It's the 11th of August today. I'm going to try and get everybody caught up with my "super exciting" life up til this point. FYI... I'm listening to The Bon Savants' 4 available songs over and over again, and over again so any creative energy or lack of can be directly attributed to Thom's musical genius.
I left off last time after I arrived at Hemis after my extended trek. I stayed in Hemis for two days just wandering around the large monastery and the surrounding area. Every morning I would attend the Puja (buddhist prayer) for an hour and a half and then spend sometime with some locals that were doing repairs on a buddhist monument. I would bring candy, they would give me tea and cookies. We would just sit around smiling since there was a large language barrier between us. I'm learning more and more that friends don't need to speak the same language to get along.
One afternoon I took a walk up to a second monastery about 2 km away that the monks use for meditation retreats in the winter. It was in such a beautiful secluded place high above any type of disruptions. I wish I could have stayed for a while (maybe like 2 years or so) Well, not really. I'm not becoming an escapist or trying to hide from the world. Just developing a real appreciation for places that are peaceful. If I ever do find such a place for myself, you're all invited.
My stay in Hemis was a nice finish to the trek. I found a place with real beds to sleep in and enjoyed eating at the nearby restaurant and speaking Nepali with the two waiters there who were from Nepal. I haven't been able to learn much Hindi or Ladakhi since my arrival in India. It was nice to speak a different language for a while.
After two nights of loitering I decided to move on, or actually back to Mahabodhi, the meditation centre. I had left my extra things there and initially just planned on staying a day or two to relax. A nice Colombian girl and I took a bus there and upon arrival found out that a short meditation retreat was beginning the same afternoon. Quite convenient. We joined and I spent the next 4 days investigating my mind and taking one more baby step to liberation and NIRVANA. The teachings weren't fantastic, but I'm learning not to expect much from teachers anymore. Just take what I can from them and form my own meditation technique for the time being.
I was inspired during the course to do my own private retreat and 2 days after the course finished I holed myself up in a small meditation cell that has been built into a nearby mountainside. For the next 5 days I kept complete silence only coming down from my little hermitage for lunch once a day. For breakfast I would use my stove to cook tea and porridge. My time throughout the day was spent in meditation and contemplation. It was a very productive 5 days. Productive in what way you might be wondering... That's hard to explain. It was a definite test of my patience and discipline. Not much else to say about my experience in seclusion. And don't worry, I'm still the same guy. Meditation for me isn't about changing myself but recognizing who I really am, something that I never took the time to explore til now.
The couple of days following my retreat were fun. I was a bit of a mess. It was only 5 days, but the readjustment to the "modern" world seemed like I must have been in seclusion for a month. I have been mainly practicing mindfulness meditation (developing awareness of all that surrounds me) but came out of my cell a clumsy fool. Walking into the toilet room to take a shower. Knocking things over. The only thing I was mindful of was my unmindfulness. It was frustrating at first but soon I was able to just observe myself and laugh it off. Not trying to change things and just accept myself is a great way to relax.
I waited a few days before venturing out of the meditation centre into the real world to protect any innocent bystanders. I find everything, loud noises, rude people, all types of situations that are usually irritating or frustrating to be very tolerable. Even enjoyable at times. I can't change my surroundings, but I can change the way I react to my surroundings. I can't look at things in such a balanced way all of the time. With continued practice, maybe I can.
For the past couple of days I've been staying with a family in Leh. I spent about an hour walking around town when I first arrived trying to find a place to stay but had trouble finding an empty, cheap place to sleep. I was heading up a side street and saw an old woman washing vegetables in a stream. I used my little bit of Ladakhi. She asked me if I wanted a room. I said yes and followed her to her home with a large bag of vegetables in my hand. Its a really great place to stay. No other guests, just me and the family. The father and one of the daughters speak english really well. They give me tea whenever I want it and my room is big enough for six people with 2 chairs a couch and a meditation cushion. Oh yeah, a bed too. Last night a couple of the kids entertained me with singing and dancing.
I am leaving for Shang again today. Its the place I spent 8 days at before. I was going to go someplace new, experience one of the other many wonderous places this area of India has to explore, but had more of an urge to go back to Shang. The main reason is to tell Thomas, the German meditator, about the Dalai Lama coming to Ladakh in a week to give some teachings. An event that he said would be the only reason for him to come out of his retreat. He holds the Dalai Lama in the highest regards and respect and will be very excited to hear of this. He helped me out a lot so I look forward to paying back some of his kindness with some of my own. It will also be nice to see Wangyel and the rest of the villagers again.
Now I'm off to enjoy some Kashmiri food for lunch then catch my bus to Shang a few hours later.
Thanks for reading.
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