First day in Bylakuppe

Although my last blog entry was probably not quite up to par, now that we are entering the cultural part and not traveling as much, I think I’ll really be able to give you guys a better picture of India and what we are experiencing here.
Yesterday (Sunday) we finally made it into Bylakuppe. First, let me tell you about ricksaw rides. Hopefully I’ll get some pictures on here soon to show you what they look like. They are three wheeled little vehicles with a driver and then a long seat in the back. They are like cheap taxis if you will that can go like 30 mph. What an experience! They weave in and out of all kinds of situations- including a herd of cows in the middle of the road. It’s almost like a mini Indiana Jones adventure.
For that first day in Bylakuppe we were in Sera. Bylakuppe is broken into four camps of laypeople (non monks) and then Sera is where the monks live. I didn’t catch an exact number (and it may not be known), but I know there are thousands of monks that live there. It was an amazing site! Walking through this little section of the town I saw hundreds of monks dressed in their red robes. There are young boys who are training as well. They are adorable! They would often keep watching and looking at you, but were quick to smile as well, something the Indians are not quick to do.
We met a man there named Chongi who is actually an American monk. He’s been a Buddhist monk for I think he said 7 years. He was fabulous! He gave us a bunch of tips about where to eat safe food, where to find water, where a reliable doctor was, how to interact with the people. He also has tons of connections to the people. He introduced us to one of the monks that lives in his house. I can’t remember his name, but he was one of the sweetest people. He just has a kind face and when he talked we knew he was interested. He spoke in Tibetan and the American monk who has been learning Tibetan translated for us. He discussed a lot of things… but one that hit me the most was when they asked what we were trying to study there. Spencer and I are both studying the nationalist movement. The Tibetan monk asked what we hoped to do with it and I said that we hoped to learn about the movement and then go home and teach others about it. Even though it was in Tibetan, I could tell he sincerely meant it when he said that it would help, that doing that would help. I was quite touched.
For that first day we stayed in Sera and only interacted with the monks. They are a wonderful and very peaceful people, quick to smile and very loving. Chongi said we will only continue to see this. A Buddhist monk’s job is to learn to live a life of love and service. Many of them are already getting there.
Because it was Sunday we had the chance to have the sacrament in our little group. It was a whole new experience this time because in the background we had the Muslim call to prayer. For those of you who have never heard it, you should look some up online. They are beautiful. They happen about five times a day, the one we heard was the last one for the night. For now, we aren’t able to stay in Bylakuppe because we don’t have our PAPs (protected area permits). You need those to stay overnight in a Tibetan settlement. We are staying in the Indian village Kushonlagar and in it there is a mosque not too far- hence hearing the calls to prayer. Anyway though, it was just a neat experience to hear that contrast, hearing those prayers in the background. Hearing a call to prayer was one of the experiences I hoped to have some day- and now I’ve gotten it.