The Dalai Lama's New Year Teachings

There has been a break from school whilst everyone makes the daily pilgrimage crammed onto jeeps up to the Dalai Lama's temple in McLeod Ganj for his annual New Year Teachings.

The daily routine is to catch a jeep up just before 7am and return on the jeep at around 4pm. The actual teachings are from 9:30-11:30 and 1:00-3:30pm, but one has to be there pretty early to reserve a spot and then each day defend it from the marauding hordes of westerners and Tibetans who cram into the Temple square to listen to His Holiness teach. In theory, the westerners are reserved the northern side which is under cover, whilst the Tibetans get the main cobbled square (no cover) and the monks and nuns the terraces around the temple proper. In practice, it gets kind of mixed up - especially on the last few days when the heavens opened up and it belted down for three days running.

For some reason, I was a little ambivalent about attending the teachings, thinking that I should instead stay home and study some more. How glad I am that I came to my senses and went along. Despite a little cold, aches in back and knees, tiredness and a nice little attack of diarrhoea and vomiting on the rest day (ah, the vomiting and general unwellness is a trip down memory lane to my drinking days!) I have been greatly inspired by such a long stretch of time in the presence of such a holy being.

In particular what stays in my mind is the way His Holiness enters and leaves the temple. Led by a small procession of monks and accompanied by a detail of security guards, His Holiness marches down from his bungalow and out the gates, beaming delightedly at everyone as if he has never had so much fun in his life. He constantly disrupts the flow of his escorts by stopping to speak to people or wave - they have quite a job anticipating his next move. There is a lovely sense of discord between the purposeful and serious movement of his procession and His Holiness's spontaneity which beautifully underlines His Holiness's constant emphasis on giving compassion, care and attention to those you encounter.

Equally powerful for me is the way that His Holiness then settles onto his cushion and delivers succinct and clear commentaries on difficult philosophical points, occasionally peppered with the odd anecdote or word of personal advice. On the final days, he adopts yet another role as the leader of rituals that invoke certain emanations of Buddha to confer blessings to the crowds. Serious and focused - he led the rituals punctuated at the appropriate times by claps of thunder, hailstorms and lightning. Coincidence or not, it certainly left one feeling a little bemused about the possibility of there being some connection.

Finally, being crammed into a small space with many people from around the world for 10 days also produced encounters with many delightful people from all walks of life and with all different kinds of motivation and connection to Buddhism. Thanks so much to all I met for the wonderful time shared during the teachings.

Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the Temple grounds which means no pictures of this event. So, you'll have to either come to India or go and see His Holiness when he visits near you (for Perth that time is in early June!). Go along if you are able, you won't regret it.

Norbulingka

My little town of Sidhpur is best known for the Norbulingka, the replica of the Dalai Lama's summer palace that has been built here to house, foster and display Tibetan culture and art. The Norbulingka runs courses in Thangka painting (the paintings of Tibetan Buddhist deities and mandala) as well as doing various other crafts. It has a small doll museum showing off Tibetan cultural dress and a very nice shop where you can buy beautiful things, admittedly at rather steep western prices. The Norbulingka is also involved in recycling projects and other social causes. The main reason to come is simply to enjoy the beauty of the buildings, fountains and gardens, away from the dirt and mess of surrounding India. Here are some pics.