July 14, 2006
Upon arriving in Dharamsala, I was struck by the number of Tibetan monks, cloaked in their maroon-colored robes. Given that Dharamsala is the home of the Tibetan Dalai Lama in exile, as well as its government, it is understandable. The Chinese invaded Tibet in the 1940's, killing off over 1.2 million Tibetans and destroying more than 80% of the Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. Many monks were put in prison and tortured, and Buddhist scriptures, paintings, statues, and monuments were all destroyed. The Chinese called this the "Cultural Revolution," and have since forced the Tibetan people to learn Chinese, denounce their Buddhist heritage and the Dalai Lama, and forced them to work in camps and live in very poor conditions. The Chinese government has encouraged Chinese people to settle in Tibet, and so the Tibetan people have become a minority in their own land. The Chinese have deforested the land of Tibet and used it also for nuclear waste dumps. The Tibetan culture has suffered a great deal, only truly surviving in exile communities like this one and some in Sikkim, India and others in Nepal. Even here, the Tibetans face rejection from the Indian community and government, although they have been allowed to set up education centers, libraries, and museums here for the purpose of maintaining the Tibetan culture and carrying on aspects of their civilization. Some Tibetans were born here, but many monks and other Tibetans came here by walking across the dangerous Himalayan mountain passes to safety from the Chinese invaders. The Dalai Lama came here in this way, and was able to bring with him an entourage of people which were able to rescue some of the valuable Buddhist treasures of the Tibetan civilization.
Today I walked down the mountain to hear a Buddhist teaching by a Tibetan monk at the library. He talked of the impermanence of all worldly things, and of attachments, and how we should not cling to anything or anyone. He spoke in Tibetan, and the meaning was translated by another man into English. I felt very honored to be hearing these teachings in the Tibetan language, spoken by a monk who had most likely crossed the Himalayan mountains walking, to reach this place.
Here there are many shops selling Tibetan handicrafts and goods, and there is a refugee center as well. Traditional Tibetan medicine and massage techniques are taught, meditation centers hold long-term courses, and visitors can eat different types of Tibetan food, much milder than the Indian curries! Soups with flat noodles and lots of veggies, egg, and tofu, and momos, a very similar dish to the Japanese gyoza dumplings.
I moved yesterday to a lovely place (twice the cost of the previous place, $12 per night) perched on a hill, and from my window I have a beautiful view of the mountains and down into the valley, and birds sing in the trees outside. It's very peaceful, there is very little noise, and I'm able to relax and read for a couple of days. I've had a "dodgy" stomach since yesterday, but am feeling somewhat better today. We'll see what happens after I eat something. =)
Yesterday a group of foreigners were gathering to talk about what the Indian government is doing to the dogs in Dharamsala. They decided to kill all of the dogs in town by giving them poisonous pills with food. Yesterday as I walked to my new hotel, I saw 3 dogs dead in the street and one with his legs stiff and straightened in the air, many people gathering around to comfort him as he died. The pills give the dogs a very painful death, taking almost an hour for them to die, attacking their nervous system. It is such a cruel and inhumane way for the dogs to be put down, but they do it in this way because it is the cheapest way to eliminate the large dog packs and strays in the area. The group gathered this morning to express concern for the humane treatment of the dogs and to suggest alternative ways of putting them down, contributing funds and involving an animal humane society for support. I don't know if our efforts will be fruitful, as the values here are much different, and saving money is of first and utmost importance here.
