The Dalai Lama

This afternoon I got to hear the Dalai Lama teach to a group of Russian Buddhists on the concept of dependent origination, basically that everything depends on everything else in order to have meaning. I was vaguely familiar with this concept before, so I was able to follow most of the talk. His Holiness spoke in Tibetan and I listened to the English translation on an FM radio. I was able to snag a fantastic seat and he was in my line of sight. My friend who went to the morning session as well couldn’t believe it, as he was sitting outside the temple. About halfway through the talk, the monks came around and filled up our cups with Tibetan milk tea, more milk than tea really. Apparently they usually put salt in it as well, but this wasn’t salted. I’ve tried salted tea and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Another interesting moment was when the monks came around and distributed 150 rupees to all the monks in attendance. If I had the red robes on, maybe I could have passed.

At one point during the talk the Dalai Lama sneezed and shortly thereafter chuckled heartily as he noted the translator’s surprise when he did this. Then he joked that if anyone was falling asleep out there, he could wake us back up by sneezing. He’s very affable. I got to see him get into his car; tomorrow I think I will try to position myself in this area so maybe, just maybe, I could shake his hand or at least make eye contact. Talking to some of the other tourists in attendance I learned what a treat it really is to be here and see him talk basically for free. Apparently people pay hundreds of dollars to see him speak in other venues. This, of course, does not take into account how much I’ve spent on this trip, but nevertheless it feels pretty cool.


I wasn’t allowed to take my camera in, but I took this picture of a monk outside the temple the other day.

200 steps

I moved closer to town yesterday, into a huge room with an amazing view of the mountains. Still no heat, but there's a hot shower and that makes all the difference. Being in town now, as opposed to up in the mountains, it's actually not quite as cold, as in I can't really see my breath in the morning when I wake up, so that's nice. And now instead of a 2 km walk down a mountain, I only have to walk 200 steps up into town. I don't feel so bad not doing my daily yoga with this kind of exercise. I signed up to see the Dalai Lama next week. He is teaching on the 24th and 25th for two hours each afternoon. I need to get my hands on a radio, to hear the English translation, a cushion to sit on the ground, and a cup. I'm guessing they pass out tea to the attendees. It couldn't have been easier to sign up - you give them your passport info, two passport-sized photos and 10 rupees (only like 20 cents!!) and they give you a badge. Sweet! It will be interesting to see what the place looks and feels like when H.H.D.L. is in town (His Holiness the Dalai Lama).

After signing up, I took a walk around a nice mountain loop and enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful scenery. There weren't many other people on the road. One nice man came up and introduced himself as a traveling massage therapist, at my service if I so desired. That is one case where I think "just say yes" does not apply. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet walk. On the way down I met up with two Tibetan women and we braved a huge group of monkeys together. I don't know if I would call it a fear, but let's just say I have a healthy respect for these red-faced monkeys now. I've seen them fight with each other and it's not pretty. At one point we had to climb down a rocky ledge in order to avoid passing by them as they went to town in a dumpster. Never a dull moment. :)


The view from my room. Good Morning!!