Rewalsar Lake

Rewalsar Lake

The fearless librarian hit the road, on the 23rd of April, for a short trip to Rewalsar, India. A short trip involved getting to the bus station in Dharamsala, finding the local bus to Mandi for a six hour ride and then from Mandi to Rewalsar another local bus for an hour. We’re talking about the buses where all the seats are taken and so many people pile on that the inside of the bus seems dark. Noone is passed by on the road – they just keep stuffing in. The roads are up and down s curves all the way so many people get sick. The Indians quickly cover their noses with their scarves (maybe that’s why they wear them!) and the monks cover their noses with their shawls. They also all try to move to the opposite side of the bus – seems precarious to me as the buses are about a foot from the sheer dropoff. Anyway it’s quite exciting. Also there is a thrill at not hitting anything on the road – people, cows and donkeys are roaming in the middle of the roads and dogs are curled up sleeping and don’t move. I’ve finally figured out the dog’s gig – they curl up and sleep all day on the roadways and then bark all night long.

Why would anyone want to go to Rewalsar? It is also called Lake Rewalsar but it seems like it is a small pond upon which are several Tibetan Monasteries (Nyingmapa sect), 3 Hindu Temples and a Sikh Temple. For the Tibetans it is known for the 8th century monk Padmasambhava who departed from Rewalsar to spread Buddhism to Tibet. He is also known as Guru Rinpoche and a huge monument is in the making with his statue at least 10 stories high and probably more. The workmanship is incredible. To give an idea of the size Guru Rinpoche’s fingers are each larger than a man.












A major highlight of Rewalsar is at the top of the mountain (another bus ride or a steep walk) where there is a Hindu Temple and slightly down from that are a series of caves on a steep slope. Some caves have been turned into homes by Buddhist Nuns and some house artifacts, statues, meditation centers and a huge statue of Guru Rinpoche in a deep cool cave. I can see why the nuns like living there as the views are breathtaking, the caves are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They maintain the various caves for tourists and pilgrims and thus earn enough donation money to by food and necessities.

While I was looking into a Gompa where a Puja ceremony was taking place the monks motioned me to come in and sit so I ended up spending the afternoon with them. During every part of the ceremony they included me: butter tea, tsampa, a bag of offerings, 10 Rs., water offering and a few other things. At the end I had a bag of goodies (cookies, candy, etc.) which I decided to give to the beggars. As I walked to the beggars encampment some children literally attacked me, before I even got near their camp. They grabbed the bag, which I tried to hang onto, and were all over me. As you can imagine I lost that battle. There were between 5 and 7 of them ranging in age. I continued walking and went right up into their camp and tried to talk with one of the women explaining that I was coming to give her the bag of food to disperse among the children when they grabbed me & the bag. I also made it clear that it was unacceptable for the children to touch people. Meanwhile the men were beating the children with cane and the children were fighting each other for some of the contents of the bag. The Tibetans watching were in sympathy with me and word got around pretty quickly what had happened. As I continued my Kora (a traditional Buddhist pilgrimage walk) around the lake they would point to me and relate the story. Amazingly the next day the beggars were packed up and gone. Probably coincidence.

Hindu images from a temple on the lake:
(notice the monkey & elephant theme)

Drigung Kagyud Gompa,close-up portions of Tibetan wall paintings. The detail is quite amazing.

Signage of the Week: (Dedicated to GAHS English Dept.)

Monkey of the Week:
(Hanuman)

Abstract Art of the Week







Picture of the Week: (Dedicated to Amber Dostie!) Cleaning the ears of young monks at Drigung Kagyud.

Short Quiz:
1. What is a Gompa?
2. Define Puja.
3. If you were attacked by a group of beggar children what would you do?
4. In your opinion how can most American people be so blind to the suffering of people in Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, Pakistan, India, and Iraq to name a few. Wealthy individuals (e.g. Oprah, Richard Gere) foundations and corporations are trying to attack the illiteracy problems but the need is so vast. Is there something you can do? Please explain.
5. Find three official sites on the Internet that address hunger, genocide, or illiteracy around the world.

The Story of Nikki:

I met Nikki at the Tushita Centre workshop on Peaceful Living and Dying. She is from Canada and is a psychologist. She is here volunteering for an organization called Lha. The specific program she works with was started by a Tibetan man to give back to the Indian community. Nikki is working with the beggars from lower Dharamsala with a focus on encouraging women to get health care for themselves and their children. She goes right with them to the doctors having gained their trust. The organization has selected about 25 children to be educated with the goal of ending the cycle of begging for them and also for them to serve as role models. Because of the Caste system and family behavior a beggar comes from hundreds of generations of beggars. Lha has a lending library, kitchen for cooking classes, computer training center, free English & French classes, clothes distribution, etc.
"The primary goal of Lha is to facilitate an easy transition for the Tibetan community in exile and provide a long-term rehabilitation resource centre that provides an educational, cultural and social service bridge to the refugees in North India." from http://www.lhaindia.org/ retrieved 5/01/07