Free Tibet! - Uprising Day

It's Uprising Day - the 51st anniversary of the 1959 uprising in Lhasa, Tibet.

If you don't know the story of Tibet, now is a really good time to educate yourself. I don't know much myself, but from what I've learned so far, it's brutal and disgusting what China has done and continues to this day. Other than cruel tortures, and blatant human rights violations, they have forced Tibetans to give up their robes and wear Maoist uniforms, they've forced them to stop practicing their religion, and have even done things like make them use their treasured scriptures as soles for their shoes! Messed up!

And, this is China! You know... the country that makes all that stuff you buy which says "made in China" on it! You know... one of the major superpowers in the world! (By the way, I'm officially boycotting "made in China" goods starting today)

If you thought George W. Bush was bad, well... at least we've got democracy. At least you're not wearing a uniform right now and forced to pledge your allegiance to the nation.

Really, I'm not an expert on this, but please exercise your right to free information (which China also doesn't have), and educate yourself on Tibet today! (In China, the citizens probably won't ever even see a blog post like this.) Allowing the truth to shine through is probably one of the best remedies for this horrendous situation.

Not to mention that the Dalai Lama has been trying to get into peace talks for 30 years, not even asking for an independent Tibet. All he's asking for is for the brutality to end. All he's asking for is for the Chinese to actually live in line with the principles set out in their own constitution.

If it seems like I'm chastising you...
It's Uprising Day! Speak Out!

Here are some resources I've found in a 2 minute google search:

Human Rights in Tibet

US relationship with China and Tibet

How You Can Help


~Peace~

Readers Write: Compassion in The World

I've been writing some long email responses to some of the readers of my blog (ie. friends and family), and since I already did the writing, I figured I could put some of it here (edited some) and share the message with everyone. Hopefully I won't upset those who wrote to me. This one's from my Dad. He writes:

Hi Daniel,
Happy Losar – belatedly.

...Here is something you can find when you look up the city on Wikipedia: "Dharamshala" is a Hindi word (derived from Sanskrit) that is a compound of dharma and shālā . An approximate translation into English would be 'spiritual dwelling' or, more loosely, 'sanctuary'.

Cool! I just read that the Dalai Lama's ideal goal for Tibet would be that it becomes a "global peace sanctuary!" A place for human's and animal's to live simply, compassionately, and at peace. I love that idea!

...On Saturday at a dinner, I sat across from a fellow who talked about being red-green color blind which got me thinking about that feature again. I wonder how you see the myriad colors of India. Your photos are wonderful. I found a web site that simulates different color blindness visions

I loaded the image, 17th_karmapa_funny_face_losar.jpg, into the simulator and tried the different options. Tibetan red is a nice dark color; good contrasts. When you get back maybe you can help me see as you see. At any rate, in any hue rendering your photos are wonderful.

Thanks. Nothing like some fatherly appreciation!

Yesterday on the radio I heard a piece on the new Delhi ragpickers. Trash pickup is being privatized and at the moment is displacing ragpickers with private contractors – there are hopefully fixes to get the ragpickers employed or running such businesses. One person interviewed used to make 360 rupees a day and could afford to send his kids to school. Now he makes 100 rupees a day and has his whole family helping him. I think 100 rupees is about $2 a day. Yipes.

I have been reading an India atlas and looking up information on Bihar. Last year was a horrible drought year e.g. "With crops failing, 3.3 mn people in Bihar risk death by hunger" November 30th, 2009 ICT by IANS By Sahil Makkar. And, another article: "Even after 50 years of planned development more than half of the population of Bihar are classified as poor. According to All India Statistical Data 1999-2000, 54.63% of total population of Bihar survive in absolute poverty i.e., they are living below poverty line. It means, they do not even receive the minimum basic needs of livelihood." I realize it must be a painful experience, but you are really there in the middle of this intractable situation.

Bihar was incredibly poor, yes. It was announced during the retreat that on one very cold night in Bodh Gaya, 4 villagers had died of the cold. Too poor for proper warmth and shelter.

I am glad you saw the Dalai Lama. He is full of joy and good sense. I think about what it is like to struggle for justice for your whole life time. You know you will not succeed in your lifetime. And still to have such joy, humor, practicality, and intensity of purpose. I think he is one of the most remarkable people in the world. And, he was tapped for the job. He did not fill out an application. But he stepped up to the job.

Love,
Dad

About the Dalai Lama, I totally agree with you, and it has been a wonderful experience both to see him, and to see the impact he's had on the people of this village. On the flip side, I have been exploring another issue which is the issue of "spiritual celebrity." I heard it said by one teacher in the west that we (as westerners) don't know how to deal with the concept of a "guru" or a spiritual teacher. We don't have a good model for it. (Probably there are lots of poor models for it worldwide, but specifically speaking about the west...) We have preachers, and we have the pope. But, perhaps more influential, we have celebrities! And, so, this teacher was suggesting that a lot of people who want to live a good life may fall back on the celebrity model when they don't know what else to do.

I think it'd be a shame to say that the love of the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan people is any better or more important or more dazzling than say the love of a mother for her child, or the love of a child for bananas! I'm not saying that you were suggesting such a hierarchy, Dad, but this aura of celebrity does seem to surround the Dalai Lama, and I think it's disempowering for the heart of the individual. Anyway, enough said about that.

Thanks for sharing, Dad, and I hope you don't mind me passing on the message with others.

Travel Update: Resting in the Clouds

After three days of strenuous travel and more debilitating illness, I've finally arived in the beautiful mile-high village of Mcleod Ganj. Just up the hill from Dharamsala, Mcleod is set at the entrance to the Dalai Lama's residence.

It is beautiful here, and exactly what I was looking for. There are cool mountain breezes, many fun shops, and quite unbenownst to me, the Dalai Lama will be coming in just two days! And, he's giving a teaching on the Jataka Tales on Feb 28th.

I found a room for 100 ruppees (about $2.50) per day, and already found my favorite momo lady. (Momo's are the Tibetan and Nepalese version of the potsticker). Four Momos for 10 rupees cooked fresh on the street. I think I'm dreaming!

I'll share a quick note on the health front. The trip from Varanasi to Dharamsala took about three days altogether. I ended up getting very sick in Pathankot (I think from the train food). I didn't think I'd have the energy to get on a bus and make the six hour treck to Mcleod Ganj, but I sure didn't want to stay in Pathankot. So, I pushed on. I thought I would be paying for my impatience, but actually, I woke up this morning feeling tons better. I'm still healing, and adjusting to the altitude, but I'm planning to stay for at least a couple weeks without going anywhere or stressing about anything.

As always, I will write more soon when I have the time, but I wanted to keep you all posted on my whereabouts.

Travel Update: Sleeping Safely In Sarnath

I'm alive!!! It's a happy day here on the Tibetan New Year in Sarnath (the birthplace of Buddhism.)

I got sick again with a short fever, followed by a painful stomach bug and then a wicked cough. I went to the doctor and got 4 kinds of medicine. Wow. And, the entire visit to the doctor (with medicine) cost 135 rupees or about US$3. I spent two whole days in bed, mostly sleeping.

Today I'm feeling great, with a little cough still. And, I found out that while I was sleeping, a bomb went off in Pune, India! Terror alerts went into effect in parts of India after the attack. Don't worry, I'm no where near any of it, and unless the Chinese decide to attack the Tibetan 17th Karmapa, I don't foresee any terrorist attacks in sleepy little Sarnath any time soon. It's nice knowing that Buddhism seems to do a great job keeping it's hands clean of holy wars.

The attack, however, was at a favorite German Bakery of many backpacking budget travelers. I'm told they served great cappuccinos (which are hard to find in India). So, I guess there is some cause for concern. But still, I think I'd have a greater chance of getting hit by a speeding bus in the insane road traffic here than being victim of a terrorist attack.

Feeling the great joy of being alive this morning, I was fortunate enough to go see the 17th Karmapa! They had a wonderful little new year's celebration on the lawn to entertain him (or bore him, as was sometimes the case.) I got some incredible photos and had such a fun time enjoying the celebration. It felt incredibly intimate with probably about 100 people there at most, especially considering that this guy is a sort of celebrity in Tibetan Buddhism. Everyone was smiling.

The internet in Sarnath is very slow, and there are only a few computers that seem to be quite busy with travelers, so unfortunately I won't have any photo uploads for a while.

Also, I wrote a bunch in my journal on the bus ride from Bodh Gaya, so I've got a backlog of Blog material to type up. Blogging will just be a wonderful practice in patience.

My plans have changed again (which makes me wonder why I use the word "plans" anyway?) Actually, there is no plan right now. But, I was planning to continue my Buddhist pilgrimage to Kushinigar (where the Buddha died) and then to Lumbini, Nepal (where the Buddha was born.) These four sites in all make up the traditional Buddhist pilgrimage. Then, I was going to do some more meditation in Lumbini at a center there called Panditarama-Lumbini.

Two things have made me reconsider. One, my health. Two, there is a new regulation that just went into effect with Indian visas. Now, the law states that a person must leave India for at least 2 months before returning. Since there were more things that I wanted to do in India, I might just stay here for a few months before heading into Nepal, or wherever the next destination may be.

Three (ok, three things made me reconsider)... I found out about a retreat that I might be interested in for more meditation. It's a long retreat in the foothills of the Himilayas. Plus, visiting the Himilayas has been a dream of mine for a long long long time.

I'm also considering taking a break at a yoga ashram just to take care of my health. But, still meditation is my first priority, and trekking and yoga will fit in if the "plans" make it fit.

Anyway, that's my update for now. Mostly, I wanted to let you all know that I'm safe and sound, and I'll be in Sarnath for at least 5 more days or so.

Happy Losar! Happy Tibetan New Year!
Oh, woops, I just looked online and saw this article: "Dalai Lama urges Tibetans not to celebrate New Year" apparently in solidarity with those in Tibet who won't be celebrating.
So... send your blessings, instead, to all the people around the world who don't have the luxury of celebrating holidays (there are a lot!)