so last time i tried to post here.. i think two days ago, the internet shut down and i had to write out by hand everything i'd written.. so let me write that here and then try to fill in the gaps:
"So i got to see the dalai lama up close and personal-ish. it's funny there were a lot of Tibetans that come just to see him in the morning and then leave for their daily routine, and the ones that stay were some of them gossiping or chatting amongst themselves rather than listening to what he had to say.. but of course they're not buddhist so i guess it's not interesting to them.. just ironic because one of the things he was saying is that simply praying to him (they do an awful lot of that what with the prostrations/fullbody prostrations, and prayer wheels and prayer beads) and believing in him didn't constitute a Buddhist practice. But rather, intellectual analysis followed by meditation on the results of said analysis are more important.
So the format is pretty much the Dalai Lama speaks for 10, 15, 20 minutes at a time. this is followed by a Korean translation(the koreans requested the teachings in the first place) with the English one over the FM radio. so it's a long, long, interesting experience for a paucity of content. also, the Dalai Lama tends to laugh a lot, but somehow the humour is completely lost in the translation. but the content is good - advanced stuff which answers specific questions on specific texts and such as asked by the Koreans. much different from the sortr of stuff he usually gives to Western audiences. {sidenote - i met a man whos been in India for a while studying Yoga who says that last time it was fora group of Singaporeans and he would alternate between English and Tibetan, making the humour and subtlety a bit more accessible}
In the afternoon, there's a 2-hr review session (which i will be off to after a grab a quick bite to eat today) with the English translator, who is himself a competent rinpoche, and includes a Q+A session. of course i have many questions but limited myself to one each time {except yesterday i left early b/c it wasnt the usual guy it was an older monk speaking in Tibetan with these young kids for translators, and they were quite confused/unprepared and mostly just repeated what H.H. had said early in the morning}. Today's {sic - that was Wednesday's} was really good as he was talking about the Big Bang theory and its relation to beginingless mind.. something like that.. i would have like to have kept harping on that point but of course refrained. it's a circular, paradoxical, complicated and difficult logic, buddhism. a lot of the questions i come up with i find i can answer myself, but then the answers dont leave me quite really satisfied.. so i think the key difference is the experiential part of it, which is what i really need.. so if that's the case i might come back and take one of those 10-day numbers up here.. but who knows.. india's one step at a time. "
That was as far as i'd gotten, but i also met wednesday a kid from Iowa who's teaching English as part of a Christian NGO .. he's been around a few places, but is now teaching Tibetans here.. i asked him something along the lines of does he teach the Bible too? and that sparked a looong conversation that could have kept going had i not been on my way to the review session then, too.. it was good though, i think i got a few points across to him, arguing on behalf of buddhist philosophy v. christian "original sin" and "ultimate forgiveness through jesus christ and jesus christ only". something along the lines of "how just is it of god to only admit those to 'heaven' who've heard of him and chosen to believe in him.. what about all those people you're teaching english to who havent.." i dont know it was an indepth conversation.. but i give him (Matt is his name) all the credit for not making it an emotional thing like most do, and for honestly debating the points and agreeing to disagree where necessary.
I also met .. well .. a bunch of people since then - an artist from Ireland.. a crazy old Norwegian guy (who i actually ran into last night.. apparently i had offended him the first night with the Irishman by talking politics and war specifically.. but we sorted it all out last night and it's all good, i think.. but he's not my type - just an old man touring the world looking for girls.. he's been alll over the world since 87, including the depths of Africa and some places he probably shouldn't have been.. and it's not my place to judge him so i'll just leave it at that). and a kid from Holland and one from the UK.. and a kid who's living in Utah who left last night to head back to the US.
Then yesterday afternoon i went back up to see my friend Allan - proprietor of the Snow Monkey which is closed for the winter if you remember.. anyways i got stopped on the way by a Tibetan kid and conversed with him for a bit so he could practice his english, and then found Allan and had a great conversation with him as usual. he's just living a straightforward life, with no time (as he says) for bullshit. but with plenty of time to grow his own fresh herbs, and make cheeses, and cook good food.. the little things that are important in life.. :)
Anyhow on that note i should go get food.. i had a bad dream this morning, which tends to be a sign that i've slept too long. i've already told my hotel management that i'm leaving tomorrow.. but i dont have a bus ticket and i'm not packed.. and dont even know that i'm ready to go.. it's easy to get stuck up here.. but i really should move on.. so i'll let you know what's up next time. cheers everyone until next time.
