Wild Life!

Frankly, I haven't been able to catch all the bird life I've seen in Dharamsala. There's a ton of species here and I would pay great sums to see a real snow leopard. At some point, perhaps in the spring, I'll do a serious trek into the mountains and the forest and do some serious wildlife photography.

Here are some monkeys I saw in McCleod Ganj at different points, either coming down from or going back up to my place in Naddi.

Following is picture of a gibbon. He looked pretty big (I thought he was a dog until I saw him climb up). Really beautiful.

There are hawks and porcupines and foxes and bears and...and well, you get the picture.

Next up, Saint John's Church.

Cafe BuDan

“According to legend, Baba Budan, a 17^th century Sufi, introduced coffee to India by bringing secretly seven beans of coffee from the port of Mocha, Yemen.”

So says the menu at Cafe BuDan on Jogiwara Road. This is my first stop in the morning. It was the first cafe I stumbled into when I came down from Naddi on my first day in McLeod Ganj. It's been a great oasis for a number of people and when I return to the area next spring, I'll still be stopping in on a daily basis, I'm sure.

The coffee's great, the food is terrific (can you really argue with the equivalent of a buck and change for breakfast?); but it's the people that make it worthwhile.

Normally, I'd be prone to do the writing, but in this case, I'm going to ask the BuDan posse to give me some words I can post instead. These guys are all dear to our hearts and can speak for themselves.

 

 

It's Fleur!

 

 

"Baba!"

Happy Lama Tsongkhapa Day!

I know, I know. "Gee, John, thought you were Mr. Ri-me...what's with this?"

Well, for one thing, I've spent the past two days listening to teachings by His Holiness on two of Tsongkhapa's works ("Destiny Fulfilled" and "The Three Principal Stages of the Path" - one of my favorite writings by anybody!) and today is, after all, the man's anniversary day. There's a tsok later, too!

Look, I'm not big on birthdays, but c'mon, Lama Tsongkhapa, HHDL, fab teachings? Why not celebrate?

You can grab some cool images from here. Tsem Tulku's an interesting cat. He's got some nifty vids on YouTube, as well.

19.XII.2011

I follow in the wake of some unseen craft in a river of red ochre. I am the only non-Asian, probably the only non-Tibetan. In the past sixteen years, I've lost track of how many of his teachings I've attended. This is one is different in that this taking place in India. While not exactly his home base, it's close enough.

I'm in the minority here and it feels good. On the other hand, what must it feel like for these other travellers, for the exiles? For those too young to have seen or to remember their homeland? For those old enough for whom the loss by invasion may still feel altogether too recent, too new, too fresh? I see one elderly monk on crutches making his way.

I've often heard people tally up how many times they've seen him. Some recount the expense. Some say how lucky people here in India are to be able to see him (- take your pick: the sentence continues “- regularly” or “-- for free”), not factoring into that accounting the loss they paid for the privilege.

I've stopped in at Moonpeak for a pre-teaching ritual cappuccino (consumed as Padmasambhava, offered as nectar..) I see familiar faces, yet feel no urgency to join the stream. A reluctant Stream-Enterer!

Though this is the principal reason for my being here, I want to proceed slowly and take in what I can. My tai ch'i this morning set the pace. Moreover, I'm happier to watch the Tibetans in such a mass welcome back Kundun, Gyal-wa Rinpoche. If there are any who wonder why Tibet should be free; please come to Dharamsla. You'll see the reason in the face of everyone; infant, the very young, the very old.

The place becomes electric, not because of the “institution” or the “office” of the Dalai Lama, but because this is Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion, the hearer of all cries, including the cries of the oppressed, the exile. Chenrezig is the soul of the Tibetan people, if one may speak of a soul in Buddhism.

Historians may point out that Tibet has had her share of internal conflicts and civil war and strife over the centuries, but I would counter that these were the result of benighted individuals in high office driven by grabs for power and position. But for the rank and file Tibetan, the shop-keeper, the farmer, the nomad? The “oppressed feudal serf” of Mao's “peaceful liberation of the Han minorities”? Something tells me they continued to hope and pray to Chenrezig for peace and compassion and I think the historical record in the main bears that they got those.

I sip the cappa slowly as a monkey climbs a fir tree across the street behind one of the vendors' tables being set for business. It's getting close to time for me to join this stream which I am both proud and deeply humbled to join.

Another monkey sits by some prayer flags regarding the passer-by. I'm reminded that the Tibetans' origin myth states that they were born from a union of a monkey and an ogress (Chenrezig and the equally beloved mother Tara/Drolma). One wonders if there's some protopaleological framework here?

The cup's content goes lower. Time to bring up, to generate the correct motivation for attending these teachings (and what should be the motivation for all our actions, plain and simple):

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes.

May all sentient beings be free from suffering and its causes.

May all sentient beings never be parted from the bliss which is free from sorrow.

May all sentient beings rest in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion.

P.S.

Yes, this even applies to politicians...something I should remind myself more often.

P.P.S.

If yesterday was my birthday, today was another re-birthday.

Breaking the theme and the flow for breaking news that is breaking my heart

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/14/us-refusal-veto-detainee-bill-historic-tragedy-rights

I don't want to go too far afield regarding the nature of this blog, but it is my blog and I'm frankly mad as hell at this.

Actually, this is intimately connected to why I am here, who I am and does, in fact, belong here.

The largest, deepest reason I'm in India is to pay homage to the great tradition that has informed my life for more years than I care to remember, to honor my teachers in that tradition's different lineages and to stand in solidarity with the refugees and more recently, the spate of martyrs of occupied Tibet. At the same time, I recognize that my own country is under its own occupation. And I don't mean Occupy Wall Street; I mean, we are being occupied by either the most jerrymandered, hi-jacked and naive administration or one that I now find as venal as George W. Bush's.

I'm not merely disappointed in a number of missteps that have characterized the policies of this administration, that I voted for; I'm pissed, angry, frustrated, disappointed beyond measure. If I could rescind my vote, I would, and I'd write in Zippy the Pinhead.

Before anyone calls me on saying that Obama is as venal as W, think about it: Guantanamo's still open, Iraq isn't a done deal (if you're really paying attention), Afghanistan's not exactly drawing down, he's been extremely reticent about the Tar Sands Pipeline deal, there seems to be a sense that the various Occupy actions are under more than state or local surveillance, O doesn't seem bothered by the Patriot Act (these are just what come to mind off the bat) and now this.

“By signing this defense spending bill, President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch." (from the article; I really strongly request you read the whole thing.)

Hopefully, I will return to a U.S. that isn't too badly hobbled in terms of civil liberties, isn't too wasted constitutionally and isn't terribly sovietized. No, right-wingers, I don't agree with you that Obama's a communist, I think he's in complete lockstep with your corporate interests. Hell, you guys might as well claim him as one of yours.

Hopefully, too, if I do return to the U.S. and it's not too badly, et cetera'd, I'll have the time and ability to focus into throwing in with whoever needs my meager skills to help speak truth to power. Loudly.

I really see no significant difference between either major party. Corporations rule my country and power dictates policy. If you wake up in the morning and say, "we're still the best country in the world", you need to wake up again.

We will return to regular broadcasting next time.

Dharamsala Various Vistas

 
This is where the fun begins. My reasons for coming here are several. For right now, I'm posting this album (and will be adding to it) to give an idea of what I see on a regular basis and no, I haven't gotten blase about it. Every view is beautiful, striking and the landscape changes constantly. I'll be posting other albums, too, from Picasa, and I apologize in advance for iOS users. I don't think these show up on iPads, for instance. But I'm happy to share!

Bye-Bye Golden Triangle!

Some parting shots before we move onto Dharamsala. 

For the record, Dharamsala posts are going to happen pretty quickly. I hope to post a few a day over the next four or five days. That's going to be tricky because Monday through Wednesday next are teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, so any posting then is going to be spotty. Hmmm, maybe I'm setting myself up for a real challenge...

Agra Carpets

One thing you should know is that the handmade carpets of Rajasthan are in danger of dying out. The fellow I spoke with estimated that there were only about two thousand people keeping the tradition alive. He also said that the Indian government subsidizes the work, as well as other countries and/or agencies. That being said, it would be a tragedy if this ceases.

As I alluded to in the Taj post, the designs aren't merely decorative. Behind them lie hints and narratives of allegorical nature.

Or as Mullah Nasruddin once said, man's life is but an allegory.

It takes two to tango, uh, weave.

The idea here is to burn away any tufts or stray fabric. Not only that, it's also a test to ensure that no synthetics have made their way into the material. I was assured that if any are found, the funding goes away.

Next is combing the remainder of any excess fabric.

And last a good cleaning. The dyes are colorfast (and made from natural ingredients, as you might imagine.) But a good cleaning enhances the luminous quality of those colors.

 A trio of examples:

The Taj Mahal though a misty view

I think the Taj Mahal is well-documented enough that I don't need to go into greater historical detail, but it probably goes without saying that it is a great work of architecture, art, religion and one could say, love. As it is, we're looking at it here through the mists of time. Or a really hazy Agra day...

Krishnan Joshi, my guide, was great. He's a young man in the process of getting his own travel agency off the ground and I'm happy to refer him to one and all. He's on Facebook, so if you want to contact him directly for a tour, please feel free (I think). His knowledge is encyclopedic and he's just a really terrific guy.

With no further ado, I'm posting these photos with no commentary (although that's subject to change).

Bear this image in mind; these patterns are integral. The next post on Agra will deal with the carpet manufacturing and these patterns are key. From this angle, these read as three-dimensional elements, but it's worth considering the Taj Mahal as a multidimensional/multivalent text. I would say that the decor and flourishes that you see here aren't merely for decorative purposes. What they signify falls outside the scope of what I could possibly incorporate into this blog.

Here is the floor from a different perspective where the design takes on an almost electric movement.

Photo by Krishnan of your intrepid hero.

Krishnan took this one, too (much to the consternation of the guard in the tomb) to show the luminosity of the colors of the inlay. 

Here you can see where restoration is underway.

A sura from the Glorious Qu'ran. I forget how many there are, but this gives a literal spin to the concept of the structure as a text. More importantly, it adds a living/lived element to the experience of being there. I told Krishnan that I would ideally like to spend the entire day at the Taj Mahal. Between this and Fatehpur Sikri, I could spend a good couple of weeks in reflection.

This is an admittedly foggy view of the walkways to the building. It's sad not to see the symmetry clearly, but there's a beauty to the hazy nature of the pictures. Particularly, in the last four photos from the Raja's garden.