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A layman’s reflections on ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ by Shantideva. 

by Rinchen Angmo

Having had the good fortune to receive His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s teachings on ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ by Shantideva at Jiwestal (in Ladakh) amidst thousands of other devotees, I set out to read the book myself. I was stunned by the poetic beauty and simplicity of the teachings in the book by Shantideva.

One is not supposed to teach Dharma unless one has reached a certain level; so this article is in no way an instruction, but a mere layman’s appreciation of the book written by a great Buddhist master. 

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Shey Shrubh Lha.

-Written by Rinchen.

My Abile(granny) said that today is Shey Shrubhlha: the day on which Shey’s protector deity Dorje Chenmo enters a human being in order to give advice to the village of Shey. The day of Shrubh lha also marks the beginning of harvest.  I’m not exactly sure how this spans out these days and all that I know about how it spanned out back in my granny’s youth is stemming from bits of memories that my granny still holds. For those who don’t know, Shey, now a village, was once the summer capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh.

My granny said two of the things she remembers from this occasion is that on this day Dorje Chenmo using a human being as a medium visits the Shey Lonpo House ( one of the foremost erstwhile ministerial families in Ladakh during the King’s reign) and a traditional dance is held on the lawn before the Lha-khang (abode of the lha (deity), in this case Dorje Chenmo). Ofcourse, other important events also take place on this occasion, but these are the two which my grandmother recalls from personal experience.

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A beautifully surreal month.

Written by Rinchen.

I would like to begin by thanking His Holiness The Dalai Lama for blessing and bringing so much joy to all the people of Ladakh. Chhaksal.

Each day of His Holiness’s presence in Ladakh has been filled with beauty and wonder for each and every Ladakhi in so many different ways. His Holiness’s interfaith visits, secular teachings, religious teachings, visits to Zanskar and Lingshed, and the various functions that were hosted in his honour, brought blessings upon and joy to a countless number of beings who had the sode and sonam (luck and merit) to be in His Holiness’s presence. We Ladakhis are truly honoured to have had His Holiness visit Ladakh as his first destination since the pandemic broke out.

We will miss all the beautiful moments that His Holiness’s visit brought and now look forward to His Holiness’s visit next year.

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#BOG – bring on the bog.

-written by Rinchen.

Glistening  heads and backs walking through lush green fields set against brown and blue mountains.

Perhaps the aforementioned line is rather romanticized, yet it cannot be denied that Alchi women donning their entire traditional attire adds a sort of enigma to Alchi’s blessed land.

Alchi is a hamlet in the Sham region of Ladakh. Blessed by the Alchi Choskor, ( which is the oldest surviving monastery in Ladakh) the hamlet is mesmerising to say the least. 

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written by Rinchen.

Followers of Tibetan Buddhism believe that both merit and demerit can be multiplied multifold times during an eclipse. Hence, prayers and good deeds are encouraged. Today’s lunar eclipse was one such occasion. The eclipse period ended at about 12 p.m.

As a beginner(even that would be an overstatement) in trying to follow the Tibetan-Buddhist way, there’s not much I can understand. However, what I’ve gauged is that the normal human mind clouded by illusions cannot always grasp concepts directly but must in fact keep an open mind.

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Wandering Watze.

A red fox on a full moon’s night.

Written by Rinchen.

My dog’s more aggressive-than-usual- bark got me to peek out of the window. A pointed snout, bushy tail and thin body.. behold the Himalayan Red Fox (known as watze in Ladakh) glimmering under the full moon’s radiance. From its body language, I inferred that it was a frequent visitor. As at any other occasion, I wondered what it meant..symbolically that is.

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Young and weathering years.

-Rinchen.

Considering Ladakh’s small population, one hears of suicide all too often; specially amidst the youth. Yet, it’s never talked about. These days, there is no solid support structure for the youth. The ‘elders’ who should be guiding the youth are either themselves misguided or are too busy.

In my opinion, one’s solid as well as individually understood source of support, in this day and age, understanding one’s mind. One way to that is through spirituality.

I’m not certain about other places, but surely Ladakh’s Buddhist youth is slowly getting disconnected from its religion: Tibetan-Buddhism. Factors are aplenty: apathy; ‘too cool for spirituality’; ‘too “rational” for spirituality; not been properly introduced to the tenets of the religion; too busy; lack of guidance. The youth today fails to understand that notions of success and coolness cannot take one far; without a firm understanding of the mind we are essentially just drifting through life. On the other side of the coin, the elderly are either unable to effectively share their knowledge, are ‘too cool’ themselves or are ignorant.

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Angchok 1

a reverie?

-Rinchen

To my Abile (granny) the 2 day long Chemrey Angchok Chham (religious masked monastic performance event) was more about tending to guests in her bustling house. She recounts how our ancestral house would be full of guests, mostly relatives from outside Chemrey (our village). Chhang (Ladakhi beer) and traditonal barley and meat assortments would flow in plenty and Abile would be busy organizing rooms and food with the aid of helpers.

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Holding one’s own in rural Ladakh.

-Rinchen.

Chemrey.

I read a beautiful article this morning in The Hindu’s Sunday Magazine. During the pandemic, I like many others, have found great solace not only in nature but also in learning about nature. The article’s author had written emphatically about planting the right kind of trees in the right region. The author also pointed out the harm of planting trees in areas that are not natural havens for trees: open natural ecosystems (ONEs); Ladakh being an ONE. 

In recent years, Ladakh has witnessed various environmental measures, but do we understand whether they are ecologically sound? I for one, honestly don’t pretend to understand, but I do know that not everything that we think is good for nature is good for nature; that not so incidentally applies to our own well being as well. 

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Chodpa Festival, Khangzar

By Sonam Chhomo

Khangzar Khar, Lahaul valley, Picture credits: unknown person from Lahaul. 

Khangzar palace or locally known as the Khangzar Khar is the only palace which exists in the sTod valley (the upper valley of Lahaul valley). It was the home of the Jo/Thakurs/Wazir of Khangzar and the birthplace of Queen mother of Ladakh, Rani Parvati Devi Deskit Wangmo.

Yesterday the villagers of sTod valley (the upper valley of Lahaul valley) celebrated the Chodpa festival at the Khar where the villagers gathered and paid respect to the local Gods. 

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