Hello all,
Sorry I didn’t get to finish my post last week. If you are
interested in hearing about corruption in India, I will send you an email. =)
I have had a week of Tibetan events. Last Sunday, I went to see
the Dalai Lama at Woodstock school. I got to wear my sari and handmade sandals.
I had gold flip flop sandals made at a local shop, which were made in one day.
They are gorgeous and cost less than $7. I told him the pattern I wanted and
the color. Then he traced my foot on a sheet of paper and gave me the beautiful
shoes the following day. It’s so amazing!
It was an incredible experience to see the Dalai Lama and to
hear him talking about kindness and compassion. The main theme of his message
was promoting mutual understanding among cultures and religions. It is amazing
that this man is able to connect with so many people and have such a
progressive manner of thinking. I finished his spiritual autobiography the day
before the talk, which was a really good decision. For a man who has experienced
such opposition, he is surprisingly hopeful and joyful. For the entire time
during his talk, the Dalai Lama was cracking jokes and telling funny stories.
He also took questions from the audience. My favorite question was from someone
who asked how he has maintained his youth. His first response was that this is
his “top secret” information. He followed up by explaining that despite any
turmoil in his life, he has always managed to sleep like a baby eight or nine
hours each night.
Here is a really interesting short story about the Dalai
Lama which just happened last week. The elderly mother of a woman connected
with Woodstock School went to see the Dalai Lama last Friday. The next day, she
passed away. She had achieved her ultimate life goal of seeing the Dalai Lama
and decided her time on earth was finished. It is pretty amazing the profound
impact the Dalai Lama has on some many individuals all over the world.
The main reason the Dalai Lama came to Mussoorie was because
it is the place where he came to seek refuge after leaving Tibet for the first
time. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan Homes Foundation, a
school for Tibetan children which helps preserve their culture. Their
operations are located at Happy Valley which is about 9 kilometers form
Mussoorie’s main bazaars. I went to visit Happy Valley yesterday with my
friend. There is a beautiful temple there and a small hill with Tibetan prayer
flags. It sits in the beauty of the mountains. What a peaceful refuge!
The rest of this week went really well too. I learned to
make samosas on Monday night and made some major progress in my Hindi studies.
Habib commented on the strides I made this week, so I realized that I am
improving.
Those are the highlights of my news from the week. See below
for lots of pictures.
Margaret
The road to Happy Valley.
Outside the temple.
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