Rigon Thupten monastery in Orissa is stunningly beautiful. It is three hours from the nearest train station, along terrible roads, up into the Eastern Ghats, past hot springs and through the 'jungle'. Despite the difficult journey to reach the Tibetan settlement it turned out to be a major tourist attraction- very popular with locals since HH Dalai Lama visited last year for the opening ceremony. This was widely televised, and people were intrigued by the return of Buddhism to their state. Orissa was central to a stronghold of Buddhist practice which stretched from Calcutta down through Andhra Pradesh to Amaravathi and other sites. It was a major centre for Vajrayana Buddhism, and there are many monastic ruins in the north of the state. Tibetan refugees were offered land in these hills 50 years ago, and there are now five 'camps' and about 2000 refugees who have made their home there.
We had the privilege to go to the upper storey shrine room to practice. The large and ornate main shrine room was busy with Indian tourists taking photos. The guest house was comfortable, with intermittent hot water and there was a canteen where a delightful Tibetan woman and her son cooked all our food. It was a magical place to practice and study for a few weeks before 'returning to India' to travel sleeper class on the train (no pillow and blankets provided:-)and explore the ruins of Amaravathi stupa.
