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7 - 7 - 7 - 7
Today's date is 07/07/07. It is also Saturday, the seventh day of the week (Sabbath). This is certainly a very auspicious day for numerologists, whose number I don't generally count myself in (get all the puns?).
I'm currently in McCloud Ganj (Dharamsala), home of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government in exile, and a large swath of the Tibetan community.
It's beautiful here, with jagged green mountains, waterfalls, delicious Tibetan noodle soups, clouds that pass through the town, and the ever present monks, wandering around, clad in wine-colored robes.
While I may not pay much attention to numbers, (much to the detriment of my bank account) it was certainly auspicious to see his Holiness today, a lot closer than we expected.
Yesterday was his 73rd birthday and there were celebrations abounding. Today, the Dalai Lama began a series of teachings that will last seven days (there's 7 again). Arriving at when we figured would be quite early (an hour before starting time), we were disappointed to see all of the seats taken, anywhere within viewing of the Dalai Lama. It was packed!
We decided that we would sit downstairs and watch a T.V. broadcast of the teaching on the balcony above. Before resigning to downstairs, we took one more look for seats. I was with a Quebecois, and he noticed a small ledge of cement sticking out into the walkway, about 100-150 feet from where his Holiness was supposed to sit for the teachings. We wondered for a minute about whether or not we could sit there, nearly in the walk-way, and finally decided, what the heck. The worst they could do was ask us to move. But they didn't! And what a phenomenal view of the Dalai Lama all through this first day of teaching!
The teaching was a basic introduction to certain aspects of Buddhism. About halfway through, he hit the microphone with his hand, making a sound like a gunshot. The entire audience jumped! In the past there have been several Chinese assassination attempts on the Dalai Lama, and according to the Tibetan calendar, this is a "year of obstacles" for his Holiness, so naturally, people are a bit on edge. The Dalai Lama had a good laugh about startling everyone. Then we all laughed a bit, some of us in relief. He explained that he did it to wake people up, symbolically out of ignorance, and literally out of sleep. The teaching was in Tibetan, but we listened to translations over FM radios and headphones.
After the teaching and on the way out, he walked about 30-40 feet in front of us. He has quite a presence and the desire to be near him is akin to Catholics and the Pope. It's a bit different though, as his bodyguards don't carry guns, and he isn't behind bulletproof glass.
This is the second time I have laid eyes on the Dalai Lama, and perhaps it will be the last. I'm not certain that I have the energy to sit the way I did today, on cement, with twisted spine.
All the same, a very special day, that will end (hopefully) with a sitar and tabla concert, followed by drinks of apple wine with our friends from Quebec...
And no pictures of his Holiness, because it's rude, and you're not allowed anyways, unless you have a press pass. But here is a picture from the internet....
Now, if I get 7 comments on this posting, that will be eerie!
I'm currently in McCloud Ganj (Dharamsala), home of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government in exile, and a large swath of the Tibetan community.
It's beautiful here, with jagged green mountains, waterfalls, delicious Tibetan noodle soups, clouds that pass through the town, and the ever present monks, wandering around, clad in wine-colored robes.
While I may not pay much attention to numbers, (much to the detriment of my bank account) it was certainly auspicious to see his Holiness today, a lot closer than we expected.
Yesterday was his 73rd birthday and there were celebrations abounding. Today, the Dalai Lama began a series of teachings that will last seven days (there's 7 again). Arriving at when we figured would be quite early (an hour before starting time), we were disappointed to see all of the seats taken, anywhere within viewing of the Dalai Lama. It was packed!
We decided that we would sit downstairs and watch a T.V. broadcast of the teaching on the balcony above. Before resigning to downstairs, we took one more look for seats. I was with a Quebecois, and he noticed a small ledge of cement sticking out into the walkway, about 100-150 feet from where his Holiness was supposed to sit for the teachings. We wondered for a minute about whether or not we could sit there, nearly in the walk-way, and finally decided, what the heck. The worst they could do was ask us to move. But they didn't! And what a phenomenal view of the Dalai Lama all through this first day of teaching!
The teaching was a basic introduction to certain aspects of Buddhism. About halfway through, he hit the microphone with his hand, making a sound like a gunshot. The entire audience jumped! In the past there have been several Chinese assassination attempts on the Dalai Lama, and according to the Tibetan calendar, this is a "year of obstacles" for his Holiness, so naturally, people are a bit on edge. The Dalai Lama had a good laugh about startling everyone. Then we all laughed a bit, some of us in relief. He explained that he did it to wake people up, symbolically out of ignorance, and literally out of sleep. The teaching was in Tibetan, but we listened to translations over FM radios and headphones.
After the teaching and on the way out, he walked about 30-40 feet in front of us. He has quite a presence and the desire to be near him is akin to Catholics and the Pope. It's a bit different though, as his bodyguards don't carry guns, and he isn't behind bulletproof glass.
This is the second time I have laid eyes on the Dalai Lama, and perhaps it will be the last. I'm not certain that I have the energy to sit the way I did today, on cement, with twisted spine.
All the same, a very special day, that will end (hopefully) with a sitar and tabla concert, followed by drinks of apple wine with our friends from Quebec...
And no pictures of his Holiness, because it's rude, and you're not allowed anyways, unless you have a press pass. But here is a picture from the internet....
Now, if I get 7 comments on this posting, that will be eerie!
