Om mani padme hum

Seen on the wall of primary school, Kanyara, India

Greetings, Namaste and Tashi Delek!

I apologize for not having blogged more "regularly", but nothing is "regular" about living in India. This is probably why I love her so much, and she is so frustrating all the same. Electricity cuts out regularly, and then comes on and off in the same day. This is why I can comment on Facebook, because the intervals provide little bits of time for commenting and posting, but not for e-mailing, and drafting letters or stories. Then, there is "energy conservation day". It is once a week, where the electricity is cut from 9am-5pm, HOWEVER, it is not on the same day each week! The post office which was operating in the dark (postal workers said "the government won't even supply us with candles") the day I asked about "energy conservation day" told me "get the Hindu Times it will give you the day each week". I asked whether I had to get this paper to find out, they nodded affirmatively. So.. the little refrigerator defrosts once a week, leaving water all over the kitchen floor (we find this when we return from a day at the hospital). I don't have a freezer, frozen foods are almost non-existent because most people don't even have a refrigerator, much less a freezer.

I have just recovered from dysentery; I had it for a week. The "culprit" was one unfortunate gulp of water I had at a roadside stand when I was going by taxi (6 hours) to Chandigarh. I was invited by two doctors who conduct free medical camps several times a year in an ashram in Rishikesh to help out with these busy clinics. Tom said he would "hold the fort" at the Delek Hospital.   

Doctors from Chandigarh & myself with Swami Chidanand Saraswati after free medical clinics at ashram in Rishikesh

The driver stopped for lunch, it was delicious, typical vegetarian Hindi fare: dal, rice & chapatis (yum, freshly made always). When the cook served me a glass of water I asked if it was bottled. He nodded that it was. I took a nice drink, and the taxi driver looked at me, and started shaking his head *no*...;then said "Catherine, I think you should throw that water out, I don't think bottled" he said in English with a Hindi accent. *Yikes*, I know what THAT means... (my brain began swirling with images of those tiny little  powerful, microscopic creatures) how do you get a gulp of water back...well you don't. Calmed myself down with 'hope for the best' thoughts, what else could I do? Gurgle, gurgle, bong, bong, clang, cymbals clashing in my gut, those bacteria in my intestines were having a blast :(  Tom is so fond of saying "they have survival instincts too." They took over and kept partying for days- I got weaker each day, but I thought I could ride it out. My doctor friends suggested I start the medicine, but I waited one more day, just "to see". You'd think I'd know better by now, that it is more difficult to get rid of them after they've reproduced like crazy...

So, those microbes didn't care if I was spent, they were diggin' my intestinal environment. Had to go on the warpath with them, a strong antibiotic combo that tastes like metal soaked in ammonia!! At least the Indian version tastes like this :()    Killed those amoebas (very common here) as well as giardia. Interesting in light of Buddhist philosophy, it's easy not to have compassion for them.... perhaps I will just be grateful they are gone, and think about the deeper layers of sentinence at another time! Hahahahaha.

It took a week to feel as though I'd kicked out most of the party-ers in my intestines. We see a fair amount of illness brought on by amoebas, in the liver, and lung (which are difficult to treat when they take over your body to that extent).

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Chanting with the nuns 6am; Kelsang, 21 year old nunTonight, I am at Dolma Ling Nunnery in my little quiet room. A young Buddhist nun called Kelsang Bhuti who was a patient in the hospital invited me to come down to the nunnery (this particular one is 30 minutes from Delek Hospital), and spend the night. I had tea with the nuns soon after I arrived, and then spent time meditating in the prayer hall. There are 210 nuns here. The youngest nuns are 13 years old, and some are elderly in their eighties. The nuns study English and in-depth study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy (which could take lifetimes, at least from my "Western perspective"). They study the scripts going back 1300 years, and they remember so much! I am told their exams are unrelenting. Many of the nuns are from Tibet, others are from areas in India that are "Tibetan settlements", (like where I am living in Dharamsala). There are 35 Tibetan settlements in India.

Grounds of the nunnery in the shadow of the Dhauladhar Mountains. Highest peak:18,000 ft.The nunnery is situated on many acres in the shadow of the Dhauladar Range (outer Himalayas). I walked toward the mountains in this peaceful sanctuary, I saw rice fields terraced, upwards to nearly the base of the closest peak, having the effect of green life (a sort of "here I am for you"), cascading down from the mountains.  A monastery of Buddhist monks is close by, and I could hear their chanting in the distance. When visiting a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery, there is minimal talking. Meditation is a way of life. Silence is there for you, and being in India with such a tremendous population, silence is a gift, and cherished! There is a guest house for a visitor or two, and that's where I am staying. It has a hot plate stove, and a few kitchen items and a bathroom. So, one can have an extended stay for days or months if desired. It costs $10.00 per night.

Tibetan door hanging made by the nuns.The Tibetan Prayer Project was established here in 1987. One goal of the nunnery is to be self sufficient and self sustaining. They make beautiful Tibetan door hangings, (see photo), beautiful rosewood mala beads, painted cards, place mats, and napkins. I saw a box of several hundred beautiful rosewood mala beads that were bound for sale in a shop in New York City. 

 Monks and nuns have always been very important for the spiritual atmosphere that influences (shapes) Tibetans. Tibet as many of you know was a pacifist nation, they lived for the promotion of peace in the world. They feel it is the "duty" of human beings to give your life, for the greater good. One of their teachings of compassion is to "exchange your heart with another."

At the Delek hospital at least 30% of the patients are monks and nuns. It really makes the atmosphere at the hospital serene and calm. All staff and other patients seem positively influenced by their presence. Nuns and monks are always visiting either other religious (nuns or monks) or other friends of theirs in the hospital. Then, they make sure to include sick people who are Hindi, because Tibetans are very aware of being "guests" in India, and they are ALWAYS gracious about acknowledging this. Sometimes I feel as though I am in a monastery instead of a hospital! If someone dies, the monks will sit outside the room of the dead person/body, and chant for 48 hours. Beautiful a capella Tibetan chanting reverberating in the hallways. It is so uplifting and so ethereal. A live "concert", so to speak, and we are greeted by the sound on entering the hospital. Their studies are rigorous naturally (similar to the nuns).

Monks debating at Namgyal Monastery, residence of the Dalai LamaEnglish is taught  along with knowledge of Western thought, and philosophy, and of course Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Meditation is at the core of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Debating is an essential part of learning the concepts learned in class (see photo from HH monastery), and it has become de rigueur for the nuns as well.  It is choreographed in a formal traditional manner. The standing "questioner" (a more experienced debater) poses a statement and claps his hands, the defender (usually a novice) sitting, needs to defend himself with a logical answer Then the questioner tries to undermine the logic of the defender, or comes up with a new argument, (why didn't my mom understand that I was merely debating "the concepts learned" when I was a teen?) Ha!

Fleeing to Dharamsala in 1959 has had innumerable effects on ALL Tibetans (including monks and nuns). I will only touch on a few. 

They have been in India for 52 years, many of them are fluent in Hindi as well. Most of them know Nepalese, and many know Chinese because of the establishment of Chinese rule in Tibet. The young Tibetans in Tibet today are forbidden to speak Tibetan in public. It is kept alive in the home. We see many new immigrants who have fled to Nepal (a 29 day walk/climb from Tibet), stayed in Nepal months or years and then made their way to their "temporary homeland" (with the thought that they WILL return to Tibet someday), and they just have to hang on until it happens) _ Dharamsala.  After the 1959 Uprising in Tibet, the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharial Nehru gave the Dalai Lama and the government officials of Tibet refuge in Dharamsala, a former hill station during the British "Raj" in northwest India. The official name of the Tibetan-Government-in-Exile in Dharamsala is: "Gangchen- Kyishong" which is translated "happy valley of snow" (an affectionate reference to Lhasa, Tibet). "Gangchen-Kyishong" is also referred to as "little Lhasa".

Nawang, a Buddhist nun who left Tibet with the Dalai Lama in 1959.There are several nunneries in the region around "little Lhasa". The largest is Gaden Choeling Nunnery with over 300 nuns with new buildings being erected presently to accommodate over 100 more.  It is now considered the oldest Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in the world because they were all destroyed in Tibet. This nunnery where I am staying as I said earlier, has 210 nuns. Approximately 500 nuns in this area alone.  Many nuns in Tibet are political prisoners along with monks. It is estimated that 80% of the political prisoners in Tibet are monks and nuns.

The larger Tibetan settlements are now in southern India, primarily in the state of Karnataka. 50,000 Tibetans now work and live in this region. Dharamsala was not large enough to accommodate all of the fleeing refugees, so Nehru invited them to settle in the south as well. Many of the nuns grew up in Karnataka, and came to Dharamsala to become nuns. They all have strong ties to Tibet needless to say. The nuns I spoke with said they hope to change the spiritual energy of the world by example. Some going so far as to say they won't be impacting global warming with more people (by not having children), and one said: (they were in a group) "it's coming to a time that we can't be selfish anymore, we as humans have to learn to respect Mother Earth."  She went on to say  "all of us are part of this paradise why can't we see it, and act like it?".  They said they are very aware of the Himalayan glaciers disappearing, and aware that they (the nuns and monks) don't have cars, or central heat, or hot water, (I didn't mention my swimming pool).  These are amazing, giving intelligent human beings who are "giving it up" so to speak, to help the rest of us find our way spiritually on this Earth, and they feel most humans have "forgotten" (was their term).They said all of their parents and relatives are supportive of their decision to live spiritually oriented lives.

Elaborate paintings in Prayer Hall. Dolma Ling Buddhist Nunnery, Sidhpur, Kangra, IndiaThough many Tibetans live in the southern part of India, they all love coming to Dharamsala, a compound of "dharam and shala" meaning: (loosely translated) "spiritual dwelling". However, older and more literal translation for "dharam or dharm is: "something established, or firm"; "shala" (from ancient sanskrit): "sacred space or refuge"

In Hindi common usage of this word traditionally dharamshalas (pilgrims' rest houses) was the term used. When the place now called "Dharamshala" (Tibetan spelling without the "h" in "shala") was created, there was already one such "pilgrims' rest house" existing on the site, thereby giving the name: "Dharamshala" (Indian spelling). How prophetic that this would become the "resting place/home" of the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetans -in -Exile!

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This is the reason we see so many patients from south India.  Mosquitoes are a real problem in southern India, therefore the medical work-ups for people coming from there include screening for malaria and dengue fever, whereas in Dharamsala there are no mosquitos (no large numbers). I've spoken about tuberculosis previously: it is a huge problem among Tibetans. It is an awful disease, that takes the lives of many Tibetans. Tibetans for the most part lived isolated at 12,000 feet (Lhasa is that high!).

Prayer hall entranceThey were not exposed to diseases; similar to native Americans who were not exposed to fatal diseases. It is thought that immunological (the immune response) system cannot really develop in "pure environment." Immunological response only comes about when there is pathogen that triggers immune response, and then develops resistance (over time). We know how the "naive" immune system of the Native American was NOT ready, not mature/developed enough to withstand the onslaught of European diseases, namely the virulent small pox. The majority of Native Americans succumbed to this disease. Whole tribes were decimated. Similarly, when Tibetans were/are exposed to tuberculosis among other illnesses there is no developed resistance. Tibetans have the second highest rate of TB in the world. It follows the highest TB rate, which is in in South Africa, complicated by the very high rate of HIV/AIDS. In the Tibetan population there is virtually no HIV/AIDS.

We have seen some tortured monks. One in particular is a favorite of everyone. Thuptan is his name. He was imprisoned for 23 years by the Chinese in Tibet. He is 85 years old today. He was beaten several times a week and given very little to eat or drink. He presently lives with other monks and people who are ex- political prisoners. He suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and often he is unable to sleep for days and nights. He allows me to give him massage! It has been so amazing working with him, he really is learning to relax (some). He told me through an interpreter that if he had enough years left to work this pain and stress out of his body, he might be able to do that. However, he feels there is so much "stored" that he can't reach all of it. He saw his parents tortured and killed in front of him, and when he was in prison he heard that his siblings (seven in all) were eventually tortured and killed. When he was let out of prison, he escaped to Nepal and lived there for years before making his way "back home" to the Tibetan homeland in India--Dharamsala. He is kindness itself, and has an irrepressible joy that emanates. That is the common denominator with the Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, a joyfulness that they impart, no matter how ill they may be. They are non-judgemental and open and they pray for all of us to have happy, joyful lives. They wish humankind to love themselves. In fact the concept of people needing to work out parental rejection, the notion of being 'unwanted", the idea of not having " self love" is totally foreign to Tibetans. They say how can you not love yourself? One of the teachings in Buddhism is to love yourself enough, to have compassion for yourself, [from the Latin cum (with); patior (to suffer, to endure),so that you may in turn have this for others. Compassion is related to the English word patient (= one who suffers), also related to "compatible." Incredible stuff. The hospital environment is where staff and patients for the most part try to earnestly follow (to practice) what the Dalai Lama teaches, and who can argue with a person who when asked "what is your religion?", answered "my religion is kindness."Thuptan, Buddhist monk, political prisoner, beatened and tortured for 23 years

I have one month longer to be around these beings who give so much of their "spiritual practice", their joy, to the world, "away", knowing (their "faith" I guess you would call it) that by doing this practice, they are contributing to energy that is uplifting and positive and hopeful.  They are emphatically leaving the world a better place than they found it. I bow to them.

Humble pranams.

Chanting begins at 6am with the nuns in the prayer hall, I'd better get some sleep. 

"Om mani padme hum". For those reading this who may not be familiar with this chant, the rough translation is: "Om, and salutations to the Jewel of the mind that has reached the lotus of the heart."

Good night, sweet dreams

catherine

A sign on the roadway near Norbulingka Institute dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan language and cultural heritage at Sidhpur, India (near Dharamsala).

Comments

[marty smith]

Catherine...you are such an inspiration....i love you and think of you daily...may your ending there be but another beginning and your journey "back" safe...
hugs and so sorry about your bout with the creatures.....love, marty