Enjoying life

                Still raining but by now I guess that goes without saying. It seems like everyone is bailing on this town because of the dreary weather as it has been relatively quiet here. The kids were in high spirits today because it’s an Indian holiday. Sisters tie “Rakhi” on their brother’s arms. Rakhi are bracelets intertwined by all sorts of colored string and beads. In return, brothers promise to protect their sisters from harm. The little boys were so proud of their Rakhi and showed them all proudly to me. One little boy had one that lights up, so fancy! Because I was so interested in learning about their holiday, the kids gave me Rakhi as well which I will proudly wear until it falls off.

                After practicing our new words in simple sentences, the teacher showed me a very intricate henna tattoo that she had on her hand. She said “I brought some so I could give you a matching one.” There was no way I was going to turn that down! She told the kids to play ball and she took my hand in her lap and made beautiful art on it. I love it! I think it takes a week or so to wash off and I’ll be sad to see it go. She had one of the older kids take pictures of her and I with our matching henna tattoos. She is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met….

                Dhondulp and I continue to have conversations that make my day. Yesterday’s topic was finding ways to enjoy life. Dhondulp told me that he thinks that the Tibetan culture is backward when it comes to this. He said it’s in their nature and a norm for them to work every day. Enjoying one’s day comes second. He said he was so glad to meet me and see that there is someone who puts enjoying life first. I told him that I do something every day to enjoy and live my life in a fulfilling manner. In fact, I have a list that I refer to and choose something from when I feel like I’m in a “rut.” So, for Dhondulp’s homework I told him that he has to make a list, in English, of his ten favorite ways to enjoy life. He said it was his favorite homework ever. Then he looked me in the eyes and said “Kristen, never stop enjoying life.” I said I wouldn’t. “Promise me,” he said. I told him that I promise. I think breaking a promise to a monk would be ultimate bad karma so I better stay on this beautiful road that I find myself on….

                Sidebar, people in India are fascinated by Obama. Dhondulp is as well. He seemed to be in the mood to talk politics and had all sorts of questions about Obama and American government. Not being, terribly in to politics, I tried to answer all of his questions. He also likes to talk about “the black man.” Black people are super rare here in India and everyone seems to be so fascinated by them. Dhondulp says he loves the way they sing.

                I try not to overwhelm Dhondulp with my questions on Buddhism and a monk’s life so I pick a few a day. Today I asked why monks don’t drink and Dhondulp answered my question with this story:

                A monk is walking down the road when he comes across a beautiful lady. She tells him that he has no choice but to pick one of three choices. 1. Kill the sheep next to her. 2. Make love to her. 3. Drink alcohol. The monk thought killing a sheep would be really bad so he didn’t choose that. Monks take a vow of celibacy so he definitely couldn’t choose the lady. Monks aren’t supposed to drink but since he had no choice, drinking an alcoholic drink seemed like the best choice. So he drank the drink and lost his focus and the control of one’s mind that monks need. After drinking he decided to make love to the lady and kill the sheep.

                Fair enough. We then moved on to a conversation in which we compared zodiac signs to the Tibetan star signs. Dhondulp had just learned that he was a Virgo and I was trying to explain horoscopes which are a lot different than how Tibetans interpret astrology. He was fascinated by the fact you can read your horoscope every month and it will always be something different. Both zodiac signs and Tibetan star signs have characteristics for each separate one but the Tibetan star signs don’t have horoscopes that change constantly to give advice about the future.

                The evening here remains pretty low key. Our little group has made friends with three other volunteers- a couple from Washington and a guy who is traveling with them who is also from Washington. We played cards until midnight last night. A slightly complicated game called “thirteen” which took me a bit to get the hang of but now that I understand it, I see why they are so addicted to it and apparently they play it all day every day.

                Because of all of the dampness, I think Dharamsala has given me a cold. I’m not feeling well at all today but I have the weekend to recuperate and get my energy back to teach my kids and monk!