tibet

i had the incredible good fortune of seeing the dalai lama on the day before i left  india.  the dalai lama - as head of the tibetan government-in-exile - spends a good portion of the year in his adopted home, mcleod ganj, a small village near to dharamsala, about 15 hours bus from delhi.  mcleod ganj is magnificently perched on a mountain ridge 1800m above sea level, surrounded by lush green forest and spectacular waterfalls; it is a great place to spend a week, month, or year, and is accordingly filled with foreigners, many of whom graciously donate their time to the local tibetan community in exile.

more than 30,000 tibetans live in mcleod ganj, part of a diaspora that numbers into the hundreds of thousands.  travel for tibetans in china is highly restricted; the vast majority of the diaspora were forced to brave the high himlayan passes to escape tibet and seek asylum in india and other countries around the world.  many of the tibetans in mcleod are working in government, ngos, or in the monastery; sadly, many are dealing poorly with the internal effects of losing a homeland.  yet mcleod is unconditionally inspiring: hundreds of foreigners live year round in mcleod to provide education and technical skills that will help ease the adjustment period.  the spirit is one of hope, and in a place so inspired by love and compassion, it’s hard not to get caught in the idealism.

most optimistic of all is the dalai lama, who overwhelmed my experience with his serenity, laughter, and smile. the dalai lama arranges public teachings several times annually to discuss varied topics in buddhism; the dalai lama is the rare political leader who unselfconsciously integrates his spiritual belief into his political affairs.  nothing i can say about him can do justice to the power of experiencing his presence; his baritone voice  sang with emotion and understanding that i am not poetic enough to describe.  nor am i well-versed enough in buddhism to responsibly recount his teachings.  but the experience was exceptional, and it inspired a deep interest in the pursuit of further awakening and understanding.

nearly four weeks earlier, i stopped in shimla, a regional capital high in the mountains, en route to the high valleys of the transhimalaya.  tibetans had come from across india to participate in a peaceful protest, similar to ones that had been broken up by chinese soldiers in tibet earlier this year.  while the leadup to the olympics in beijing have shed some deserved light on the plight of tibetans still living within the territory that was annexed by china in 1949 - and while the facts remain unclear to this uninformed observer - the passion of these seemingly non-violent and loving people alarmingly hints at the monstrosity of the reality.  here, below, are a couple snaps of that candlelight vigil.

a tibetan man on the streets of shimla, near the beginning of the protest.

members of the crowd await the featured speakers.

local indian women from the kinnaur valley - as denoted by the green brimmed hats - join the tibetan community’s protest.  in the kinnaur valley, a lush area abutting the border with china/tibet, the people consider themselves midway between men and gods; the combination of hindu and buddhist temples in their villages speak to the way they have integrated comparably modern practice with their ancient customs.  in 1962, the chinese invaded india via the kinnaur valley, temporarily occupying the territory and perhaps affecting the constitution of the kinnauri people towards the chinese.

a tibetan woman in the candlelight vigil.

kinnauri and tibetan sit together by candlelight in shimla.

tibetan monks lead the procession to shimla’s mall, carrying a portrait of the dalai lama and the flags of both tibet and india (left).

a tibetan monk in the procession.

the crowd moves towards shimla’s central mall.  many of the attendees were teenaged tibetans who no longer wear traditional garments.  a generation of tibetans has been born in exile, many of whom work in the tourist trade or attend conventional indian schools, yet struggle to maintain a connection with their homeland.

the procession arrives at shimla’s mall.

a tibetan monk places his candle into a formation intended to resemble the map of chinese-occupied tibet.

members of the crowd place their candles to form the words ’save tibet’ (across the top).

the monks and the dalai lama mark the end of the procession, intended to mark the anniversary of the convention that established the border between eastern tibet and northeastern india in 1914.