The northern state of Himachal Pradesh, in India is a wonderfully relaxing piece of heaven at the foot of the gargantuan Himalayan Mountains. In the middle of it all is the small town of Dharamsala (map) where the current Tibetan government-in-exile resides after they were expelled by China (or as the Chinese say, “liberated”) back in 1959. I was told by my fellow travelers that where wasn’t much to do in the quiet town of Dharamsala, but I ended up spending the better part of a month there specifically for that reason! Set along the backdrop of the Himalayas, Dharamsala is a world away from the overcrowded, congested cities like New Delhi. I stayed specifically in McLeod Ganj (map) located in upper Dharamsala was just the perfect rest bit after the Holi celebrations in Vrindavan. From a ten-day silent meditation retreat at Tushita, to hiking at the foot of the Himalayas, to sliding down the side of a mountain on melting snow bank, to watching a Tibetan opera performance, and even seeing the Dalai Lama himself, I had a wonderful time in Dharamsala!
Of course it did help that Dharmsala is one of the last remaining cool regions in India. While New Delhi suffers in 40°C (~104°F) heat, I get to enjoy nice, 22°C (~71°F) temperatures up here in the mountains.
McLeod Ganj is a remarkably tranquil, serene little town embedded into the side of the Himalayas. While the center of the city is the usual congested, loud, and generally overwhelming atmosphere I’m accustomed to in Indian cities, the chaos is confined to one main square in town. If you are like me and want to escape everything, all you have to do is walk a few minutes in any direction and you’ll find wonderfully peaceful forests of evergreen trees and winding trails to help clear your mind. My favorite thing to do was to sit and watch the dozens of monks covered in their iconic maroon and yellow robes make their way through town. Growing up in the US, I assumed the clothing was merely a stereotype they used in movies or TV shows, but I didn’t think people wore such robes on a regular basis. My first few days in the city I was wildly amused to see the monks around town especially when I saw them chatting away on their smartphones.
The same thing happens to Europeans who are usually stunned to find out that American students actually use red solo cups at parties. Many think it is just a stereotype in movies, not an actual thing.
As wonderful as the scenery is, my primary reason for visiting was to take a silent, 10-day retreat at the Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center known as Tushita. Before I even arrived in India, I was told about these retreats and found out that people actually fly from all over the world specifically to India just to take one of these courses. After doing some research, I decided to sign up for a course at Tushita over the more intense courses given through a similar program called Vipassana. I was a bit hesitant at first to I signed up, not out of fear of remaining silent for 10 days straight, but rather that by taking the retreat I would open myself up to a never-ending barrage of harassment from my friends back home claiming that I am on an “Eat. Pray. Love.” trip. The thought infuriated me, but I couldn’t pass on the opportunity, so I pulled the trigger and signed up.
I look forward to your harassment Andrei, Sean, and Mannino. You all win.
Looking back, my 10-day retreat through Tushita was remarkably insightful and I would highly recommend to anyone who has plans to visit northern India. The class was predominantly focused on Tibetan Buddhism and was lead by a jovial, upbeat monk by the name Venerable Namgayel. The Tushita campus is a wonderfully tranquil place nestled into the side of the mountain surrounding by a lush green forest of evergreen trees and a stunning view of the valley below. On clear nights, sunset at Tushita is a sight to behold and the atmosphere is enhanced by the fact that everyone in the class has to remain totally silent. Aside from the footsteps of my peers, the faint almost non-existent sound of car horns in the distance, and the occasional rustle of the branches above thanks to the local monkeys there was total silence.
Tushita is the definition of serenity.
While I don’t identify my self as part of any formal religion, if you had to lump me into a category I’d go with the Buddhists for one very simple reason: they encourage questioning. In contrast to my Roman Catholic upbringing that shunned logical inquires on the grounds of “faith," Tibetan Buddhism allows for such spirited debates. In fact, during the course they went so far as to urge participates to question both themselves as well as the content of each lecture vigorously, and only accept what was taught after thoroughly investigating the content for yourself. While there are thousands of quotes from the Buddha circulating around the internet, the most valuable one for me was painted right above the entrance to the meditation hall that went:
O monks and wise men, just as a goldsmith would test his gold by burning, cutting, and rubbing it, so must you examine my words and accept them, not merely out of reverence for me.
One of my concerns early on was that I didn’t know if I could stay silent for such long stretches of time, but in hindsight the silence was a blessing in disguise. One of the main goals of the retreat is to remain mindful of both yourself and your surroundings at all times. I didn’t realize until after the retreat that it is impossible to remain mindful when you are talking all the time! In Western society we are trained to think that silence in groups is a horrible thing. In fact, I often pride myself with being able to talk to anyone for hours at a time because I felt it was tremendously rude to sit across the table from someone and not chat. It was immensely strange that for ten straight days I sat across from strangers at lunch and for once in my life just enjoy my food!
Even if you can’t spend ten days on a retreat at Tushita, I highly recommend that for a few hours you turn off the TV, put your phone away, sit down, and just shut up! It is a tremendous experience and doesn’t cost you a penny!
Adjusting to the Tushita schedule was rough; we started off every morning at 6:30 am and we sat in meditation for 6+ hours a day. Even after training myself to sit in an office cubicle for 10 hours a day, I found it odd how sitting still for a mere 40-minute meditation was an almost insurmountable task. I could write volumes on the experiences I went through over the ten days, but suffice to say they ranged from uncontrollable laughter all the way to tremendous sadness that - and a swear I’m not making this up - brought me to tears. If anybody cares to know the details I’d be happy to explain, but never in my life have I experienced such unbridled emotional sensations from just sitting on the floor quietly.
Aside from the religious and emotional aspects of the course, what I was surprised to find out is that I didn’t miss any of my electronics for even one second. Frankly, it was absolute pleasure to be disconnected from the outside world. Once the ten days were over, I realized nothing in the world changed: the same headlines were in the news, my friends back home had no significant updates, and out of the dozens of emails I received, only two of them were even mildly important. It was depressing to realize that if it weren’t for the retreat, I would have spent hours of my life during those 10 days scouring my phone for worthless updates that really didn’t even matter!
I loved my ten days at Tushita and I loved the environment that the group created. Never in my life have I spent so much time with a group of strangers, many of who I didn’t even know their name, and created such a warm, welcoming, and helpful community. It’s sad that I didn’t get to meet as mean people as I wanted (out of the 67 people in the group I knew less than 15 people by the end of the retreat), but it was a remarkably enjoyable experience. It’s amazing to think that a bunch of strangers somehow became friends, even though we never talked. It’s an experience that I’ve never encountered before and one that I will never forget.
Thanks Tushita!