A Taxi Ride & Nicky Breeland

I visited India and Nepal for the first time on a Buddhist pilgrimage led by Shantum Seth in 2007. The following — which I wrote in a travel journal in Dharamshala, India — is from my 2008 trip, about a year later.

In the taxi back to the guest house, I sat in the front seat, clinging to a bar on the roof by the window while the tax wound uphill on the narrow road. Looking through the windshield, I kept thinking the driver would hit other taxis, pedestrians, or bikers. We often drove close to the ledge. The passenger’s seat was on the left, and until then I only sat on the right the backseat. I peered at a sheer cliff just to my left, tensed my shoulders, and held on tighter; I kept expecting to fall off.

Fortunately, lively conversation took place in the back seat, and I frequently turned to look at the other passengers, Shantum, Samaya, and Sheila. Gee, we all have names that begin with “S.”

The conversation centered upon, among other things, Vajrayana (or Tantric) Buddhism, which (Zen instructor) Shantum described as “a lot of mumbo jumbo.” Like me, he considers compassion and lovingkindness more important than knowing how to do esoteric Tantric practices. (This is largely why, though I originally thought I’d take up Tibetan Buddhism, I chose Insight Meditation.) Shantum’s skeptical about Vajrayana but pointed out that Nicky, a Tibetan…