proud of and says is enough to get him and his wife by. He had met Margaret Thatcher and they even shared letters following their encounter...all of this was delivered from him in a detailed way, and he was a very intelligent man. He carried with him 2 full bags of documentation, letters and brochures. His prized possession seemed to be this hand made notebook of pages taped together containing letters from all of the happy tourists he has assisted over the years.  He has been mentioned in many local newspapers as well as the New York Times which he repeated to us many times---something he obviously is extremely proud of.

And so we opened up our faith in the human race to Mr. Narinder Singh. The day was unbelievable! He took us to many political friends of his and offices. The first was a sky rise apartment where we drank chai tea on the top floor as well as tried our first, and most delicious samosa here as well as a couple other snacks. The food was delicious and it was nice feeling for the first time like we got a very fair price...in terms of what locals versus tourists pay anyway.(25 rupees for everything--a few cents)

He took us to meet the secretary of parliament and we had tea and a conversation with him. He was very disappointed in how when he went to the States and Canada to visit his daughters that are living there, he was constantly mistaken as a Muslim and that people saw him as a potential terrorist.(He is Sikh). We then went to the local library and the whole time walked everywhere around the city. "A man must walk 10 km a day and then won't have heart attack" said Mr. Sing. The whole time he kept saying that he wanted to make us happy and "if you happy then I feel happy in my head" as he pointed to the middle of his forehead. He kept wanting to present us with gifts and so took us to KFC where he got both Des and I a balloon! Very sweet gesture I must say. We giggled about it with Mr. Singh and he said "the older I get, the more of a child I become!"

He popped in and out of shops getting us free sweets and took us into a beautiful sweet shop filled with all sorts of Indian sweets and came out with free samples for us. His goal was to give us a cheap day.
At one point, early in the day, we did say that we didn't need a guide but he reaffirmed what he was saying that "I don't want any money or anything from you, only to help you! If you happy then I am happy" and he grinned his big toothless grin---how could we resist?

The most amazing part of the day for me was going into the Sikh temple (he was a Sikh man himself). We took off our shoes and he gave us cloth to cover our heads with. He then took us to a long carpet where we sat down cross legged and held out our two hands as a man in the temple came and fed us naan, dahl and aloo soup. We then went into the temple where he showed us around the temple and some of the books written in Punjabi. The whole time he insisted we take pictures and he wants us to send them to him.

He referred to me as "my good daughter" and kept saying that des and I were making him very happy. He also insisted I keep the bright orange scarf to cover my head--"very very beautiful and this way people won't stare so much," he said.

He then took us to the beautiful rock garden that we were going to see anyway had we not met him. It is a garden that was created by a man who is friends with Mr. Singh that turned all the waste and garbage (ie-recyclables) into art. There were beautiful waterfalls and walls made out of old colourful ceramic plates. Walls were made out of old rice sacks and bottle caps were made into little statues. Old bangles bracelets were made into colourful birds and there were big swings, laughing mirrors and camel rides (sat on a camel there!).

Following this, we went to a lake--a lovely lake, although man-made, where people were boating and there were faint mountains on the horizon. Mr. Singh took me into the canteen and showed me how a dosa is made (the thin Indian pancake which I had told him I liked). He then somehow got one for us complementary! "My good daughter, you take this now and share it with your man. This will make me very very happy!"

He was eager to have us ask him as many questions as we could think of--he wanted to share his wisdom. I asked him what his wife thought of him being out everyday helping all these tourists as a hobby until ten pm at night and he replied that "it is very good because I talk too much and otherwise we would quarrel. I like to watch the news on our television and she likes to watch her programs. It is better this way."

I will never forget Mr. Narinder Singh. Indeed, he lived up to his word and did this all out of the goodness of his heart--and a letter with some photos. He was such a refreshing person to meet here. He has a wonderful and contagious laugh and he lit up at the end of our day when he told Des the name of a rose in Hindi (he had been teaching us Hindi words and sentences all day while we walked) and Des replied to him that "Andrea is my rose--except said rose in Hindi." He kissed us both and shook our hands vigorously and said we had both made him very very happy and told us that everything he had said came from his heart. He then took us back to the bus station and got us on our bus and wished us all the best of luck in the future and kissed us again. WOW! is all Des and I could say to eachother. What an amazing man.