Long-time ATC supporter Jill Lancashire shares some of her experiences on the November 2010 Dharamsala Insight Tour.

Day 6: Tibetan Children’s Village
Got up at 6:00 and headed for a kora around HH the Dalai Lama’s temple. Dashed back to catch a taxi to the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) in Upper Dharamsala. Given the visit was organised by the ATC we got a red carpet tour by the school’s deputy director. It houses about 2,000 kids. In total, the TCV looks after approximately 16,000 children across India. 60% of the students at Upper TCV were from Tibet. Their parents have sent them to get a good, traditional education which allows them to preserve their culture. The parents value their culture so much that they send their beloveds over the mountains and away from them, possibly forever. Local Tibetans from Mcleod Ganj pay to send their kids as day students. There is also a TCV branch school in Lower Dharamsala with 750 kids.

We first went to the kindergarten room which is run on Montessori principles. All the tikes were working earnestly on different tasks. Some came over to say hi or slip their hands into an adult’s. The wall was a mass of pictures and slogans including “We love India, home away from home” and “Free butterflies excite Tibetan children naturally”. The kindergarten and primary age accommodation is based on a “family” approach simulating living in a family home: girls in one room, boys in the other, a common room, a kitchen and a wash area. There were beds, mattresses and doonas and one soft toy per kid, but it was still spartan. “Mothers” are trained for a year to look after them. I was completely floored to know that the mothers and teachers are VOLUNTEERS working out of patriotism.

Schooling is conducted in Tibetan with English as a second language. When we visited a well-stocked library, the kids were reading books in English. After Year 10, the kids choose one of three streams: science, humanities or commerce. I’m unclear about when the school changes medium of instruction to ensure entry standard for an Indian university. After graduating, 70-80 kids go back to Tibet to join their families. However if it is discovered they are TCV kids, it is highly likely as they just appear in the village, they cannot get an employment using their qualification.

We were served tea and biscuits while the President addressed us at the end of our tour. Alison presented 80 hats and 25 jumpers knitted by the Cheltenham Probus Club, organised by Rosemary (mum of Sheena who used to work at Tara Institute). The ATC and a few group members offered donations. The TCV reps gave us books about the school and I again felt I’d received more than I had given.

In the evening we had another delicious Indian buffet at Surya Hotel and met the representatives of the Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA). They presented each of us with a khata (traditional Tibetan scarf), a book about TWA and a CD. They were mainly young, well-educated and articulate women. Everyone in our group was humbled by their knowledge, dedication and motivation.

Day 7: Tushita Meditation Centre
Started with the kora again and then walked down the hill to find a Tibetan NGO working on the environment. But we missed it and ended up in Lower Dharamsala, the Indian part of the town and totally different from Mcleod Ganj. We wandered around and saw all sorts of wild and wonderful (and not so wonderful) sights. It wasn’t until I got back into Mcleod that I realised how different it was to the Indian town. I’m liking it more and more.

The afternoon was a trip to Tushita Meditation Centre, the second FPMT centre. When I attended the first FPMT dharma celebration in 1982, Tushita was a slightly dilapidated but still a stately, large and old colonial home. It has now changed into a series of new stylised Tibetan buildings - absolutely beautiful, as were the grounds. Both have been meticulously designed, built, and surprise, surprise, meticulously finished! Yet they retain the feel of the many masters and meditators who have lived on that hill. The surrounding forest is also intact, and the monkey population is thriving. The program coordinator gave us a tour including the three gompas (meditation halls). We met with Ven Robina Courtin for tea and biscuits and most of us then joined the Green Tara retreaters for an intro chat about karma. I didn’t go. I’ve been curious to see the old house/cowshed I retreated in 28 years ago and wandered down a path that said “Keep out: Retreat in progress”. I found it! Some Tibetan monks were living in my shack. It was clean and spartan without any young hippie trimmings or superfluous gear anywhere. I wandered around the hill and saw Chopra House where HH Ling Rinpoche used to live. All the while I was aware of how deeply calm I felt. It is extremely peaceful up there. I’d earlier heard an offer to see Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s room (if you were a student). I fell over myself at the opportunity. I went in and was confronted with a room whose every square inch was full of deity statues, thangkas, light offerings and full mandalas. I felt it as silent and holy and wished he was there. There was one tiny sink and an electric jug in one corner as the sole signs of the amenities required for daily living.

When I came back to Mcleod, I was walking very slowly. There’s still magic in those hills. That evening we attended a talk by Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan poet and activist. He gave us a detailed and scholarly talk (in perfect English) about Tibet and the Chinese occupation. One concept he focused on was how the Tibetans had only ever been farmers, nomads and spiritual practitioners and how unprepared they were to an age of which they had no comprehension when they first came to India. He explained how hard it had been for them to conceptualise how to organise themselves given that they had to engage in hard manual labour to stay alive. If they were unorganised then, they are highly organised now, with intelligent young Tibetans wedded to the cause of returning to Tibet. Speaking to some young Tibetans earlier in the week, some want a fully independent Tibet. Since HH the Dalai Lama put it to the vote, they will follow his will and not go beyond it. Big night, a lot of information.

Day 8: Green Tara empowerment
I’m feeling tired today, so skipped the kora and the walk to Bagsu village and waterfall. Picked up a few trinkets in the market and I’m in the coffee shop using free Wifi. Kids at home must be happy to have the house to themselves, no mail again today. I enjoyed wandering and talking with people.

Today is the day for Dagri Rinpoche’s Green Tara empowerment teachings. Bought a clean top to wear and took a taxi to Tushita. Rinpoche provided some context and described what we should be visualising, bit by bit. Each bit was concisely and expertly translated by a young Greek nun. That approach made the process understandable and I managed to hang in there with the visualisations. I feel I received the empowerment. I showed my partner and friend my old meditation house and walked down the hill.

Went for a beer on a rooftop garden, a few of the others were already there. Most of the group met up at the Italian-flavoured Carpe Diem for dinner. It is the first time I’ve been on a group trip, and I’m liking having instant company for dinner and conversation. I also like that there is time/space to do my own thing. A well-balanced mix really.

Jill visited Dharamsala on an Insight Tour organised by ATC. The next Dharamsala Insight Tour is scheduled for November 2012. Click here for more details

Read Dharamsala Insight Tour Diary - Days 1-4
Read Dharamsala Insight Tour Diary - Days 9-13