Backing up a little bit....

So last week we went up to Dolma Ling Nunnery and Norblingka. I don't really intend to make this a travel blog (well, kind of, but it's supposed to be more like a narcissistic collection of my personal reflections). However, I do want to talk a little bit about both places, because they were part of a beautiful day up here and I don't know if everyone who wants to travel to India thinks about visiting places like this. So the link to some information about the nunnery is http://www.fpmt.org/projects/other/mongolia/dolma-ling-nunnery.html. It's a really beautiful place, and if I'm being honest it was also cleaner than the monastery (no offense, men).

It's a very empowering place; Tibetans really respect their women and educate them right alongside the men. Here in India, there's a dire shortage of women, with a ratio of something like 93 women for every 100 men (supply and demand, people...supply and demand). It's really obvious everywhere you look; at first I thought it was just because women stay home more often, which might be the case, but no. The women who are around are generally married off by the time they're 18. So, ladies, if you're looking for a husband and are willing to put up with some serious cultural barriers, head over to India. But my point is, that isn't the case for the Tibetans in the area, and all the literature I find supports this idea. So the nuns at Dolma Ling (and anyplace) are well-respected and well-educated in Buddhist philosophy. I love Tibetans! Here's a cool clip- worth watching, I promise!- of nuns doing their daily Buddhist-style debating in the courtyard over at Dolma Ling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSXAlwz8VtE

Now, Norbulingka was another terrific site. http://www.norbulingka.org/ The gardens are Japanese-style designs. Really relaxing and beautiful. We got to visit different workshops where they were learning to make thankga, bronze figurines and wood furniture etc. Josh would love this place. Check out the website for more information.