Journeys with Pantha

Bir 2011

2011-11-10T10:39:00.000+11:00

We spent a couple of days visiting Bir ... so many interesting places to see. Thanks to Graeme Ross for most of the photos.

Some vagrants in the temple at Deer Park Institute

Deer Park Institute is a centre for the study of classical Indian wisdom traditions. The core vision of the Institute is to re-create the spirit of Nalanda, a great university of ancient India in which all traditions of Buddhism were studied and practiced, alongside other schools of classical Indian philosophy, arts and sciences.

the monks rooms from the temple steps

Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro Institute has a faculty of highly trained khenpos and hundreds of students enrolled in an intensive nine-year graduate program. There are eleven classrooms, a library, computer and reading rooms. Each year the students undertake the study of two major texts or commentaries, plus subjects such as logic, grammar, monastic discipline, and poetry.

Look out, those hang gliders are wild

Bir was full of hang gliders from all over the world for some competition ... the ones staying in our hotel were very loud & drunk Russians who decided to sing...


Tea in flower ... spot the caterpillar

Ive seen so many tea plantations and never seen her beautiful flowers before

Sponsoring at Tso Pema - by Chloe

2011-10-27T02:51:00.001+11:00

Preparations for sponsorship at Tso Pema

Day 4 – Tso Pema, Himachal Pradesh, India. We were dropping off a sponsorship to a Tibetan lama. While there we met an older woman who was on the sponsorship list from last year and nobody had volunteered to sponsor her. She started to cry and her desperation was palpable ... and it broke our hearts. This was just one reminder to us of the value of this work. That $200 can change someone’s life for a year; the cost of 4 weeks of cappuccinos in Australia!

Many recipients were in tears of gratitude when they received their sponsorship money, to think that there is someone on the other side of the world to care enough to give them money to survive.

The honour and privilege our family felt to witness and be a part of this process which makes such a strong bond with the people, was immense. As my daughter Mallory said, these people have so little, but gave us so much grace, gratitude, joy and love. We went there thinking we were helping, but in fact received so very much.

There are so many stories, too many to share here. But if anybody wants to know more and feels the desire to hear some first hand accounts, please feel free to contact any of us through Pantha.

It was such a wonderful, wonderful experience. We would highly recommend anyone to take the opportunity Pantha offers to journey with her to these beautiful settings and meet these astounding people. We not only got to witness the importance of these sponsorships to them, but also felt profoundly accepted, nurtured and humbled by them both as individuals, and as a community .

Mallory, Graeme & Chloe

Tso Pema School - by Mallory

2011-10-16T17:46:00.000+11:00

Mallory & the kids

Many thanks to Mallory for this special guest post

DAY TRIP TO SCHOOL

On Friday I was given the opportunity tospend a day at the Tibetan school.

I think the memory of that day will staywith me my whole life. It was one of the most amazing experiences that I havebeen able to take part of in my life. I wouldn’t trade the memory of the kindchildren for anything.

When I arrived at the school the kids weredoing an exercise outside so sat down on a chair and watched. After that all ofthe younger students came up to me to shake my hand and say good morning. Fromthat time I new the day was going to begin. The older students went to class tostart work while the younger kids started to play with blocks. I was stillsitting on a chair with two of the teachers while a hand full of young girlswere cuddling the teachers. It was so lovely to see this because I saw how muchthe kids respected the teachers and the teachers respected the kids back. Thenone little girl grabbed my hand and led me over to where all of the otherchildren were playing. She sat me down on a cushion while a group of girlsswarmed me with blocks and pretended it was make up. In a way I was glad theydidn’t have real make up other wise my face would have had fifteen differentlip sticks, eye shadow blush etc.

Then a little puppy decided to join us. Iwas consistently telling the children to be gentle with it and they were. Thelove all of the young kids had was just wonderful.

I then played a coupe of rounds of badminton with various children and teachers while two little kids were fightingover who got to give me the birdy after it had fallen onto the ground.

After that my parents cam to look at theschool and all of the kids were in class. After my parents left I sat into oneof the classes and watched the boys learn English. After that period everyonesat down and ate lunch.

After I finished my meal that was verytasty three girls lead me to a class room where there were a swarm of kidsdrawing on the black board.

At the end of the day all of the youngerstudents and I were sitting in a circle while the kids were singing and twogirls were hugging my arms and giving me kisses.

The whole day couldn’t of been better. Irealised that all of the children didn’t have much yet they seemed like thehappiest children I have ever met. They were happy to go to school and learn.Another thing that really made me smile was the love that the older childrenbestowed to the children younger then them. The older boys looked after theyounger kids as if they were related. It was a reall small school with around42 children and the really were just like one big family! I am so glad I wasable to have the privilege to visit the school and I would visit again if Icould in a heart beat!

Tso Pema 2011

2011-10-14T21:53:00.000+11:00

Visiting Tso Pema is always such a heart warming experience, so many old friends to meet and stories to share.
This morning we met lots of people looking for sponsorship while Mallory spent all day playing with the children at the nursery school. A many momo lunch with Ani Tenzin and exploring the amazing Guru Rinpoche statue (85 feet tall)

Now I am hiding in the internet cafe cos if I am seen entering the hotel a cue immediately begins snaking down the hallway and as you can probably tell from trying to make sense of this I need a little rest so my brain can start working again.

Delhi 2011

2011-10-11T20:49:00.000+11:00

Prabhuta & Pantha in Pattachitra Lounge

We are loving Delhi, hanging out at the beautiful Shanti Home catching up on the thirty odd years since we shared a house in India. Ready to head to the hills tomorrow.

Tso Pema March 3,4 & 5

2010-03-14T21:25:00.007+11:00

Tso Pema .... the last few days

Wednesday 3rd March

Today the Tso Pema Tibetan Kids Garden Nursery School is open again after their winter vacation. Yangchen Dolker, who manages the school, welcomes & cares for the new students. Their school room is the old office as their playroom was declared too dangerous for anything but storage ... holes in the floor. Some of them are bitterly disappointed I dont have bags of lollies & others are fascinated with their image in the camera.

We say good bye to four of the young monks who have now finished their schooling. The nun who has been teaching them Tibetan for the last year has impressed everyone with her skill. All over town people whisper to me how grateful they are to have her.

Thursday 4th March

Some sponsors arrive for the day. For the first time this visit it pours with rain so we scuttle around trying to avoid the mud. We visit the school again ... a new teacher starts today & we listen to him teaching English. One of the new students just cant believe i would turn up again without lollies ... when i offer him a banana instead he looks at me with complete disdain.

After lunch we go up to the Holy Cave of Guru Rinpoche. We meet the nuns ... have some mandatory tea & tears ... sit for a while in the Holy Cave & light butterlamps for a recently departed friend.

It is so wonderful to spend time with Ani Bumchung again.

Friday 5th March

After breakfast the sponsors leave in a whirl of katags & excited young children.

Inspect the new washing machine bought by the health & caring project for the old monks at the Nyingma Gonpa. Happy to see how excited they all are by this small machine & to see (& smell) how clean their rooms are now.

Ani Wangmo is crying again ... Tulku Choying Rangdrol is in hospital in South India where they think he will get the best care. We ring his wife who is by his bedside. No-one knows what the right English words are for his condition, all i can understand is there is something wrong with his bones, pancreas & heart. I give her a small donation towards the spiralling cost of the hospital. Momo Yeshe's has been sick as well ... her blood pressure is too high ... need to bring some more blood pressure monitors next trip. Some more nuns have arrived & get their photos taken in the hope of sponsorship. Thupten Jigdrel has lost a lot of weight ... not another one sick I hope ... no he says laughing ... he has been doing lots of prostrations every day & is now very fit!

After a long day of catch ups I arrive back at the hotel at 9.30pm to find a cue of a dozen people waiting ... perhaps I should open a 2nd hand katag(offering scarf) shop...

Try to sleep ... have to leave at 4am to drive to the airport. Some young monks in the room next door are so excited to be staying in a hotel they have turned their tv to top volume to watch bollywood soaps ... they giggle & gossip excitedly til 1am. I remind myself that if they were in my position they would just go to sleep ...

BIR 24th Feb - 2nd Mar

2010-03-09T09:55:00.005+11:00

Bir is beautiful ... wide open skies .... photos seem better than words

An evening view across the valley to the himalayas. Every morning the peaks are covered in snow that recedes during the warmth of the day (relative warmth of course!)

I always have to take a photo (or 10) of the beautiful Chokling Monastery, seems to look good from any angle

Deer Park, where the teachings (Way of the Bodhisattva) are held. It must be morning cos the mountains have more snow

Our teacher, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. The statue reminds me how much things have changed ... lute( I am sure it has a lovely Indian name but lute is all I can think of) replaced by mobile phone

Sardines in Manjushri Hall (Deer Park) waiting for the can to open

An inspiration for vegetarianism. Thought it was a snake underneath but when I asked ... it was sausages!

Tso Pema Days 7 - 10

2010-02-24T00:28:00.002+11:00

Day 7 20^th Feb

Today is filled with small things …requests for sponsors addresses, photos to give sponsors, detailed descriptions of old ladies ailments etc etc Ani Thupten Palmo arrives to boss us around for a while. Sonam reads her letter from Jo to her several times & she marches off to find a new address for Jo to write to. I pity the monk who was meant to be collecting them before … he is in big trouble.

Sonam takes the faulty heater back to the shop & returns with another one …. the plug is so big it doesn’t fit in any socket! We laugh & laugh, perhaps I am meant to be cold. No he says & takes this one back to the shop demanding they chop the plug off & fit a smaller one. When he returns & plugs it in hot air comes out… a small miracle …

Day 8 21^st Feb

Monks are scrubbing the courtyard of the Nyingma Gonpa, flags are being hoisted and auspicious symbols painted on the road. Are they getting ready for Guru Rinpoche day (24^th Feb) already??? A car full of monks pulls out of the gonpa, gets stuck & does a 20 point turn before revving wildly & taking off. A nun nudges me & says they are off to meet Yangsi Dudjom Rinpoche who is coming to Tso Pema today. All day people, often complete strangers, come up to me & tell me he is coming … “the greatest man on earth today” “He is Guru Rinpoche in person” “Only 20 years old & the essence of wisdom” … it seems impossible that anyone could live up to all this hype.

When I go down for some evening koras the roadside is packed, we wait & wait. Guess he will be on the right side of the road as is 4 deep on that side, I opt for the left & hope I wont be elbowed out of the way! Police walk up & down demanding everyone stay inside the lines painted on the road. At last can hear a procession coming … Indian men appear playing instruments & in the distance see Indian men carrying a throne … how odd … suddenly they too are ordered off to the side & a cavalcade of cars & 4 wheel drives slowly drive past. So many monks in the cars its impossible to tell which one he is … someone leans out of a car & pushes a bunch of plastic flowers in my face, hope that wasn’t him. Must be looking bewildered as the young woman next to me says “Not yet not yet” I turn back & look straight at a beautiful young man dressed in white who nods & laughs at me … I forget I am waiting for the Yangsi & cant help but watch him continue up the road. The young woman next to me starts jumping up & down “Yes yes yes him in white, him in white” Wow … He was worth the wait!

Follow the swarm of people up the road to play with Samdrup (Dr Dorjee’s son) again. He is grumpy, tired & hungry but thrives on the attention & we are soon playing, much to his mum’s relief.

Day 9 22^nd Feb

This is the 8^th day of the Tibetan month … Medicine Buddha day … practice

Day 10 23^rd Feb

Spend today saying goodbye to all the children who will have left for boarding school by the time I return to Tso Pema. Sad but happy to have seen them all again after so long. It is raining lightly … more & more people arrive … can only go clockwise anywhere … the throng of people doing koras insists all go with the flow.

Happy to be heading to Bir tomorrow

Tso Pema Days 4-6

2010-02-21T19:25:00.005+11:00

Day 4 17^th Feb

At last Sonam has found my sleeping bag & I sleep warm all night … bliss!

Spend the morning discussing the different options for the school, we are hoping the landlord will give them another years lease as Yangchen Dolker already has enough pressure for the moment & to move the school in May would be very difficult for her.

Meet Ani Wangmo on the street, she babbles endlessly in Tibetan gesticulating wildly & crying. Eventually someone comes past who can translate for me and tells me Tulku Choying Rangdrol has been rushed to hospital in Delhi. I do a Kora with her & hold her hand while she continues to weep & babble.

The Health & Caring project that provides cleaning & general care for 15 old people here has bought the old monks a washing machine. They love it & find it quite exciting to use! Also found room for Jamphel in an old peoples home at Dharamsala. Many thanks to the health sponsors for their support & kindness.

Day 5 18^th Feb

Meet Ngakpa Karma Lhundup & we enjoy tea & a chat. He & his children are all looking well & his son has grown quite tall now. Rigzin (son) reminds me when he came to Byron Bay & saw the ocean for the first time, he gets excited again just thinking of it.

Ani Bumchung comes down from the caves to visit me … she too is looking great & I think this might be a happier day. She brings me fresh milk, bread, butter, honey, cheese & fruit. The table in my room is now piled high with fruits, juices, biscuits etc from all the people popping in to say hello. I keep giving things away but the pile just seems to grow.

Sonam & I head up the hill to Ani Tenzin’s for lunch. There are houses built over the path to her house so we wind up & around & through them … the house next door to hers is about a foot away so the view from her window is now a brick wall. She is happy as always, continually muttering prayers. We eat piles of veg momos with chillies, but not enough to keep them happy, “ you not like our food” “you eat like bird” Tell them I’m not an elephant just a small human but they still tut tut me.

On our way back through town we notice all the Tibetan shops are closed again ??? Ngawang Phagpa passes by & tells us Tenpa died this morning & they are preparing for his ceremonies & cremation in an hour. Tenpa taught English to the monks at one of the monasteries.

Day 6 19^th Feb

All three transfers have arrived at the bank so we make arrangements for the $s to be collected from Mandi. Next time we will write cheques … should be interesting trying to spell everyones names!

Play with Dr Dorjee’s son showing him all the photos on my computer & give his mum a small break from the endless harassing. The children all go back to their boarding schools next week.

Sonam buys me a heater, I plug it in with much hope .... nothing happens.

Dr Dorjee's widow & son

Tso Pema Days 1-3 Feb 2010

2010-02-19T22:29:00.006+11:00

Day 1 14^th Feb

Today begins as a blur. Off to Delhi airport at 4.30 am … luckily after all the check in & security cues there is still time for a very strong coffee before flying to Bhuntar.

Arrive in Tso Pema at lunchtime. The street is full of Losar (new year) pilgrims saying their prayers as they circle the lake. The sun is shining brightly.

Walk with Sonam to visit his wife who is sick in bed. Their landlady has installed a couple of other people in the bedroom & hallway so their once beautiful flat is now a minor hell realm. They and all their possessions are cramped in the lounge room which the new tenants walk through to use the bathroom or kitchen but they are stuck there til the peak season finishes & there are other flats available to rent…no wonder she is sick I can only stand it for half an hour.

Back at the lake I meet Dr Dorjee’s widow. The pain of her grief is so tangible … she comes back to my room to cry and tell me all the details of his passing. Feel so inadequate in the face of her suffering but comfort her as best as I can. She dreams of him every night & can’t believe he is gone, neither can I.

Phew, time for a kora (circumambulation) Most of the small Tibetan shops & street stalls are closed for their annual holiday & I don’t see any one familiar. Then a shriek as Lhakar sees me, she is so happy, her daughter is here for school holidays. I haven’t seen Tashi Lhamo since she started boarding school four years ago & its wonderful to see how much she has grown and how well & happy she is. Lhakar is so proud, she tells me Tashi Lhamo is the first girl in her family ever to go to school. They invite me for dinner, homemade noodle soup, made with love, yum.

Day 2 15^th Feb

Wake up at 3am shivering, already wearing my jumper so put on hat & coat & crawl back under the blankets. Breakfast at Kora Café inc very strong Indian coffee. Vijay & his staff are always so happy & friendly it’s a great way to start the day. Most of the day spent discussing the school & what to do now. Fortunately his wife is very keen to continue Dr Dorjee’s vision of providing nursery age kids with a valuable beginning to school life. She plans to open again after winter vacation on 2^nd March & then we will see how many students for 2010 (probably around 50). The young monks who also attending the school are ringing her regularly, keen to begin again.

Back to their house for dinner with Ngawang Phagpa, the monk who works tirelessly for the school. Dr Dorjee’s young son is surprisingly affectionate, he tells me how much he misses his father & even wants a cuddle! I’m quite surprised as he used to just poke his tongue out at me. His mum says he wakes up every morning crying & scared she has died in the night.

Day 3 16^th Feb

Even though I go to bed wearing a jumper, scarf, hat & coat I wake again at 3 shivering. I get up and make some tea to warm me.

Thakpa’s shop is open again & he comes to collect all the parcels Helen sent with me. I go to their house for lunch & his young son is having a great time playing with all the toy cars she sent him.

Meet the nurse from the Health Centre & hear all the sickness & accidents news. Nana has broken her hip, Gen Jinpa has been diagnosed with throat cancer, Tulku Choying Rangdrol has something wrong that the hospital in Mandi cant diagnose. They think it is from him suffering extended torture before his escape to India. Tenpa who taught monks at a gonpa here has severe liver damage & cant get out of bed. Thanks to sponsors kindness we arrange to buy some more basic medicine for the health centre.

Have dinner with the family from Pundah Café. So nice to be with a happy healthy family. They show me a video of last year losar celebration in Lhasa & tell me all the stories from their family. Their young daughter is also home for holidays, I haven’t seen her for years, she grows more & more beautiful & speaks very good English now. She was one of the first children here to be sponsored but last year her sponsor didn’t reply … I hope I can find her a new sponsor but she is 12 now & its always harder to find for the older children. She plans to become a doctor & I’m sure she is capable. They offer me orange wine, strange taste but warming!

Lhakar & Tashi Lhamo