From Padova to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, via Milano, London and Doha in Qatar. At the airport was my dear friend Ashish Kumar, who with his parents and brother has been working here for years. The last time he invited me – August 2013 – we decided to use my layover between 1 and 7 a.m. for a teaching, figuring that people stay up all night for parties so why not for the Dharma. And they did! I was amazed. I first met Ashish at Tushita in Dharamsala in 2010. This time I had more time, so I spent the last days of January here.
There’s a big enclave of Indians in Dubai. Ashish says that it’s some 40% of the population, and according to a report in 2013 (emirates247.com) about a quarter of the entire population of the UAE is from India. And, apparently, only 1.4 million of the 7.8 million of the UAE are Emeratis. An easy place to go to work for the Indians, and to send money home from, with even the poorest-paying jobs beating the wages in India – for some of course. Some of the richest people on earth live in India!
And, it seems, it’s also where Indian-based Tibetans make their home as well. A woman and her five kids, who’s married to a local man, came to the teachings that Ashish organized. Before the class he told me that he’d contacted the local Tibetan group about the teachings and I said, no Tibetans don’t usually come to something like this. But sure enough, they turned up. I was surprised. She – I forget her name – said it was first teaching they had received!
A Tibetan mother and her children at the Dubai course: she told me it was her first teaching!
A few of the expats at the Dubai teachings: the vast majority of Dubai’s population are not locals.
I’ve noticed at most centers around the world, in cities where there are Tibetans, in the beginning of Buddhism coming to the West it was rare to see a Tibetan at the teachings, as I mentioned. They might come to pujas. But if they did gather it would be among themselves. Makes sense. We’ve all our own styles, our ways of doing things. But I’ve noticed recently, such as in Dubai, but also in the States and the UK, Tibetans for whom English is commonly used, or indeed their first language, like to listen to English-speakers teaching.
I notice, also, that many Indians now are actually practicing Tibetan Buddhism, Ashish being a case in point. I remember when I was first there, in the lat 1970s, and working at Tushita in Delhi, many locals would come to the teachings, but more because for them Lord Buddha is one of theirs, a reincarnation of Vishnu.
Dubai is a curious place, hard to navigate, like all cities that grow up around freeways. It’s this big chunk of sand, basically, with all the activity up and down a skinny slice of land along the water. On the map, most of it looks empty. It’s searingly hot there during the northern summers. Ashish says you have to be careful about advertising Buddhist courses: there are strict rules about religion in the UAE.
Then, via Doha in Qatar, to Kathmandu. Another pilgrimage, just three months since our last one. People really do love going to these places connected to the Buddha. All the same places as before, same itinerary (Postcard 47). As I’ve mentioned, while I ran the prison project we did one every year, starting in 2001. Every year I was amazed at how deeply moved the people were by being at these places where the Buddha had spent his life, teaching. The Indian government does such a good job taking care of these oases. And some of them, such as Sravasti, no one would even go to that part of India if you weren’t going to the holy places.
Root Institute, the FPMT center in Bodhgaya, India, where Buddha attained enlightenment. Photo rootinstitute.com
Offering of an elegantly carved statue of Buddha to Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Root Institute, a gift from all of us pilgrims.
One special event this time was Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s presence at Root Institute in Bodhgaya. Upon our arrival there was lunch outside with everyone. We were so pleased to offer our gift to Rinpoche, bought that morning at the hotel in Rajgir: an elegantly carved statue of Buddha in his ascetic aspect – which Lama Yeshe would refer to as the Skinny Buddha.
Rinpoche’s presence, of course, if he’s not in retreat, ends up meaning sleepless nights, which we happily enjoyed. First was a Yamantaka self-initiation in Rinpoche’s own gompa, which lasted until breakfast. Another night, our last, Rinpoche had accepted our invitation to give Refuge, Lay Vows, and Bodhisattva Vows to those who wanted. We finished around 2am and, after a two-hour nap, we were on our way in our bus for our return flight to Kathmandu in Varanasi.
The pilgrimage group. Our last day together at the Boudha Stupa.
Kathmandu valley. Photo friendlyplanet.com
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Then on to Delhi, to be greeted by more of those Indian practitioners: Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s students who collectively make Tushita Meditation Centre happen: Renuka Singh, who’s been running it for years; Ven. Kabir, an old friend from the UK in the 1970s, who’s the spiritual program coordinator; and Ven. Gyalten Samten, who manages the place day-to-day – I talked about her in Postcard 46. I spent a few days with her at the center.
With Indian sangha Ven. Samten, who manages Tushita in Delhi, and Ven. Kabir, who runs the spiritual program.
Then back to Kathmandu where I stayed a break, staying at Luca and Camilla Corona’s elegant Chadra Ban Eco-Resort north of Kopan.
Chandra Ban Eco-Resort
I stayed for a few days at the end of the pilgrimage with Camilla and Luca Corona at their gorgeous Chandra Ban Eco-Resort in the hills outside Kathmandu.
In the evening of Wednesday March 4 I was scheduled to fly to Doha and then on to London where I’d catch a train for the seven-hour journey north to Scotland for the weekend course at the FPMT center at Findhorn.
I made it, but oh what a drama!
A Turkish airline skidded on the runway while landing at Kathmandu that morning. There was no machinery big enough to haul it out of the way, it seems. First the reports said morning flights wouldn’t go. Then the afternoon flights. But I wasn’t accepting any of it. I decided to take things into my own hands. I asked our dear, reliable Amber, who’s been helping us with our pilgrimages since the beginning, to find me a car to take me to Delhi. There, I figured, I could find a flight to London, then on to Findhorn.
Too complicated to get a driver to take me all the time, Amber said, so departing at 10pm we drove all night, up and over the mountain roads with all the massive trucks, to the Indian border, arriving at 5am. We woke up the Nepalese visa officers, who kindly let us out of the country, walked 500 yards across the invisible border and woke up the Indian officers, who kindly let us in to India. There I met my two Indian drivers who’d do the final eight hours to Varanasi, not Delhi, from where Amber had managed to get me a seat on a plane to Delhi. My British Airways contact in Amman in Jordan, Mona, who organizes my annual round-the-world tickets, had found me the last seat on the only plane we could find that would get to London on time. Noon arrival in London, a plane to Glasgow, and Martin McDonald drove me the final three hours, getting us to Findhorn just in time for the evening talk.
The learning from this? Things change, be flexible, and don’t wait around. In the end, flights didn’t go from Kathmandu for another week, leaving hundreds of unhappy, frustrated travelers, because there is no way out of Kathmandu except the airport or the mountain roads. The mountain roads for me – anything’s better than waiting around! It all cost a fortune. But otherwise what? I’d have missed an entire week of scheduled teachings in the UK, and I couldn’t do that.