The Karmapa and Life in Mcleod Ganj

Trip Start Jul 08, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Dharamsala, as many know, is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile. This is one of the major receiving areas for newly-arrived Tibetan refugees and there are plenty of volunteer opportunities to help out with the refugee community. I've been hanging out with a British traveler, Tom, and for the last couple of days we've helped out with one of the English teaching programs here. When a young Tibetan man handed us a flyer seeking volunteers for the class that was to start 10 minutes later we decided to check it out. I spent the hour talking with a group of Tibetans about their experiences. All of the refugees I've spoken with have endured a 50 day walk out of Tibet; traveling in groups of 20-30 and only walking during the night. Many people leave their entire families behind to make the journey, and this seems to be the greatest hardship for many of them. Once they leave Tibet the Chinese government makes it nearly impossible to return, even though many would like to go back after receiving a better education to help their people. During the sessions the students would ask me what I thought about the Tibet situation and what would come of it. I said that as China advanced economically it would probably be more difficult for them to lie to their own people about Tibet. When one asked me what I would do if I were a Tibetan I found it impossible to answer. After the sessions the students were very thankful for my time and I felt like their thanks wasn't necessary as I had benefited greatly from the experience.

Today, Tom and I made the trip to Sidhibari to visit the Karmapa's monastery (Gyuto Tantric Gompa). For those who don't know, the Karmapa is the head of the Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the most prominent figure besides the Dalai Lama. We started the trip with a three mile walk from Mcleod Ganj to Dharamsala, where we caught a bus to Sidhibari. The monsoon rains started pouring heavily before we found the right bus and when it dropped us right in front of the monastery, the rocky road seemed more like a creek as my feet were completely submerged with flowing water.

We made our way into the complex, towards the beautiful temple. The temple stood atop a high flight of stairs that looked like a fountain with the rain water flowing down. We removed our shoes and entered, joining a group of about 100 people sitting on the floor facing the large shrine. After about 10 minutes we watched as a small procession of monks made their way from the side to the front accompanied by the Karmapa, the 22 year old lama who I had only seen in photographs prior to this. At this point the people in my immediate vicinity were motioned to approach the front. One by one we walked to the front and when I reached the Karmapa he handed me a red chord to place around my neck; a blessing. No words were spoken during this appearance.

There's a lot to do around Dharamsala and I'm considering coming back here for longer-term volunteering. Right now we're waiting on our bus to Manali; we're making the long trip to Ladakh to do some trekking. I'll put some pictures up for this entry when I get the chance. I want to thank everybody who has emailed me and I'm sorry I haven't been able to write everybody back.
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