Late in the afternoon, after a reflection session on the balcony at the guesthouse, Shari, Emily F and I were napping in the three rooms. Emily F, not feeling well, was resting in Peter-La’s room, which has a window facing the balcony. She was the first to hear the commotion. A monkey had jumped down onto the table and found the tea and cookies we had accidentally left sitting out from before. Emily F called to Shari who woke up and came outside only to find TWO monkeys now fighting over the loot. She clapped and yelled loudly to try and scare them away, but one just turned, showed his teeth and hissed at her. I woke up from my nap when the two monkeys smashed a glass that was sitting out and then scampered away. We learned several monkey safety tips that day: never leave food out on the balcony, always close your windows and doors at night, do not show monkeys your teeth (they think its an act of aggression), and they are best scared away using a stick. Also, from that point on, tea biscuits on this trip have been known as monkey cookies.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
How To Fail At a Trip Blog: Write It All When You Get Home
OKay so we failed at keeping up a blog when we were actually in India, but I had drafted a few posts on Elyse's computer throughout the month so I'm going to turn this into my personal blog and write everything about it after the fact. Probably no one will read it anymore though haha...
So, starting back on Tuesday the 24th-- In the morning our speaker was Palden Gyatso, a monk with a very similar story to Ama Adhe’s. (Just a warning: this is another very intense story involving imprisonment and torture, but I hope you’ll find it worth reading).
We were lucky enough to have an audience with him in the intimacy of his own home, where we sat on floor cushions next to his shrine. At 79 years of age, Palden Gyatso is small and frail-looking, but his youthful skin and bright toothy smile distract from tired eyes that have seen too much in his lifetime. As we all settled in, he insisted that Elyse take a seat next to him on his couch-like raised cushion and made sure that everyone else had a pillow and was comfortable. Again, Peter would translate his story to us as he told it in pieces.
Palden Gyatso was born in 1932 in the Eastern part of Tibet and by the age of 10 had joined the monastery in his village. In his late twenties he and other monks traveled to Lhasa (the capital of Tibet), to visit the Dalai Lama’s palace, Norbalinga. By this time the Chinese army and government officials had already flooded in Tibet, and the pretence of friendship and good intentions had long since faded. Palden Gyatso was arrested in the capital city on March 10, 1959, a day when tens of thousands of Tibetans died, today known has Tibetan National Uprising Day. He spent the next thirty three years in a Chinese labor prison with 6,000 other people.
Weak from starvation, Palden Gyatso and the other prisoners were made to plow fields like mules. The Chinese used a cattle prod on the prisoners, and if someone was too weak to keep working, they would burry them alive in the fields. In the later years of the imprisonment he endured much worse torture. Lifting his red robe to show us his scars, he told us how sometimes they would force him to kneel on broken glass and rocks and then ask if he thought Tibet should be free. He told us of being hung upside down and beaten with bamboo sticks until his skin broke, and they would rub spices in the wound or throw boiling water at him. Sometimes they would use an electric baton all over his body, or when he was sitting in water.
Still, when asked if Tibet should be free Palden Gyatso never changed his mind. In a bittersweet moment before Peter could translate what he was telling us, we watched as the sweet old monk removed his upper and lower dentures (revealing the secret of his bright white smile) and stuck his tongue out at us. Peter explained that they had even used the electric baton in his mouth, and when he had come to all of his teeth were missing.
Just like Ama Adhe, Palden Gyatso meditated to ease the pain and to make it through 33 years of imprisonment. He told us that he practiced Tonglen meditation, in which one meditates on taking in other people’s suffering. Even when he was experiencing more suffering than any of us can imagine, in his Buddhist faith he was practicing the utmost selflessness and compassion for others.
Palden Gyatso has also traveled all over the world sharing his story. His book is called Fire Under the Snow, and a few of us have purchased it in the books stores here. A few of the trip members, including our staff advisor Shari, Emily F and Greg accompanied Peter-La on a later day to visit Palden Gyatso once more before he left for the United States. They got items signed and had some very nice moments with him, that I hope one of them may write about on here. But other than that, we are very excited that he will be in New York, possibly D.C. and other cities this summer when we return!
Friday, 27 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
A Long Overdue Update
Tashi Delek blog readers!
We are nearing the end of our first week in Dharamsala and we've been so busy that we've barely had time to update the blog! So much has happened.
On Monday we heard from our First Speaker, Ama Adhe. Ama Adhe is an 81 year old Tibetan woman who suffered 27 years of imprisonment in China after the occupation. In the beginning she shared a windowless, cramped room with over 300 women, but she watched over almost three decades as the women died of starvation, until only she and three others remained. When the hunger became too much, the women resorted to cutting and sharing small pieces of their leather shoes. After her release, she heard stories that the men in prison had even resorted to cutting bits of their own flesh to sustain each other.
All along, Ama Adhe never lost hope and never lost her faith in the Dalai Lama. The three other women who survived did so by stealing small bits of pig food when it was their job to feed them. Ama Adhe said she survived on prayer and meditation alone. When she was finally released, Ama Adhe was breifly reunited with her daughter, who was only 1 when she was taken away, inside Tibet, and then traveled to Dharamsala where she has remained ever since. After meditating for The Dalai Lama's well being for over 27 years, she was able to finally meet His Holiness and he told her to always tell the truth about her story to anyone who would listen. Ama Adhe's autobiography, The Voice That Remembers, is published in over 25 languages.
What we could not get over as a group, was Ama's graciousness and unbroken spirit. She told Peter, who translated for her during the meeting, that she had waited all morning by the window for us to arrive! She thanked us over and over for listening to her story, when we all felt as though the honor was ours. Afterward we took pictures with her and she smiled and waived from the rooftop as we walked away down the street.
Later that day, we began volunteering at our group and independent service sites! Some of the places we wished to work at, like Rogpa babycare and Gu-Chu-Sum center for political prisoners, did not work out for our schedule, so most of our service opporutinities this year entail english conversation classes with Tibetans who have recently arrived in Dharamsala. On the first day and each since, we have volunteered at LIT (Language and Ideas for Tibet) from 2:00-4:00 and then we split up in groups to go to Volunteer Tibet and LHA for more conversation. Most of the people we've talked with crossed over the Himalayas on foot within the last two years just to come seek education and english language skillls. The conversations for long hours and day after day can be tiring, but it is clear that practicing english is a main objective for many of the monks and refugees, so it has been extremely rewarding.
Monday was also the first night of the homestays! After volunteering each of the eight homestay families came to have tea and biscuits with the group at the trip leader's travel lodge, and then took everyone to their homes for dinner. Hopefully, some people will have time soon to blog about their individual experiences, but so far we've heard great things and everyone seems happy to have the independence of going to and from individual homestays each morning and afternoon.
So thats all I have time for for now, but tonight we will write more about the rest of the week and what we have coming up ahead! We've met some incredible peolple and seen many inspiring things, so stay tuned!! Unfortunately I don't know how to get pictures off my camera at the moment, but hopefully we can get some up soon.
Thanks for reading!!
Taylor
We are nearing the end of our first week in Dharamsala and we've been so busy that we've barely had time to update the blog! So much has happened.
On Monday we heard from our First Speaker, Ama Adhe. Ama Adhe is an 81 year old Tibetan woman who suffered 27 years of imprisonment in China after the occupation. In the beginning she shared a windowless, cramped room with over 300 women, but she watched over almost three decades as the women died of starvation, until only she and three others remained. When the hunger became too much, the women resorted to cutting and sharing small pieces of their leather shoes. After her release, she heard stories that the men in prison had even resorted to cutting bits of their own flesh to sustain each other.
All along, Ama Adhe never lost hope and never lost her faith in the Dalai Lama. The three other women who survived did so by stealing small bits of pig food when it was their job to feed them. Ama Adhe said she survived on prayer and meditation alone. When she was finally released, Ama Adhe was breifly reunited with her daughter, who was only 1 when she was taken away, inside Tibet, and then traveled to Dharamsala where she has remained ever since. After meditating for The Dalai Lama's well being for over 27 years, she was able to finally meet His Holiness and he told her to always tell the truth about her story to anyone who would listen. Ama Adhe's autobiography, The Voice That Remembers, is published in over 25 languages.
What we could not get over as a group, was Ama's graciousness and unbroken spirit. She told Peter, who translated for her during the meeting, that she had waited all morning by the window for us to arrive! She thanked us over and over for listening to her story, when we all felt as though the honor was ours. Afterward we took pictures with her and she smiled and waived from the rooftop as we walked away down the street.
Later that day, we began volunteering at our group and independent service sites! Some of the places we wished to work at, like Rogpa babycare and Gu-Chu-Sum center for political prisoners, did not work out for our schedule, so most of our service opporutinities this year entail english conversation classes with Tibetans who have recently arrived in Dharamsala. On the first day and each since, we have volunteered at LIT (Language and Ideas for Tibet) from 2:00-4:00 and then we split up in groups to go to Volunteer Tibet and LHA for more conversation. Most of the people we've talked with crossed over the Himalayas on foot within the last two years just to come seek education and english language skillls. The conversations for long hours and day after day can be tiring, but it is clear that practicing english is a main objective for many of the monks and refugees, so it has been extremely rewarding.
Monday was also the first night of the homestays! After volunteering each of the eight homestay families came to have tea and biscuits with the group at the trip leader's travel lodge, and then took everyone to their homes for dinner. Hopefully, some people will have time soon to blog about their individual experiences, but so far we've heard great things and everyone seems happy to have the independence of going to and from individual homestays each morning and afternoon.
So thats all I have time for for now, but tonight we will write more about the rest of the week and what we have coming up ahead! We've met some incredible peolple and seen many inspiring things, so stay tuned!! Unfortunately I don't know how to get pictures off my camera at the moment, but hopefully we can get some up soon.
Thanks for reading!!
Taylor
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Safe and Sound!
Hello Family and Friends!
We have arrived safely in Dharamsala after two and a half long days of travel! We landed in Delhi late Friday night where we were met by our guide, Peter. Peter had vans waiting to drive us to our hotel where dinner was waiting. After a solid two hours of sleep we packed up our two vans and slowly slowly made our way up the mountains to Dharamsala. Along the way we stopped in a small Sikh village in Punjab were we had a dance-off with local children. The chicken dance was a big hit!
We have arrived safely in Dharamsala after two and a half long days of travel! We landed in Delhi late Friday night where we were met by our guide, Peter. Peter had vans waiting to drive us to our hotel where dinner was waiting. After a solid two hours of sleep we packed up our two vans and slowly slowly made our way up the mountains to Dharamsala. Along the way we stopped in a small Sikh village in Punjab were we had a dance-off with local children. The chicken dance was a big hit!
Late last night we finally arrived in Mcleod Ganj (Upper Dharamsala) where we watched a documentary about Tibetan political activism over a traditional meal of soup and momos, which are like dumplings, and then finally got a full night's sleep.
This morning we started our first full day in Dharamsala with breakfast at the Peace Cafe, a local landmark. Everyone is in awe of the beautiful views of houses on the mountainsides and prayer flags flying everywhere. We had a brief orientation with Peter, visited the Dalai Lama's monastery, visited the Tibetan Museum where we learned more about the conflict and screened a film called "Undercover in Tibet," about the violent oppression of Tibetans inside Tibet by the Chinese government and military that continues today. The film was quite shocking and really reminded us of why we are here.
Dharamsala is overwhelmingly beautiful and the Tibetan people have been incredibly friendly and hospitable, but we're just starting to really grasp the severity of the situation inside Tibet. We're looking forward to hearing from many speakers in the coming days and working at service sites where will deepen our understanding of the issue. Tomorrow night will be our first night in Tibetan homestays!! Stay tuned for updates and pictures!
This morning we started our first full day in Dharamsala with breakfast at the Peace Cafe, a local landmark. Everyone is in awe of the beautiful views of houses on the mountainsides and prayer flags flying everywhere. We had a brief orientation with Peter, visited the Dalai Lama's monastery, visited the Tibetan Museum where we learned more about the conflict and screened a film called "Undercover in Tibet," about the violent oppression of Tibetans inside Tibet by the Chinese government and military that continues today. The film was quite shocking and really reminded us of why we are here.
Dharamsala is overwhelmingly beautiful and the Tibetan people have been incredibly friendly and hospitable, but we're just starting to really grasp the severity of the situation inside Tibet. We're looking forward to hearing from many speakers in the coming days and working at service sites where will deepen our understanding of the issue. Tomorrow night will be our first night in Tibetan homestays!! Stay tuned for updates and pictures!
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