Sitting in an internet gafe in Sikkim with a little more time.
I'll start back a few days ago.
Lava is a very cool place, and very high up in the mountains. The sights are beautiful here and in the places I will be mentioning below. Very mountainous, but also very green and lush. I feel lucky to be able to see this part of the world.
The first day at the monestary we met Jamgon Kongtrul, received a blessing, and teachings.
The next day was a buddhist holy day (based on the lunar calender), so the day was full of ceremony . First, there was the eye opening ceremony. This happens when the statues in a monestary have been completed, the last feature being the painting of the eyes. The statues are covered with a large cloth, and amidst chanting and horn blowing, the cloth is taken away to reveal the faces. It was very moving.
Then, there was a long-life blessing, which many people from the surrounding area visited as well.
After lunch, we got to see some monks right before they were shut in for their 3 year retreat, a very important time in the Kagyu tradition. It was touching.
After, there was a dinner hosted by Jamgon Kongtrul. There is kind of a celebrety vibe going on around him, especially with a few pilgrims from Hong Kong taking TONS of pictures. It makes me a little uncomfortable to take my own. But, as another travellor put it, that's the way they approach this, just as I have my own.
After another day of teaching, we went down into Kalingpong, a larger city on the side of a mountain that used to be a major stop on the trade route between India and Tibet, to see Jamgon Kongtrul's social projects. We saw an impeccably clean school for lower-caste and underprivilaged children, an eye hospital, and a combination old-age home/orphanage. Without going into too much detail, the mood of these places was uplifted, positive, and refreshing. They seemed very blessed, and the people seemed very happy. I was touched.
The next day was teachings in the morning, and then off to Sikkim with a couble from Alberta and my German friend, Dirk. We arrived in Gangtok, a surprizingly affluent, well organized, friendly, and clean place. This area is very progressive, with signs about organic growing and environmental awareness everywhere. We slep and visited Rumtek, which was both spiritually moving a depressing. It was a bit touristy and a bit run down. I felt the absense of the Karmapa (the head of the Kagyu school). However, I got to practice in the room where the 16th Karmapa's (the previous incarnation, the one who first left tibet and built Rumtek) ashes are held. It was very powerful, especially when the group of Italian tourists left and another group of the same pilgrims from China entered and started throwing themselves on the floor in prostration.
On our was out, we had the good luck of running into a very young lama who was meeting the people from china. Since we knew them, they invited us to come along. I'll describe this more in the pictures.
After lunch, we went to another Monestery, Lingdum, which was very new and very well kept. THis was especially exciting because it is a branch of the Tibetan monestery complex which housed Trungpa Rinpoche, my parents root teacher and through them, my own. It was very cool to see his and his son's picture all the way over here.
After we returned, I went out to look for some comics to get Jamgon Kongtrul for his birthday (I wound up buying him 2 tintin books) and I ran into Bardor Tulku and his wife, a Lama and his wife I was supposed to meet in Delhi! I just ran into them! Of course I was more excited to see them then they were to see me, but then again, that's a sign of their job.
That evening, we had tea with another Lama, Ringu tulku. It was very friendly and comfortable, and I didn't feel as nervous as I usuall do when meeting a teacher.
Today is free. I'm planning on going to a Hindi play being put on at a Drama festival in town, and exploring a bit. I might not get a chance to update for a while, as tomorrow it's back to Lava after watching a Mahakala Dance at rumtek, then a flight to Kathmandu to spend some time at Jamgon Kongtrul's main monestary, Pullarhari, and exploring Nepal.
If you've made it this far, a small request.
If you can, take a moment and think,
"For the good of all being, may the Karmapa travel freely and take his seat at Rumtek"
Feeling far away-- comment if you can I like reading them!
Signing off with love.
I am here. (not my picture-- dont have my cable with me.)
