For all of you who read my blog on a regular basis, I apologize for the commercial nature of this post. The Ladakh pilgrimage chronicles will resume soon.
a vintage Barbie booklet
I have been receiving great advice from several people from the ebay community and from online auction owners in general. I am deeply appreciative. I almost sold the doll and all the accessories when a guy offered me thirteen hundred for it. Luckily I asked around and I was promptly told – “No! Don’t give away your doll!” So, only one guy seemed to be trying to rip me off where at least five people have been speaking with integrity – Hooray!
Tea anyone? (sorry it is for Barbie and her friends)
I am amazed at the level of detail of the Barbie accessories! There is a rotary phone where the dial actually rotates, which is the size of a small pinky fingernail. This tea set – everything pictured – fits into a small jewelry box. And the level of detail on the clothes, bags (purses) and hats is incredible. Someone went through a lot to design and produce them.
There is a past post about my early experience with the Barbie – go back or scroll down a few posts and you will see it.
check out the attention to detail (nails)
Having spent some time with the doll, it is quite bizarre, but I have developed a curious relationship with her (psychotherapists out there might have an eerie glimpse into my psyche with these comments!). It is not much, but I will definitely miss having her around when she sells. I realized this when I was looking through all the pictures I have taken (for sales purposes). Here is the thing, Ebay says that it helps the sale to tell a story about the item. So I started to do that, tell an imaginary story about the doll strolling around the Circle Center, an office focusing on healing facilitation, and looking at the various artwork and crystals. I was going to end the story by saying that the Barbie thought that the circle center should be called the Crystal Center due to all the random amethyst and quartz lying around. But alas, I ran out of time (and energy).
So, for all of you who know me, please do not worry. I have not started playing with Barbie dolls (much), but I am honest and open to what is. No more running from my shadow. Oh, and I want to include one thing. A friend of mine looked at the auction this morning and said, “Wow Kirby, you can actually read her butt!” Yep, taking numerous, detailed pictures of the doll is necessary for the auction. On that note, have a great day!
[As a revision in Oct of 2009 – I have since sold the doll. Thank you all for reading and supporting the process. Amazingly the doll (and accessories) sold for $5500.]
Ladakh group, Lamayuru gompa, sums up our pilgrimage experience
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
Thank you Hun Lye for tagging me in this photo (and therefore making it available on Facebook). I am in the front row with a purple shirt, khata and khaki-colored hat. This picture with Lama Jorphel (Drupon Sonam Jorphel) of Lamayuru Monastery seems to sum up my experience in Ladakh – it was a pilgrimage first and foremost which meant purification, attending holy sites (and authentic lamas who rarely make it to the U.S.) and experiencing a strange, new world.
It is my intention to cover more of last year’s pilgrimage before school resumes in late August. And speaking of school resuming, I have been asked by several clients and friends recently when / if I will be teaching again. I have been on a self-imposed sabbatical, primarily due to inner processing needs. And due to several of my teachers asking me to pause and ask the question – are you walking your talk? Upon reflection, no, indeed I was not. I am getting closer though – authenticity is a fickle accomplishment at first, but then I think it gets easier with practice.
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
Today is the full moon! Therefore I am listening to some soothing Amitabha mantras, and of course posting something that is due on my blog. As you may have noticed, I have been selling items for a friend of mine, who is cleaning out her parent’s storage. I have very busy selling some bizarre items – which was exemplified recently when a friend called and asked what I was doing at that moment. I said, “you know, taking pictures of campaign buttons from 1964.” I mean, what else would I be doing on a Tuesday evening?! I just sold a used chemistry set from the early 60’s and my next task is finding some leather oil for a 1950’s baseball glove… Yeah, sales can be a real bear, and I do not mean the positive connotation type of bear either, if that exists. I am finding it to be mucho work and low return. Anyway…
So, a couple weeks ago, we had Khenpo Tsultrim down to C’ville to teach on
Beautiful shrine from Khenpo’s teachings
the the great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna’s text, A Letter to a Friend. It is so amazing. [I am going to explain this vague comment.] The Dharma is amazing, this text is amazing (I believe the entire Buddhist path is covered in its verses, provided one has a good commentary or teacher), a qualified lama’s ability to recall pertinent metaphors, facts and anecdotes is amazing and being among a great group of sincere and honest practitioners is amazing. We are very blessed here in Charlottesville with the Drikung Kagyu Ratnashri Sangha – not a huge group (yet), but very dedicated, kind-hearted folks!
The text has over 110 verses, each of which can be unpacked. Don’t worry, I am not going to try to do this – my ignorance would shine forth like… well it would not be pretty.
Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin in Charlottesville (July ’09)
However, Khenpo was very eloquent, sharp and occasionally comical as he shared his knowledge and stories with us. On the first day, he went through ~50 verses. Then, he said that the latter verses were pretty much straight forward, so we had a bit of a (pleasant) Dharma speed drill in finishing the final 25 or so, and hence we finished early. Very nice – having the late afternoon of a Sunday more free than I expected.
Now for a change of topic…
For this paragraph, I might be repeating a trend I have noticed in my mind and expressions over the years, however I am going to plow forward. The trend is to say, “hey – I understand that completely,” when in reality I have much to learn about the very subject I thought I had down. Well, yep, you guessed it, this pattern is up again. I have been diligently studying Tibetan Buddhism since January of 2006 and I started studying Zen Buddhism in 2002. However, I am just beginning to familiarize myself with some of the deeper practices of the Vajrayana path. Oh, I do not mean to suggest that I am understanding the deeper practices or even putting them into practice, rather I am just getting introduced to them. I plan on being a novice for a long time! [Some people suggest that I have a glossary on my blog / website and I completely understand – however I am too lazy to do that, so kindly look up any words you may not know and get back to me if you can’t find them.]
For instance, I have considered myself a practitioner of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism since 2006.
A group picture from Khenpo’s teachings (July ’09)
However, without a lot of knowledge about the founder of this particular lineage, and knowing what makes this lineage different from others, I might be running around (dogmatically and possibly ignorantly) speaking my superficial knowledge. By the way, there are currently several divisions within the umbrella of the overall Kagyu lineage, of which Drikung Kagyu is one, and in the past, there were dozens of different Kagyus! Lots to keep up with.
Okay, on Friday morning I am off to Davidson North Carolina for a teaching on this very subject – the founder of the lineage, Jigten Sumgon, his family and in particular, his grandmother, who turns out to be an enlightened being who promised to protect authentic pracitioners (thank you Achi Chokyi Drolma!). You can expect an update about that weekend within a few weeks. Then at the end of August, whoa – three weeks away, I am resuming school (UVa) for another semester – Hooray!
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
Recently, I was asked by a friend to sell some items from her parent’s warehouse. Some of the items were hers, from her childhood. One item, which for some reason I saved for last, was a red chest, wrapped in multiple garbage bags, with the words “Barbie doll and clothes,” written in jittery black letters on the white plastic. I thought to myself, “Oh, another item to sell.” Little did I know what I was getting myself into!
I unwrapped it, to find a nice, sturdy chest, red in color. I still did not know what to expect – maybe, “an old Barbie doll, great!” in a sarcastic tone, or “Okay at least it has been kept in good condition…” I opened the chest, not knowing which way was up. I peeked inside, to find a rod with tiny clothing hanging on it – coats, shirts, fancy fabric, faux fur, etc. Opposite that was a set of large drawers. I opened them, finding all sorts of bizarre, tiny accessories – hats, bags, shoes, plates, a tea set, gloves, glasses, Barbie-sized jewelry, etc. Oh – and a Barbie bathtub – you just never know when this will come in handy!
Then I thought to myself, “where did Barbie go? Is she somewhere else?” I was puzzled for a moment. Then I saw a pink box in the corner. Oh, that might be Barbie sized! Sure enough, I opened it and I found a Barbie doll clothed in a simple white dress, made of simple material almost rough in texture. Wrapped around her waist was a strand of rainbow-colored wool, like a belt. It was almost as if I had unearthed a strange commentary on the Barbie phenomena – “the Hippy Barbie” (not that there is anything wrong with that).
What’s inside the chest? A treasure?
So, I had a bunch of Barbie accessories on my hands, along with a simply dressed doll. What to do with it? Well in my ignorant fashion, I decided to just jump right in! (Hopefully this pattern is on its way out!) I decided I would post it on Ebay – of course, what a grand idea! When I had spoken with its owner, she said that the Barbie was from the early sixties. She could not narrow down a specific year however. So I decided to list it as a 1961 Vintage Barbie Doll. I was clueless.
Well I knew I had made a mistake within an hour of posting it, because I received an email from one of the bidders saying, “Can you take closer pictures of the face and body, because I think you have a #1 or a #2 Barbie, which might be worth thousands of dollars?” Huh? … Oh my word! I had originally listed it for about $200. Hmmm… Well I had a few hours of fretting as I worried that I was deceiving people, or that I had vastly undervalued it (and hence I was taking money away from myself and its owner). I was able to research the value of Barbie dolls and discern exactly which year and model I had – and sure enough, it is a #2. Thankfully Ebay allows, albeit reluctantly, the retracting of items when there is a problem. Hey hey! I was in luck, there were several problems – wrong price, wrong item listed, wrong date on the accessories.
Fancy outfits, Barbie-sized, inside the chest
So now, here I am, on the other side. And I have a plan. I will re-post it in a few days, after making a short movie about the Barbie, whose name is Lavender, walking around the Circle Center (where she has been living for the past few years) – a house in Charlottesville that is dedicated to healing facilitation. I will also write a story about her experience. It should be fun. I will post it here when it is complete. [Added a few years later… I should note that Ebay said that telling a story, whether true or not, about an item can add more value. Hence my desire to film a little Barbie tale. But that did not pan out.]
And remember, you never know when you will come across a Diamond in the rough! Who knows, there might be something in your attic right now, just basking in its secret value.
[Revision in October of 2009 – I ended up selling the Barbie doll and chest / accessories for $5500 via Ebay. Can you imagine? I was originally listing it for $200. Wow! I am glad I put in the 50 – 60 hours of work – researching, chatting with auction owners, etc. It certainly paid off.]
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
6/19/08 – This was a day of adapting to the Ladakhi altitude / food / new world experience. In my journal I kept track of my experiences – both in the waking and dream realms. I mention this because I was sick (sore throat) and I must have napped off and on, because I have about half a dozen dreams jotted down. In one of my dreams I am wondering where to park my camel – go figure!
Large prayer wheels, common in Ladakh
We walked around the markets of Leh. The guide, Namgyal, gave us a walking tour of Leh – its Muslim mosques, dozens of huge prayer wheels, the inside info on which markets to frequent (i.e. who owned them, the quality of the merchandise, where it was from – whether Kashmir, Tibet or Ladakh, etc).
There were dozens of fascinating sights – large stupas including one that we walked through and under, the minarets of mosques near and far, a monastery on the large hill overlooking the town. There were little stupas colored yellow, white and blue representing the three primary Buddhas. I believe the yellow represents Manjushri (wisdom), white is Chenrezig or Avalokitesvara (compassion) and blue represents Vajrapani (potency).
Stupas of the three main Buddha emanations
I really enjoyed spinning the large prayer wheels, the ones that are so heavy that one person can turn it with a lot of effort or several people can get them going pretty quick. They are on stainless steel poles which support it along with a hanging bell that gets “Clink”ed each time it rotates. Therefore you could always tell when we went by one because the bell would be ringing for several minutes afterward.
These prayer wheels were intricately painted, sometimes carved, always colorful with golds, reds and a large spectrum of the rainbow. Namgyal said that the large ones (5 feet in height) had over a million prayers in them, with the smaller ones having ten to one hundred thousand prayers. I have an aspiration to put a large prayer wheel in my house or elsewhere in Charlottesville.
The main mosque of Leh, near the market
In one of the Tibetan markets, I met a new friend, a Tibetan refugee named Tamding Tsetan. He told me his name meant (Tsetan, Tamding) the powerful lifeforce of the fierce, wrathful, horse-headed, mountain protector, hopefully that is not too far off. He was very kind-hearted and generous, sharing tea and a unique tasting lime drink with me on several occasions, not wrathful in the least as far as I could tell. I feel that he and I have some good karma, because he ended up showing me around the different Tibetan markets and introducing me to other vendors. I also hung out with him when the group left and I was in Ladakh for a few days longer.
This is a little reprieve from the Ladakh pilgrimage files, as I need a break.
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
Stupa from Shey palace, Ladakh India, capped in gold
Recently, a friend commented on how I started out being smart, however, now, it seemed to him that I am becoming wise and he said it is a great process to observe. What a marvelous compliment! Thank you!
Here are some quick thoughts, though, off the top of my head:
Any wisdom I possess, due to my being an afflicted, ordinary human being, has arisen merely due to the blessings of my teachers and Tibetan lamas, whose wisdom and compassion is as vast as space. I am very grateful and blessed to have met my heart teachers – beings who have taught Bodhicitta (agenda-less, unconditional loving-kindness and compassion for all).
In order to have authentic wisdom arise within our mind stream, it is mandatory that we study under one or more fully qualified, experienced teachers, who are connected with a long, unbroken lineage of healing wisdom.
Wisdom is not something we acquire, rather, I believe we gradually gain clarity about its essence (it is has been here all along, our minds have just been too busy or afflicted to perceive it.) Not unlike polishing a grungy mirror – slowly, its shiny reflective surface will give clearer and clearer images. Oftentimes, it takes lifetimes of learning (or unlearning to get there).
Wisdom is letting go, releasing the clinging to hope and letting go of the icy grip of fear; (somatics exercises such as Zapchen and/or process-oriented bodywork really come in handy for allowing the causes and conditions for doing so to arise – for releasing old stuff from both the body and the mind.)
Wisdom is recognizing the attachment to pleasure and the conditioned reaction to pain, and breathing deeply and mindfully in spite of it,
Wisdom is accepting yourself for who you are, as opposed to fanciful, over-idealized dreams of fame or revulsion of anonymity, first find happiness within, then if fame or isolation arise, it is okay,
Wisdom is resting in equanimity, being neutral (non-attached) to praise or blame.
ornate stairs, Stakna gompa (Tiger’s nose), Ladakh, IndiaI believe, that if we have the blessing and good fortune to attend a fully qualified teacher, then, unless we are on solitary retreat, we need to be participating in the world. Sharing gentle healing words and presence and confronting ignorance when we come across it. (Take a little risk here and there! Then check in and see how we are doing, are we in alignment?)
Finally, to add a possible provocative ending, I feel that, if appropriate, a part of the process of healing and becoming more wise, is the realization that the pervasive concept of “original sin” is erroneous. Original goodness leads to a deep foundation of health and ease.
(Most of this advice is what I have heard from my teachers, in my own humble words, particularly regarding the eight worldly Dharmas. Please note that I am just an objective reporter and passer-alonger of the wisdom I have been so blessed to encounter. But any mistakes are my own.) I dedicate any merit arising from these words to the benefit of all sentient beings, particularly authentic spiritual teachers – may their paths be clear for disseminating wisdom and compassion.
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
6/18/08 – cont’d – The guest house was cozy, yet open and comfortable. Some of the decorations reminded me of a Californian yard sale – a little bit of this, a little of that (Western styles). There would be 16 of us once we all arrived, and we had the guest house to ourselves as a result. We were given breakfast and tea when we arrived – the “dining room” was typical of Ladakhi eating spaces. We sat on slightly raised cushions behind low, beautifully carved tables. There was a short 14 year old boy named Sonam, a cousin of the owners, who served us for the most part. He was enthusiastic and happy, plus he enjoyed singing to himself. Sometimes he had help from someone hired in the city. The family who owned the guest house prepared the food.
We rested a little, before heading out to Phyang Monastery, where His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche was staying. We were in luck for multiple reasons that day. The monastery was just completing a week-long ceremony, leading up to and celebrating Saga Dawa – Buddha’s Parinirvana day (which is apparently the most sacred day in that Holy Month). They would be dissolving a sand mandala, bringing the sand down to the river and blessing the waters with it. And we were seeing His Holiness on Saga Dawa.
Monks at Phyang Gompa, completing sand mandala dissolution
Therefore, we got to see the monks playing all the instruments – long horns, hand-held clarinet-like instruments, drums large and small, cymbals, bells and a conch shell. The parade of monks exiting the meditation hall was very colorful, and full of life. The monastery had 78 monks, supported by the local villages and the Drikung Kagyu in Ladakh (and tourists / pilgrims like us). The monastery was typical of Ladakhi architecture – white washed walls for the most part with red painted trim around the tile roofs and wooden doors. For most monasteries, the protector shrine was generally always distinguishable from the rest of the gompa (monastery) – usually painted red. I believe this was the case at Phyang.
Every monastery we visited had incredible paintings – sometimes, nearly every surface was painted – whether stenciling on the banisters and support beams, or large, vivid murals on the walls, or aged thangkas hanging in meditation halls. In some cases, even the ceilings would have murals on them (see Chemray gompa later on). It was an amazing dichotomy – the stark, desiccated landscape versus the bright, colorful monasteries. I was told that this purposeful (it contrasted the rich, colorful inner life of a Buddhist contemplative vs. drab outer life of toiling in samsara).
Tall mast (pole) with flags and yak hair at the top, Phyang, June 2008
Phyang is built on a long, slender hill, making it similarly shaped. There were a long series of stairs leading up to the main level of the monastery. And due to the ceremony or the fact that a high lama was in residence, there were Buddhist symbols drawn on the concrete with chalk (the eight auspicious symbols). First we toured the main hall, which was where the sand mandala was – in its curtained splendor. We took pictures of the mandala, the statues, the gorgeous thangkas and the murals. Then we watched as the monks began the dissolution ceremony. There were at least 80 to 100 locals – both Ladakhis and Tibetans – at the monastery, also watching the procession of monks pour out of the meditation hall. There was an incense burner on chains, which the monk holding it would swing, reminding me of a Catholic service.
After the monks had all filed out on their way to the river, we toured the rest of the monastery. There was a large kitchen, separate from the other buildings, along with a protector shrine and several smaller shrines – one housing many statues of Green Tara. One of the smaller shrine rooms had pictures and statues of the lineage masters. We had to climb several sets of stairs – steep, old, well-trodden wooden ones, basically ladders – to get up to His Holiness’ level. There was a long line of people (mainly Ladakhis) waiting to receive a blessing from the Drikung Kyabgon. We also waited. And waited, observing the murals painted around the entrance. At the time, I thought we were just being polite, waiting for everyone else to go and letting people go in front of us. But then, when we got in to see him, I realized we were waiting because we were invited to have tea with His Holiness, Chetsang Rinpoche.
We received our blessing in the traditional manner – we offered silk scarves, called khatags, which His Holiness draped around our lowered heads. Then we sat down and took in his presence. It turned out that his reception room was on the top floor of the monastery – literally. The wind was whipping around, making windows fly open and closed, also causing the prayer flags to snap in the gusts. That in and of itself was an experience, and then there was His Holiness. Chetsang Rinpoche was very kind and generous – giving us protection cords, offering us tea and cookies and most importantly, his blessing. He seemed like a simple monk, ordinary in his knowing and purposeful actions, until you looked into his eyes. They were twinkling and sparkling which led me to believe there was more to him than he let on.
It turned out the trip leader’s family, who is from Malaysia, are patrons of His Holiness, so they had a connection.
View from Phyang, line of Stupas on the way to the river
They chatted about the Kyabgon’s recent activities, how his monastery and library were doing. His Holiness was asked if there was a brief bit of advice he could give us. He consented and told us about the four thoughts that turn the mind toward enlightenment. [In case you are interested in “what are the four thoughts?” acquire and read the book “The Transformation of Suffering” by Khenchen Rinpoche, Konchog Gyaltsen.] Finally we got up and thanked him and ventured back down to our vehicles.
By the time we got back to the guest house, another meal was just about ready. The owners of the guest house took great care of us, wanting our every need to be met. It turned out several people needed to rest as they were experiencing some altitude sickness.
Some of the incredible irragation networks in Ladakh, Nubra Valley
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
In Ladakh, the overall terrain is desert-like. It is very arid and dry for the most part. Therefore, the Ladakhis have become expert at the art of water irrigation. They had little trenches that would run alongside creeks or branching off, sometimes traveling miles before reaching their destination. When we were driving around Ladakh, we would primarily see dry, rocky terrain, sometimes sandy deserts, at other times it would look like we were on the Moon and yet in at least one location, the dark reddish hue could have been Martian. But, wherever there was flowing water, there would be little oases of trees and a few houses, sometimes villages of several dozen houses. It was a visual adventure to track the water by following the path of greenery. The city of Leh got most of its water from a glacier, high above it.
I believe I heard that 95% of Ladakh is desert-like, leaving very little land to cultivate and live on. Ladakh is a fairly large region (maybe similar in size to Texas or France?), but due to its incredible mountains and dry landscape, there are only 150,000 permanent residents. In the summer months, this number might swell to an additional 25 – 35 %. Leh, the capital and main city in Ladakh, has a population of over 20,000 in the summer, as many merchants and workers come in for the few precious warm months to earn some money and entice tourists looking for Kashmiri products. There are a large number of Tibetan refugees living in or near Leh, and their presence was obvious with the dozen or more markets that specialized in Tibetan products. There is also a school for Tibetan refugee children, which I learned about later.
I was in Ladakh for about a month, and it really only rained once. It sprinkled a couple of times, but nothing much in the way of accumulation. I forget the actual numbers, but some months in Ladakh receive very little rainfall (think parched desert). Then there are six months of hard winter, where there is generally always snow on the ground (Oct – Apr).
Glacier above Leh, Ladakh, India, 18,500 ft
Briefly, to describe the custom of working (or not), Ladakhis are pretty much all the land owners in their country and they hire people in the summer to work their fields, and to be waiters and porters. It seemed there were certain jobs that were below the Ladakhis (but I might be over-generalizing). It is understood that the Ladakhis are the aristocrats of their region.
Something else note-worthy: the trip guide and the pilgrimage leader (both males) remarked that Ladakh is a matriarchy, though hidden behind a patriarchal front. For instance, in Tibetan Buddhist religion (the primary religion of Ladakh), the lamas and teachers are primarily males. However, the reason for their saying that the women hold a lot of power is that the females, through their collections of jewelry, possess the wealth in Ladakh. This is definitely noticeable (see the upcoming post about the Ladakhi wedding). Some of the jewelry is very elaborate and the cobra-hoods of turquoise and other precious stones are just incredible – sometimes weighing up to 7 kilograms!
Bride at Ladakhi wedding, ceremonial headress of turquoise
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
6/18/08 – We woke up at 3 am because we had to catch an early flight to Ladakh. It turns out, that due to the strong winds off and over the Himalayas, the only window of time to fly into Leh, Ladakh is to leave Delhi between 6 and 7 am. We were told that the flight into Leh is one of the most spectacular in the world, and IT DID NOT LET US DOWN! Imagine flying over the some of the highest mountains in the world (which is what we did), with their young, jagged edges reaching for the heavens. Oh – and Ladakh is north of the Himalayas. Therefore the plane flew across a vast, snowy landscape of sharp spines and rocky valleys. (Which I do not have a picture of… hrrumph.)
our guest house kitchen (storage), large pots for a celebration
Some of the tallest peaks poked through the layers of clouds which we were just barely flying above, minimizing our feeling safe at high altitude. We began to see occasional houses in the high valleys as the plane started its descent. I saw first hand why the window of time is so slight to fly in – at one point, the plane had to traverse a gap in the rocky spires that was less than 300 (I think?) yards across. Any “mistake” by the pilots (or more commonly – an unexpected wind shear) and a wing might have clipped an edge. Whoa! Talk about splitting the uprights. (Little did I know, but this “brush with danger” would merely be a slight preview of what was to come on this journey.) And later I heard that there were apparently only a few dozen pilots in the world that were talented enough to make that flight on a regular basis… Wow! No matter how you get to Ladakh – by danger-defying highway or by attempting to fly over the steep cliffs – you are taking a risk.
sand mandala, Saga Dawa, Phyang Gompa June 2008
After arriving, we found out that we had the opportunity to see the Drikung Kyabgon (His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche, one of the dual heads of the Drikung Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism). He would be departing that afternoon to go into the high country, known as the Chang Tang, where he would be spending the rest of his summer. The leader of our pilgrimage informed us that attending His Holiness is like being in the presence of a Buddha and a King. I was excited, understandably. And thankfully we did not pass up this possibly-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
When we landed in Ladakh, I could not help but notice the significant presence of the military. It makes sense when you think how close Ladakh is to both China (western Tibet) and Pakistan, but there were bunkers all over the airport and military trucks were all around the hangers and terminal. Actually it turns out that Ladakh (India) uses military personel to run their airport, which I guess saves money.
In Delhi, we were at an altitude of about 500 feet, and suddenly, in the course of a couple hours, we landed at 11,000 plus feet. Needless to say, I noticed a distinct difference in my breathing. However, the clear sky, the chilly air and the beautiful mountains surrounding the Upper Indus river valley were crisp, clean and gorgeous. (pictures)
His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgons’ throne, Phyang monastery
I immediately noticed a few stray trees, similar to aspens, thin and swaying in the breeze; there were occasional prayer flags, also flapping vigorously. Inside the airport terminal, I saw something very inspiring – almost every square inch of the support beams and rafters were painted with beautiful scrolling lotuses and intricate flowery designs, in a similar fashion to what we would see over the next few weeks in the monasteries.
We quickly piled in the small SUV’s provided for us and we were driven to the Kidar guest house in Leh. The Ladakhi guide, Rinchen Namgyal was a precious trip leader. He was / is kind hearted, sensitive to our needs and able to hook us up with rare opportunities that Westerners might not normally experience (more on this later). He was also very kind and generous to me when I stayed a week longer than the rest of the “pack.”
This material is copyrighted by Kirby Moore. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To support my business and blogging efforts, please visit my website. More recently, I have begun teaching Astrology classes on Trauma-Informed Astrology, see http://www.traumainformedastrology.com for more! Thank you for visiting!
6/17/08 – Having gotten a few hours of sleep (they had to plug in a converter and then play with that to get the A/C going), I explored the World Buddhist Center or WBC. It was / is a beautiful sanctuary, primarily for Buddhist ordained members and pilgrims. However, in speaking with people from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it seems very challenging to get a reservation (unless you are a nun / monk or an Indian travel agent). There were many Theravadin Buddhist flavors – the shrines, the images – a strong Thai / Sri Lankan emphasis (in my less-than-skilled opinion).
WBC Large shrine room
The WBC has several floors of dormitories, another with the kitchen and large dining room and the first floor is entirely composed of the main shrine room and a beautifully painted entrance, with a 40 – 50’ ceiling. However, each floor has a gorgeous and serene shrine, making it easy to fall into a blissful and serene state. I was fed well, eggs, toast, jam, tea and offered more food than I could eat.
Then I was picked up by Peter again – I wondered how much sleep he got (seriously I worried about the man, he kept talking about doing all these things and forgetting to sleep) – and driven to meet my friends from the states. I was the first to arrive, hence my staying over at the WBC. I was driven to the Likir House – a guest house in Delhi named after a monastery in Ladakh. Several people were there and the pilgrimage leader suggested we rest in the air conditioning for a while and I was very glad for it!
In the afternoon, we went out – to explore Conaught Place and exchange money. The middle of the day had drivers and tuk tuks buzzing around Delhi, all honking madly and intuitively navigating their vehicles. Gazing around at the vehicular chaos, I was surprised there were not more accidents. Somehow order and rule arose in the midst of all the hubbub.
Stok Kangri (21,000 ft) view from the guest house, Leh Ladakh
It turned out several people missed their flight in the U.S., so there were about eight of us going to Ladakh first and then the rest would join us later. At the Likir house, I did a little practice and it seemed I was “rewarded” by an interesting dream. Time started doing a strange thing to me – whether it was due to jet lag or what – I felt like I had been in Delhi for weeks, when it was more like 24 hours. Hmmm.. Buddhist jet lag?
Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation 