November 29

Through My Eyes

Saturday November 29

(We continue to listen to Dalai Lama as he describes his stay at the Norbulingka! )

" But the Thirteenth Dalai Lama was also very strict. He forbade the smoking of tobacco both at the Potala and in the grounds of the Norbulingka. However, there was one occasion when he was out walking and came to a place where some stonemasons were working. They did not see him and were talking amongst themselves. One of them complained loudly about the tobacco prohibition saying it was very good when a person is tired and hungry. He was going to chew some anyway. The Dalai Lama, on hearing this,turned away and left without making his presence known.

This is not to say that he was always lenient. If I have anything to critical to say about it, it is that I feel he may have been a bit too autocratic. He was extremely severe with his high officials and came down heavily on them for the slightest mistake. He confined his generosity to simple people.

Thupten Gyatso's greatest achievements in the spiritual field concerned his dedication to raising the standard of scholarship in the monasteries ( of which there were over six thousand in all Tibet). In doing so, he gave precedence to the most able monks, even if they were junior. Also, he personally ordained many thousands of novices. Right up until the 1970s, most of the senior monks had recieved their ordinations as bikshus from him.

Up until my early twenties, when I began to remain there permanently, I moved each year to the Norbulingka during early spring, returning to the Potala around six months later with the onset of winter. The day that I quit my gloomy room in the Potala was undoubtedly one of my favourite during the whole year. It began with a ceremony that lasted for two hours (which seemed like an eternity to me). Then came the great procession, which I did not much care for. I would rather have walked and enjoyed the countryside, where fresh outpourings of natural beauty were just beginning to show themselves in delicate shoots of green.

The diversions at the Norbulingka were endless. It consisted of a beautiful park surrounded by a high wall. Within this there were a number of buildings which were lived in by members of the staff. There was also an inner wall, known as the Yellow Wall, beyond which no one but the Dalai Lama, his immediate household and certain monks were allowed. On the other side of it lay several more buildings, including the Dalai Lama's private residence which was surrounded by a well-kept garden.

I happily whiled away hours in the park walking through the beautiful gardens and watching some of the many animals and birds that lived there. Amongst these were, at one time or another, a herd of tame musk deer; at least six dogkyi, enormous Tibetan mastiffs which acted as guard dogs; a Pekinese sent from Kumbum; a few mountain goats; a monkey; a handful of camels brought form Mongolia; two leopards and a very old and rather sad tiger (these last in pens of course); several parrots;half-a-dozen peacocks;some cranes; a pair of golden geese; and about thirty, very unhappy Canada geese whose wings had been clipped so that they could not fly: I felt very sorry for them.

One of the parrots was very friendly with Kenrap Tenzin, my master of the Robes. He used to feed it nuts. As it nibbled from his fingers, he used to stroke its head, at which the bird appeared to enter a state of ecstasy. I very much wanted this kind of friendliness and several times tried to get a similar response, but to no avail. So I took a stick to punish it. Of course, thereafter it fled at the sight of me. This was a very good lesson in how to make friends; not by force but by compassion.

Ling Rinpoche had a similarly good relationship with the monkey. It was friendly only with him. He used to feed it from his pocket, so that whenever the monkey saw him coming, it would scamper over and start delving amongst the folds of his robes."

( According to our Footprint Tibet handbook, the Norbulingka originally began as a place where the seventh Dalai Lama stayed because of a medicinal spring on the grounds. I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Through my eyes

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? That wind actually gave me a bit of work to do! I looked over from our prayer flag this morning and noticed that the wind was ripping the tin off the shed roof. So it was up onto the roof to anchor it down which was something of a troublesome business with the power lines nearby and lots of tin lifting up all over the place. It took awhile but two as one we struggled through it though! Then I did a bit more work around the studio and headed across the stream in chest waders with bags of tree food only to find that the wind was still too strong. So I put it under cover, rested by your Medlar tree for awhile and returned to our studio. The weather will have eased up a bit by tomorrow so I'll work on it then! I'll put this up so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday November 29 (We continue to listen to Dalai Lama as he describes his stay at the Norbulingka! ) " But the Thirteenth Dalai Lama was also very strict. He forbade the smoking of tobacco both at the Potala and in the grounds of the Norbulingka. However, there was one occasion when he was out walking and came to a place where some stonemasons were working. They did not see him and were talking amongst themselves. One of them complained loudly about the tobacco prohibition saying it was very good when a person is tired and hungry. He was going to chew some anyway. The Dalai Lama, on hearing this,turned away and left without making his presence known. This is not to say that he was always lenient. If I have anything to critical to say about it, it is that I feel he may have been a bit too autocratic. He was extremely severe with his high officials and came down heavily on them for the slightest mistake. He confined his generosity to simple people. Thupten Gyatso's greatest achievements in the spiritual field concerned his dedication to raising the standard of scholarship in the monasteries ( of which there were over six thousand in all Tibet). In doing so, he gave precedence to the most able monks, even if they were junior. Also, he personally ordained many thousands of novices. Right up until the 1970s, most of the senior monks had recieved their ordinations as bikshus from him. Up until my early twenties, when I began to remain there permanently, I moved each year to the Norbulingka during early spring, returning to the Potala around six months later with the onset of winter. The day that I quit my gloomy room in the Potala was undoubtedly one of my favourite during the whole year. It began with a ceremony that lasted for two hours (which seemed like an eternity to me). Then came the great procession, which I did not much care for. I would rather have walked and enjoyed the countryside, where fresh outpourings of natural beauty were just beginning to show themselves in delicate shoots of green. The diversions at the Norbulingka were endless. It consisted of a beautiful park surrounded by a high wall. Within this there were a number of buildings which were lived in by members of the staff. There was also an inner wall, known as the Yellow Wall, beyond which no one but the Dalai Lama, his immediate household and certain monks were allowed. On the other side of it lay several more buildings, including the Dalai Lama's private residence which was surrounded by a well-kept garden. I happily whiled away hours in the park walking through the beautiful gardens and watching some of the many animals and birds that lived there. Amongst these were, at one time or another, a herd of tame musk deer; at least six dogkyi, enormous Tibetan mastiffs which acted as guard dogs; a Pekinese sent from Kumbum; a few mountain goats; a monkey; a handful of camels brought form Mongolia; two leopards and a very old and rather sad tiger (these last in pens of course); several parrots;half-a-dozen peacocks;some cranes; a pair of golden geese; and about thirty, very unhappy Canada geese whose wings had been clipped so that they could not fly: I felt very sorry for them. One of the parrots was very friendly with Kenrap Tenzin, my master of the Robes. He used to feed it nuts. As it nibbled from his fingers, he used to stroke its head, at which the bird appeared to enter a state of ecstasy. I very much wanted this kind of friendliness and several times tried to get a similar response, but to no avail. So I took a stick to punish it. Of course, thereafter it fled at the sight of me. This was a very good lesson in how to make friends; not by force but by compassion. Ling Rinpoche had a similarly good relationship with the monkey. It was friendly only with him. He used to feed it from his pocket, so that whenever the monkey saw him coming, it would scamper over and start delving amongst the folds of his robes." ( According to our Footprint Tibet handbook, the Norbulingka originally began as a place where the seventh Dalai Lama stayed because of a medicinal spring on the grounds. I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. Through my eyes ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? That wind actually gave me a bit of work to do! I looked over from our prayer flag this morning and noticed that the wind was ripping the tin off the shed roof. So it was up onto the roof to anchor it down which was something of a troublesome business with the power lines nearby and lots of tin lifting up all over the place. It took awhile but two as one we struggled through it though! Then I did a bit more work around the studio and headed across the stream in chest waders with bags of tree food only to find that the wind was still too strong. So I put it under cover, rested by your Medlar tree for awhile and returned to our studio. The weather will have eased up a bit by tomorrow so I'll work on it then! I'll put this up so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)