McLeod Ganj - a very quiet place from our experience!
For a town where we stayed the longest during our travels (almost two weeks), we don't have a lot to say about McLeod Ganj!
Don't get me wrong, we loved the town, however the reason we stayed there for so many days is that we booked into a 10-day "Introduction to Buddhism" course at Tushita, which was fantastic. The reason that we don't have much to say about it is that one of the conditions of the course was complete SILENCE, for the whole 10 days! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself...
We scheduled our arrival in McLeod Ganj a couple of days before our course started, so we could get in a few days to see the surrounding area and get to know the place a little. McLeod Ganj is famous due to the fact that the town has become the base for the Tibetan government in exile and it is also the official residence of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama (when he's not out giving speeches around the world!).
McLeod Ganj is situated at an altitude of 1,770 metres, in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh. We arrived in the early evening to find a village surrounded by pine forests and mist, chilly and lightly raining (as it was still the end of the monsoon). It felt like we had just landed in British Columbia and it was a complete contrast to the heat and humidity we had experienced in Amritsar just that morning!
We had met a few travellers on the bus, so we had organised to check-in, then meet up with everyone at McLlo's, the local pub and restaurant where it was refreshingly easy to get a couple of Kingfisher's, have a good dinner and relax!
We got up the next morning and tucked into a hearty breakfast and sorted out what we were going to be doing around town.
One of many hearty breakfasts that we had at our hotel! Tasty!
When you start to walk around McLeod Ganj, not only are the surroundings completely different from the rest of India, however the people are all Tibetan or Asian in appearance. It really feels like you've stepped into a whole different country!
Our first order of business was to get to the post office. Steph had finally gotten sick of carrying around the Turkish lamp that we had bought in Istanbul a week or so earlier, so we packed a parcel to send off to our Australian mail reception service, a.k.a. Auntie Sue (she's very efficient, charges reasonable rates and is highly dependable. Very Recommended!).
The tailors doing a fantastic job, sewing up our package!
Weighing it at around 4 kilos, the whole package only cost about $40 to send - an absolute bargain when compared to sending it from Turkey (we were quoted well over $100). So, in retrospect, it was worth carrying around!
From the post office we proceeded down the hill to the main temple complex, Tsuglagkhang, where the Dalai Lama's residence, Tibetan museum and Namgyal gompa (prayer house) are located. The pathway took us through the mist and the forest, passing many Tibetan buddhist monks and nuns.
Prayer tablets on the pathway around the complex
One kindly nun advised us that we were walking the wrong way, happily nattered on to us in Tibetan for about 20 minutes and then posed for photos with Steph. She was a classic!
The kindly nun that gave us directions
The complex is the equivalent to the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, sacred to Tibetan buddhism and containing many relics rescued from the destruction of monastries during the Cultural Revolution.
The statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the gompa
The statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the gompa
Light offerings outside the main gompas
Steph spinning the prayer wheels outside the temple
We also visited the Tibetan museum which details the history of Tibet as a country (with evidence of its recognition as such from many Western countries), Tibetans flight from their homeland after the Chinese invaded, as well as the many deaths of Tibetans and destruction of monasteries during the Cultural Revolution and subsequent periods of unrest.
The Dalai Lama's message of peace and non-violence is one that he actively takes throughout the rest of the world in his efforts to reclaim self-autonomy in Tibet and Tibetan people's rights to freedom of religious expression. The depth of the Dalai Lama's compassion and capacity to forgive is all the more amazing when you read about the history of abuse and cultural destruction that the Tibetan people have suffered.
The history of Tibet as a country and their own, unique cultural identity.
The Dalai Lama's message of peace and non-violence is one that he actively takes throughout the rest of the world in his efforts to reclaim self-autonomy in Tibet and Tibetan people's rights to freedom of religious expression. The depth of the Dalai Lama's compassion and capacity to forgive is all the more amazing when you read about the history of abuse and cultural destruction that the Tibetan people have suffered.
The history of Tibet as a country and their own, unique cultural identity.
The Dalai Lama's message of peace
The next day, we took a little time to walk up to the village of Bhagsu, where there is an impressive Hindu temple and bath, as well as a waterfall. It also had a shop that seemed completely dedicated to silly hats, which is always fun!
Steph trying on a purple mohawk hat - last seen on the catwalks of Paris...never!
Steph and I made the small trek up there, in the rain. It wasn't too bad, and the falls were pretty impressive. As usual, there were a small crowd of young Indian men waiting to have their photos taken with Steph - a bit strange, however we posed for a couple of snaps before heading back down the hill.
After our "big day out" we headed to our new nightly hangout, McLlo's, where we met up with our friend Mehdi as well as a few of the locals that we were beginning to get to know on a first name basis.
Steph trying on a purple mohawk hat - last seen on the catwalks of Paris...never!
Steph and I made the small trek up there, in the rain. It wasn't too bad, and the falls were pretty impressive. As usual, there were a small crowd of young Indian men waiting to have their photos taken with Steph - a bit strange, however we posed for a couple of snaps before heading back down the hill.
The pool in Bhagsu Village - straight from the mountain stream (read here - bloody chilly!)
Steph at the Bhagsu falls
After our "big day out" we headed to our new nightly hangout, McLlo's, where we met up with our friend Mehdi as well as a few of the locals that we were beginning to get to know on a first name basis.
Mehdi, Steph and I enjoying a couple of Kingfisher's.
Some of the locals that we seemed to always bump into!
After our couple of days in McLeod Ganj, we were ready to head up the hill to Tushita to begin our 10-day "Introduction to Buddhism" course.
The stupa at Tushita contains the remains of Lama Yeshe - the founder of the Buddhist organisation that Tushita is affiliated with - and several sacred Buddhist relics
We assembled in the dining room for orientation, where we were assigned rooms, we paid our donation for food, etc. and we also handed in anything that could be a distraction, such as books, iPods, cameras, computers and other things.
We were then assigned "karma yoga", which is a code word for chores that you have to do everyday to assist in the running of the camp. Steph and I were lucky enough to be on toilet duty, which we shared with a South African couple , Mark and Natasha. They split us up, again to prevent distraction, Steph and Mark did the "up the road" toilets and showers, whereas Natasha and I had the kitchen block toilets! Fantastic!
The stupa at Tushita contains the remains of Lama Yeshe - the founder of the Buddhist organisation that Tushita is affiliated with - and several sacred Buddhist relics
We assembled in the dining room for orientation, where we were assigned rooms, we paid our donation for food, etc. and we also handed in anything that could be a distraction, such as books, iPods, cameras, computers and other things.
We were then assigned "karma yoga", which is a code word for chores that you have to do everyday to assist in the running of the camp. Steph and I were lucky enough to be on toilet duty, which we shared with a South African couple , Mark and Natasha. They split us up, again to prevent distraction, Steph and Mark did the "up the road" toilets and showers, whereas Natasha and I had the kitchen block toilets! Fantastic!
On the plus side (and you are encouraged to look at the plus side of all things), the toilets only had to be cleaned once a day which meant that after a half hour or so of chucking out used toilet paper and scrubbing walls and squat toilets, we were completely done for the day!
The path up to the dormitories at Tushita
The camp had a few rules as well:
We had until dinner time that night to get everything out of our systems, after which the "cone of silence" descended and the camp became a real Buddhist retreat in the mountains.
The gompa where we had most of our classes and meditation sessions
Hmmm...so to sum up 10 days of teachings about Buddhism as well as several hours of meditation a day is nigh on impossible, so I'm not going to even try. However, from a personal viewpoint, I was fascinated by this religion that I had previously known nothing about, amazed by its accepting nature and came to love the "luxury" of having 10 days to do nothing but take in information and look at oneself more deeply.
The new gompa, recently finished with a 3-story tall statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.
It was a great experience and I can only hope that I'll have a chance to do it again someday. For anyone thinking about doing it, I can do nothing but recommend it as a fantastic opportunity to learn more about yourself, others and to question the generally accepted notions of how the world works.
Even if you don't accept the concepts and notions of Buddhism, it is a great opportunity to really gain a fresh insight into your own happiness, the benefits of meditation and recognising your own behaviours and actions. By concentrating on the things that you can do differently, as well as how you act towards people around you, you can make your life, as well as the lives of people close to you, more happy and more rewarding.
The path up to the dormitories at Tushita
The camp had a few rules as well:
- No killing - not even a mosquito
- No stealing
- No lying - not even "exaggerating" (which Steph has assured me is not lying)
- No "Activities of a Sensual Nature"
- No intoxicants, including alcohol or tobacco
We had until dinner time that night to get everything out of our systems, after which the "cone of silence" descended and the camp became a real Buddhist retreat in the mountains.
The gompa where we had most of our classes and meditation sessions
Hmmm...so to sum up 10 days of teachings about Buddhism as well as several hours of meditation a day is nigh on impossible, so I'm not going to even try. However, from a personal viewpoint, I was fascinated by this religion that I had previously known nothing about, amazed by its accepting nature and came to love the "luxury" of having 10 days to do nothing but take in information and look at oneself more deeply.
The new gompa, recently finished with a 3-story tall statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.
It was a great experience and I can only hope that I'll have a chance to do it again someday. For anyone thinking about doing it, I can do nothing but recommend it as a fantastic opportunity to learn more about yourself, others and to question the generally accepted notions of how the world works.
Even if you don't accept the concepts and notions of Buddhism, it is a great opportunity to really gain a fresh insight into your own happiness, the benefits of meditation and recognising your own behaviours and actions. By concentrating on the things that you can do differently, as well as how you act towards people around you, you can make your life, as well as the lives of people close to you, more happy and more rewarding.
Our classmates at Tushita
The monkeys that live in the trees around the camp - very entertaining!
One of the three dogs at the camp, their main job, we've gathered, is to scare the mischievious monkeys away
On the last day, after two days of intensive meditation, we were allowed to speak again. It was strange getting to speak to people that you had hardly talked to at all in the previous 10 days, and yet you knew so well!
We all left in the afternoon and agreed to meet up again at McLlo's for a last farewell as some people (ourselves included) were leaving McLeod Ganj for destinations further afield that night.
We all left in the afternoon and agreed to meet up again at McLlo's for a last farewell as some people (ourselves included) were leaving McLeod Ganj for destinations further afield that night.
All the classmates at McLlo's
Everything was going swimmingly well until Steph, looking for a bathroom, managed to take a wrong step and conveniently sprained her ankle just before we got on the bus. Fantastic! I looked at the bulging joint with some dismay as Steph commented that she had never actually done this before.
Being a veteran of 5 sprained ankles during my lifetime (I played rugby - 'nuff said) I knew that Steph was in for a few weeks of pain. Also, having no ice or compression bandages, we had to settle for simple elevation and rigged up a sling on the bus so Steph could keep her ankle raised.
Ah, well - I was wondering what karmic action Steph had done to deserve this (I'd bet she was killing those damn mosquitos!), as the bus started trundling down the road and onward to Manali!
