I have finally arrived back in Kalimpong - to Diwakar Buddhist Institute - where just one year ago we all were here with the Kudung of Shamar Rinpoche, spending an immensely powerful three weeks here on our way to Kathmandu for the cremation. This place is like a lost heaven realm, with its lush greens and flowers swimming in a sea of mist, calm and cool, being back here brings my heart and my mind so much peace.
This was one of Rinpoche's favorite places, and I share his love for it and all that it embodies. The monks here are of such a distinguished breed as well, their faces so full of life and warmth, their demeanor calm and mature, gracefully passing their days in deep study and contemplation. Graciously inviting me once again to share their home with them, to share their practice space and life stories again - in the company of smiling faces and gentle hearts, in the beautiful misty hills of Kalimpong I am once more.
Everyday, as part of their intense program here there is a rigorous schedule of classes, practice and study. From memorization and self study to group puja, group cleaning and English classes. They make Tsa-Tsas, sleep, eat and study some more, all as a group, deeply devoted to both their personal and group practice as well as deepening their knowledge of Dharma and worldly subjects as well. This is a place for intense traditional study, a place where spending days and nights immersed whole heartedly in their work has trained them to be extremely prolific and knowledgeable in their subjects, and the result is staggering. I am beyond impressed; with their abilities, their knowledge, their candor and the calm way about them, these are truly devoted students, gentle and humble, kind and generous - they are deeply respectful young men.
Each evening after their classes they form groups and have a debate about the subjects discussed that day - departing into what could only be considered a truly unique form of study. Coming from the west I have never seen anything like this before, as they determinately toss the argument and counterargument back and forth from one student to the other. One group makes a strong point and they all clap their hands together, as the argument rises in intensity and volume, so do the claps as it all echoes down the halls and creates quite the mixture of energy and sound. They laugh and they are serious, they encourage their classmates to form better or stronger opinions, to back up their arguments, they are pushing each others limits of knowledge in a way that I have never seen before. In several rooms on several floors at once this is going on. In the main building you can hear one group upstairs come to an agreement all the way from downstairs as the clapping and yelling grows and grows, then finally ceases as a point has been decided for the winner.
In a well needed break from the heat of Delhi we are now completely surrounded by mist, the green hills in all directions are covered and the air is thick as if ready to rain at any moment. I have been wishing to return here since last year, when it was beyond full of people, never ending activity and heavy emotions I was unable to enjoy it as I can now. Now I can walk the grounds, literally stop to smell the roses in the garden, spend some time in the beautiful Gompa, with its wall to wall thankas and the soft light coming in the windows in the afternoon. Coming from Delhi this is like a different planet, cool and relaxing, a special place in the mountains that I have always called home from the moment I arrive. Even the road trip up, as we come closer I begin to feel like my body becomes lighter, a warmth in my heart, and a smile on my face that I simply cannot remove. I finally have some time here to relish in the pure beauty of this place and its inhabitants. In the mist, in the green mountains, with the sound of debates and puja in the air - this place is heaven on earth.
Rinpoche’s presence is here, he has left so much of himself here and one can feel it strongly. This was a place he put all his heart into, and though the final time I was here with him he had left this physical world only weeks before, I can still feel him here now. Standing alongside me, staring back at me from his throne on which his photo still beams his luminous and ever caring face back at me. This is, and always will be Rinpoche’s home, and his unique and powerful spirit will never leave.
This was one of Rinpoche's favorite places, and I share his love for it and all that it embodies. The monks here are of such a distinguished breed as well, their faces so full of life and warmth, their demeanor calm and mature, gracefully passing their days in deep study and contemplation. Graciously inviting me once again to share their home with them, to share their practice space and life stories again - in the company of smiling faces and gentle hearts, in the beautiful misty hills of Kalimpong I am once more.
Everyday, as part of their intense program here there is a rigorous schedule of classes, practice and study. From memorization and self study to group puja, group cleaning and English classes. They make Tsa-Tsas, sleep, eat and study some more, all as a group, deeply devoted to both their personal and group practice as well as deepening their knowledge of Dharma and worldly subjects as well. This is a place for intense traditional study, a place where spending days and nights immersed whole heartedly in their work has trained them to be extremely prolific and knowledgeable in their subjects, and the result is staggering. I am beyond impressed; with their abilities, their knowledge, their candor and the calm way about them, these are truly devoted students, gentle and humble, kind and generous - they are deeply respectful young men.
Each evening after their classes they form groups and have a debate about the subjects discussed that day - departing into what could only be considered a truly unique form of study. Coming from the west I have never seen anything like this before, as they determinately toss the argument and counterargument back and forth from one student to the other. One group makes a strong point and they all clap their hands together, as the argument rises in intensity and volume, so do the claps as it all echoes down the halls and creates quite the mixture of energy and sound. They laugh and they are serious, they encourage their classmates to form better or stronger opinions, to back up their arguments, they are pushing each others limits of knowledge in a way that I have never seen before. In several rooms on several floors at once this is going on. In the main building you can hear one group upstairs come to an agreement all the way from downstairs as the clapping and yelling grows and grows, then finally ceases as a point has been decided for the winner.
In a well needed break from the heat of Delhi we are now completely surrounded by mist, the green hills in all directions are covered and the air is thick as if ready to rain at any moment. I have been wishing to return here since last year, when it was beyond full of people, never ending activity and heavy emotions I was unable to enjoy it as I can now. Now I can walk the grounds, literally stop to smell the roses in the garden, spend some time in the beautiful Gompa, with its wall to wall thankas and the soft light coming in the windows in the afternoon. Coming from Delhi this is like a different planet, cool and relaxing, a special place in the mountains that I have always called home from the moment I arrive. Even the road trip up, as we come closer I begin to feel like my body becomes lighter, a warmth in my heart, and a smile on my face that I simply cannot remove. I finally have some time here to relish in the pure beauty of this place and its inhabitants. In the mist, in the green mountains, with the sound of debates and puja in the air - this place is heaven on earth.
Rinpoche’s presence is here, he has left so much of himself here and one can feel it strongly. This was a place he put all his heart into, and though the final time I was here with him he had left this physical world only weeks before, I can still feel him here now. Standing alongside me, staring back at me from his throne on which his photo still beams his luminous and ever caring face back at me. This is, and always will be Rinpoche’s home, and his unique and powerful spirit will never leave.
