- I had just reached an institution for Buddhist teachings in Bir, near Dharamsala. The place is called Deer Park and I am here as an intern. I woke up of bed and went to brush my teeth. I washed my face and just as I finished, I noticed I had no towel and panicked for a while as I didn’t know what to do. I had stayed in the same position for at least 5 minutes, then I decided to use one of my cotton t-shirts as a towel.
- I head out and admired the Park’s beauty. I had reached the place last night and couldn’t actually see what was in my surroundings. Today, at around 7:45, I took my time observing the beauty of the place. It had a small monastery placed on a small hill, about a half a minutes’ walk from my room, about three stories high and a dormitory and a kitchen beside it. The Dormitories were placed in such a way that it made a square when looking directly from above. In the middle was a small grassy area with stone steps. It looked neat and wet. The dew drops rushes down the leaf’s edges, trying to escape the sun’s rays. The campus was not that big and not that small. Children, of around 7-12, seem to be hanging around with their friends and mothers in the sun to keep themselves warm from winter. As I made my way to the kitchen, I noticed the amount of foreigners that came here to learn of Buddhist/ Buddha’s teachings.
- Breakfast was fine, although there was some sort of jam I have never tasted before. The dining hall was small and nice. It had some of those neatly wooden tables with a traditional Tibetan table cloth over it. The chairs were those typical plastic chairs. I finished my breakfast, and made my way out to find the sink to wash my dishes. I have to admit; I am kind of spoilt and felt too lazy to wash my dish. But that all changed when I felt the warmth of the hot steaming water. It was cold and my bathroom had no hot water, and so I just couldn’t resist. I took my time washing the dish and even thought of washing others dishes too.
- I walk out and made my way into the office. I was waiting for the receptionist as he was supposed to tell me my schedule. As I waited inside, I noticed that it was a small typical room, with tiny computers spread across the table. Chairs were made from bamboo tied together with some tight thread of some kind and magazines were set on the knee-high table. I was going through the notice board and found the art work really interesting. As I moved on, there was a small schedule which I thought was a joke at first. Te only thing it had from morning to night is walking and sitting meditation (even during tea time). I was shocked. The breakfast, lunch and dinner had ‘silent’ written before them. When I saw this, I thought about how happy my grandmother would be here. All the meditation in the world can be provided here in this place. Not to mention this place is as quiet as open sea.
- The rest of the day I was in my room trying to think of a blog to write and was watching some movies on my computer. The worst observation here is that the internet is so slow. As I finish writing this essay, I think about how much you can write just by looking at something.
No comments:
Post a Comment