Moonland

Did I tell you that Dharamsala was my favourite place in India? Well, that was before I saw Ladakh! I'm officially in love with this place! It's a perfect place for Vio!

We arrived to Leh with Baska and were both immediately enchanted with the people there. They are amazingly soft, quiet and extremely kind. Their magic word for everything is "juley" (pronounced "joolay"). I can tell you, you feel like a queen of England when a lady on a street greets you with the most cheerful smile and "juley", like you just made her day by simply being in her way!
And of course the landscape! Endless mountain desert - sometimes only rocks, sometimes sand, sometimes some attempts of a greenery. The vast space that one gets there is humbling you to a little human being that should know his place on Earth and respect the Mother Nature. You can feel there the power of the giant mountains and the altitude, the weather that can change in some minutes, the power of water that destroys rocks, roads, floods the villages, the power of the sun that burns you painfully within quarter of an hour...
We are on the roof of the world! Leh, the biggest town, is at 3500m. My body sometimes felt like not my body - less oxygen made me tired, breathless or dizzy...but bloody happy to be there :-)

Buddhists everywhere. There is so much peace and kindness in the air... If the whole world could be like this :-) Although Buddhism had originated in India, Ladakh and Dharamsala are remaining oasis of this religion in India.
Ladakh used to be a kingdom. Going through different rulers and periods of better or less good prosperity, it was finally joined with India by the British in 1947. They still feel Ladakhi though, not Indian.
It's the most clean state in India I have ever seen. The eco conscious and self sustainability is very present for obvious reasons - for most of a year they are cut off from the rest of the world. Nevertheless, at the altitude above 3000m they have electricity (with frequent power cuts but what to do!), Internet!, little veg gardens by every household and efficient distribution of drinking water (to avoid plastic bottles).

I intended to trek here a lot but it happened otherwise, as often during travels. We hanged out with interesting people, having interesting discussions, went around to see old Buddhist temples, had meditation retreat out in one of the villages, learnt to ride a motorcycle! :-)

This a couple...of Ladakhi shousies... :-) 

I like Buddhist idea of locked door - the keys are hanging next to the door :-)













We needed to deserve to ride this bike - we walked for a loooooong time to any open and running gas pomp... Then only we had our fun :-)

A couple of days of trekking gave me a good taste for more! The ever changing landscapes from valley to valley, the vastness and emptiness, the roughness of nature here: hot sun, harsh mountains, fast streams, make it perfect place for Vio! I absolutely loved it!

My night at "million star hotel".
I slept outside like Ladakhi used to do in the summer. Now they don't 'cause don't want to be considered as "backward people" and villein...
Sad, as the climate is perfect for watching stars as you drift into a dreamland.
And that's the view when I opened my eyes in the morning :-)

 

Tushita

Tushita is a dharma centre in Dharamsala. I signed up for 2 courses on Buddhism. Since my intro course in Katmandu I'm hungry for more :-)
So in June I've spent 3 weeks basically in silence and meditative ambiance. We were about 120 people in the centre, walking around without talking or looking at each other, we resembled a ghost city. My attention was directed very much inward reflecting how principals of Buddhism are applied or would be potentially applicable in my daily life. And I read and read and read.
The results / conclusions? I don't know. I guess I will see in my every day life in Bxl. And I will let you see if sth has shifted in my old machine :-)
For sure the questioning, new look at life and our endless discussions during the group exchanges, were very stimulating and refreshing. I'd love to have the opportunity like this in Bxl. Maybe instead of a book club or gossiping :-)
My second course was remarkable not only because of the subject (very intellectual) but equally because of my teacher. She is a young ('cause younger than me :-) "geshe" which corresponds to an university PhD in Tibetan Buddhism monastic education. She is German by origin. A s a very young girl she's decided to become a Buddhist nun and study with monks. It didn't matter that back then 1) nuns didn't go through the same education as monks, 2) she did not speak Tibetan (no such level of monastic education exists in English). Well, 15 years down the line, she is the first woman, and western in addition, to become a geshe. And the title is well earned: she is incredibly bright and quick thinker and debater, extremely clear and patient teacher and, to add some colour, very cheerful and good humoured person. All in a nice and good looking body...

Besides getting the knowledge, I had a chance again to enter some wonderful new worlds of other people. Listening to their stories is inspiring. And I hope that some of these worlds will stay close to mine :-)
We have hard time quitting each other - hanging out together for another a couple of days.

 I even hanged out with the men! 2 out of 3 are guys though. So everything is fine - Vio is being her old Vio. 

Tibetans on the day of Dalai Lama's blessing in the big temple.
It's Wednesday as well - the Tibetan day. On Wednesday people in Tibet and Tibetan refugees all over the planet connect in their identity - they wear tibetan clothes, speak tibetan, eat traditional dishes.
The way to keep Tibet alive...

Dharamsala to Leh

Dear Friends,
Txs for your emails!

I have got out from my monastic life some time ago... but I was so much inside me, and it was so nice, peaceful and quiet in there...that I didn't feel like interacting with the internet... :-)

Meanwhile Baska arrived to India and we decided finally that she will join me to Ladakh (instead of doing wet vipassana in Dharamsala). We left monsoony Dharamsala and Manali and came all the way up to Leh - sunny and hot at 3500m of altitude.
It's beautiful beyond the words!!! both in terms of the views with white Himalayan peaks as well as beautiful soft and loving local people... It's a journey into outside peace now :-)
I wished I could give you all the taste of it 'cause it is soul changing to be here :-)
I will take a lot of pictures and update the blog as soon as the power and internet cuts will permit.

Into the buddhist Himalayas now :-)
Juley juley!!! as the ladakhi say :-)

Dharamsala

I'm declaring Dharamsala my favourite place in India :-)

A settlement, quite big by now, on the lap of Himalayas, surrounded by mountains and snowed picks behind. Villages and houses spread on slopes of the mountains.

It's a refuge of Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans who managed to escape the Chinese slaughtering in the 50ties. How many of them didn't make it... Either killed at their homes (monasteries was a special target) or during the escape. Many of them died during the long and strenuous passage through Himalayas or after arriving to India - foreign climate and lack of immunity for the local microbes caused mortal, for Tibetans, diseases.

The place has a Tibetan thus Buddhist feel. It's calmer than the rest of India. People don't hassle you here, don't pull into their shops, rickshaw drivers don't ask for more than is the tariff, bargaining is not a way of buying...

Yet, the politics in India concerning Tibetan refugees is far from being cooperative. Besides kind welcoming, Tibetans didn't get any rights in the country. So they are still foreigners not integrated administratively into the community, which means that they can't be employed or buy a property. I say administratively 'cause on the social level they are very much integrated and made this place their home. But their incomes are generated by selling goods on the streets - mostly their crafts ( beads, bags, bits and pieces) or momos (Tibetan dumplings).
Sorry, latest update. Tibetans, with their national passports, are allowed to start and run their own buissness. At least in this state of India. 

Tourist species is well adapted and settled here as well. People stay for weeks and months on end doing yogas, meditations, playing Indian instruments, tatooing or just hipping around as the clothes and climate prone you to this life style.
The part of this area is an Israeli colony - a whole villages of Israeli tourists. I'm surrounded by Hebrew, Israeli music and food, the signs. I learnt a wrong alphabet - should have study Hebrew instead of Hindi :-) Even the shop keepers, tailor and tattoo artist speak Hebrew for the convenience of customers...I have nothing against Israeli. Their attitude is sometimes arrogant but I guess that's more a group dynamic than any fixed characteristic of a nation. It's just too much dominance of one "group" regardless if it wasGerman, American, Polish or Israeli population. The positive outcome of having them here though is a nice change from Indian cuisine to Middle East one - I enjoy good hummus and falafel :-)












I love it here!
Originally I came to Dharam for Dalai Lama's teachings. I did go to see His Holiness. There is something very touching in his eternal smile and peaceful face, how he walks through the temple (with some difficulties now at his age) and waves his hand humbly, friendly...lovingly...
I didn't much profit from his teachings though - difficult topic and jumping between Tibetan and English translation. I'd love to listen to Him in English.
I profit greatly though from unlimited time to look at buddhist monks and nuns. Some of them have such a serenity and light beaming from their faces!
Monks debating - entertaining to watch :-)

But I greatly profit from my time in Dharam!
I do yoga and teach yoga! I'm gathering experience to be a better teacher in Bxl :-) Siva has a nice space and all that is needed: mats, cushion, belts, etc. I take his class in the morning and give Ashtanga in the afternoon :-) Really enjoying it!
I'm taking singing classes as well! :-) I love it! So far we are working on getting the voice out of my chest and belly :-) It's very screechy and shy as there is a lot of emotions stuck in my belly and not moving :-)
On Friday I go for my Buddhism course so I will be locked up in a Buddhist centre for 3 weeks (with a break after 9 days). No talking, two meditations and three teachings per day. I'm looking forward to it as am absorbing Buddhism at the moment like a sponge :-)
So I will update you on the stat of affairs at the end of June.
Over for now :-)

Quiet me

I had no inspiration to write. I withdrew into my shell. Not even enough opening to meet new people on the way. I had to deal with some of my old ghosts. And some new ones as well... Now, in Dharamsala, I'm finding the paths out of the labyrinth :-) Am getting out of the cloud.

India is boiling hot at the moment. In Bodhgaya it's 42 to 47 degrees C. Delhi became a hot oven with the burning air blowing into your face. During the night it is difficult to have a good rest, unless there is AC.

And in this conditions I spent 2 days and 2 nights crossing India from the north to the south :-)  I shared the pain with a Flemish girl! I felt home talking about Belgium :-)
Bangalore was a nice rest as the temperatures are more liveable there. And Lizz' 5* hotel and her lovely company, was as usual a saving oasis.
Dharamsala is perfect - sun, chill in the evening, rain. But a real rain, not like in Bxl. Pre-monsoon showers :-)

Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya is a sweet little town where the Buddha got enlighten about 2500 years ago. And we still do the same meditation as he did...
You know the story of the prince Siddhartha, who saw the misery of the world (namely illness, ageing and death). He was touched so much that had given up his kingdom (dumped his wife and son...) and went to look for a solution to this misery. He did very ascetic regime for 6 years. When his body was weaken and exhausted from this treatment, he figured out that extremes don't work. So he went middle way, based on common sense and logic (that's what I like about the Buddhism). So prince Siddhartha sat under the Ficus religiosa tree in Bodhgaya and decided that he would not get up before he got the answers to his questions. In the morning, after a nigh of trials, he got up knowing "the truth" and seeing things "as they really are"...