Travel Stories

Spring in the Himalayas, by Madonna Dunbar

Things have been fairly quiet here during the last few weeks' stay in McLeod Ganj/Dharmsala, India. The weather was a factor - more rain and sleet keeping us indoors more than we wanted. We ended up attending about 1/2 the public teaching sessions offered by Hius Holiness, the XIV Dalai Lama. It has been really nice to see him in person and hear his expressive voice, even if it meant a painful butt from sitting cross-legged on the ground for hours on end... .

In between the extensive analysis of Tibetan Buddism offered by his reading and commentary of Tsonkapa's "Great Stages of the Path" during these sessions, were the Dalai Lama's common sense spiritual gems which were the real prizes for us both. The last session was on a cloudy morning to a completely packed audience - and was a combination of summation of the sessions, some Buddhist ceremony, and more commentary - including a long talk about being more compassionate in our lives( developing Bodichitta - loving kindness and compassion) , with a solid plug , almost a direct order, especially aimed at the Tibetans - to stop eating meat and wearing furs. He spoke of the animals inability to escape their plight and our ability to choose to be more compassionate on the dinner plate.

So with that , he finished with a water blessing for the audience and as soon as that happened - the skies opened up and it monsooned for 24 more hours!

The following days were still busy in town with the memorial for the 1 million + Tibetans killed during the Tibetan Uprising and Resistance against the 1959 invasion by China - the events here featuring a concert by some local musicians ( and The Dharma Bums from Woodstock, NY) , movies, and a lot of petitions, etc. being circulated for freedom for the current political prisoners in Tibet.

And spring has decided to arrive here after all the rain - some beautiful flowers are in bloom here in the foothills with the snowy peaks off in the distance ( look beyond all the trash in the roads - it's a mess!) .

But we are leaving the mountains for a while - we have bus tickets in hand ( all night to Dehli) and then we haul our butts onto a long train ride to Jasilimer, Rajesthan to go experience that most exotic part of India. When you think of fairy tail stone cities in the desert, and colorful carved stone buildings, camel rides, painted elephants, desert dunes , ladies in colorful scarves and men in colored turbans - that is Rajesthan and I will be happy to tell you more in a week or so....

We hope to spend several weeks there - until the heat and craziness move us back north to Rishikesh for me to spend a few weeks in extensive yoga lessons and Pablo possibly off exploring more on his own... then more time in the mountains....

We think of you, our friends back home and abroad often and are meeting some new ones; we get to interact daily with people from all over the world while on this journey.

Read more CircleThePlanet: Travel Stories