The Dalai Lama

I went to India and Nepal for the first time on a Buddhist pilgrimage led by Shantum Seth in 2007. The following is from my 2008 trip, about a year later

Monks in line to attend the Dalai Lama’s teachings

Last night the rain was torrential, thundery, and loud, The electricity went out, so I wrote a little in my journal and wrote five post cards… by flashlight and under the covers, since the space heater of course wasn’t working. I even draped my new yak wool shawl over the bed as an extra blanket, so I remained comfortable. Sometimes the thunder stopped or even the rain stopped, convincing me I’d fall asleep again soon. But the thunder or rain would start back up again.

I put on my Tibetan chupa today. It’s made of heavy dark blue cotton. I wore it over a cotton Thai-style wrap-around blouse of a dull grey cotton made interesting by strips of metallic silver threat and strips of turquoise chenille woven with the grey cotton.

Those of us staying at Cloud’s End had breakfast in the dining hall, which has a beautiful but cold white marble floor and an impressive fireplace with an ancient stele on the wall over the mantle. This building is a recent addition and will someday have more furnishings and pictures in the big, cold, and echoic room. Maybe rugs… antique Buddhas on the mantel… local art on the walls… but it’s not my responsibility, so I should stop.