Dear Family and Friends,
we are back at Dharamsala (from Ladakh) and
just finished the 10 days retreat at Tushita monastery. It was
fruitful yet challenging as I struggled with a very traditional
Buddhist discourse (even though it was taught by a Western Buddhist
nun). After a certain amount of struggle with Buddhist traditional
teachings on no-self, non-attachment, abandoning anger and desire- in
their rather all-or-nothing exposition, I was glad to find a book in
the library (Buddhist practice on Western ground, by Harvey Aronson),
which saved me at least 10 years of confusion by building more delicate
bridges between East and West, between differences in culture and
imperfections of translation. Highly recommended!
We are staying in Dharamkot,
a small and quiet village above Mc Leod Ganj, just 5 min walk from both
Tushita and Vipassana centres. It is favored by Israelis and boasts
not one but two Chabad houses ( Jewish Orthodox group)- this morning,
despite of my declaration
of non-Jewishness, Teodora and I were invited for Kabalat Shabat, a celebration of Shabas.
We are planning to stay here for another week to hear a talk by
Tenzin Palmo
, a Western Buddhist nun, who is famous for her forward teaching
style and her Buddhist resume, which includes meditating in a cave for
13 years.
Then we will go to
Bir ( a small Tibetan colony 4 hours from Dharamsala) to attend a conference on Buddhism and the arts. and then....and then...
Please see the two new sets of pictures from Ladakh:
monasteries and views of Leh (capital of Ladakh)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69781927@N00/sets/72157602394853100/detail/
and our 9 days trek in Markha Valley, Ladakh:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69781927@N00/sets/72157602611284180/detail/
and to check out my travel picto-stories go to:
http://adventures.worldnomads.com/members/articles/default.aspx
I am also attaching Teodora's last letter describing our
adventure in Ladakh and if you wish to view our travels from her
delightful perspective, go to:
