After spending 3 weeks at the Aurovalley Ashram I decided to head to the area of India where the Dalai Lama resides. I was not aware if he would be at his home as he does alot of traveling promoting the Tibetan cause. The area was beautiful. Dharamsala has been connected with Hinduism and Buddhism for a long time, many monasteries having been established there in the past, by Tibetan immigrants in the 19th century. Several thousand Tibetan exiles have now settled in the town, and most live in  McLeod Ganj, where they have built monasteries, temples and schools. The town is sometimes known as “Little Lhasa of Tibet”, after the Tibetan capital city, and has become an important tourist destination with many hotels and restaurants.

I arrived on a friday afternoon and decided to stay up the hill from Dharamsala because it was more scenic and the weather was a little cooler. The hotel I decided to stay at, Chonor house was full and they recommended another hotel for my first week. It was 8 auspicious him view hotel.  If you want to see the hotel and view you can go    http://8aushimview.synthasite.com/ 

I happened to arrive just in time for Budha holy month. 4 days after I arrived, as I was sitting down for breakfast, the hotel owners came over and excitedly told me that they had a phone call annoucing that the Dalai Lama was in his temple, leading the service.

Tsuglagkhang Temple complex, (or the Dalai Lama Temple) is the most sacred monument in McLeod Ganj.The temple houses larger than life statues of the Buddha, Padmasambhava and Avaloktwshwara. The temple also houses one of the largest collections of sacred Tibetan texts. You can meditate or You can take a serene morning or evening walk around the temple.

 What an amazing experience I had. After going through the massive security checks, I made my way through the large crowds to sit at the back of the temple and watched the ceremony. It was amazing to sit and hear the Dalai Lama chant! I can not  describe the energy coming from the temple.

Later that week I decided to get a Tibetan massage. I have had many different types of massages in my life, but not a tibetan massage. I had met 3 foreigners at a Tibetan concert earlier in the week and 2 of them recommended the same therapist. After my first massage I decided to do a 1 week treatment plan.

During my week of treatment, Kalsang, my massage therapist recommended that I see a Tibetan Doctor. He took me to the most famous one, but he was away traveling, teaching Tibetan doctors. I was then referred to the Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute ,which was down the hill from Mcleod Ganj, about a 25 minute walk. When I arrived I was ushered into a waiting room and shortly after I was told that the head of the department was on a teaching trip and that I would be seeing  Doctor Khenrabg.

I had a through assesment and was given a perscription to be filled downstairs. The medicine  where tiny pills made from herbs. Unlike chinese medicine which uses animals in their medicine, tibetan medicine does not.

You can go to www.men-tsee-khang.org to get more information on the Tibetin medicine institute. If you are interested about the dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan art and culture, please visit www.norbulingka.org