I love India!

Now that we are leaving Dharmasala, en route to New Delhi, I have some time to think about what this was all about. I didn't come to India thinking someone would give me answers or a sense of purpose, which is a good thing because no one tried. :-)

But I was hoping that by seeing things new, getting out of my routine, meeting new people in a different country, maybe I'd start to get a little closer to the proverbial Truth.

I saw enough in Dharmasala to know that theres a lot of tension between the Tibetan population there and the Indian government and Indian people. It's not unusual at all for people to question the motives of any group owho move to a new land and insist on preserving their culture at the expense of easy understanding between themselves and their "hosts." And I'm sure not everyone's motivations are pure. But on an individual level, people are inherently good. We are lying to ourselves if we think we wouldn't do desperate or corrupt things if we believed our intentions were righteous.

I admire the Dalai Lama and feel amazed that I had the chance to meet him, but at the same time I would never follow him blindly. Buddhism is the ultimate exercise in critical thinking and you need to practice in order to reach any kind of understanding. It's not possible for me to see the business of the Dalai Lama as anything but organized religion, and therefore vulnerable to corruption. But the Dalai Lama has brought a lot of light and love to people across faiths and nationalities. I admire that.

The monastery and nunnery sort of reminded me of Catholic school, but since I'm really just an outsider, there's no way I can really grasp or judge any of this. All I can do is remember my thoughts are not the truth, and whatever I take away from the experience of this trip is what I created for myself, not something that was given to me. It's my job to do something positive and keep trying to let go of, or at least become more aware of, my misconceptions and attachments.

Well, I will be able to upload some pictures soon, I'll be home Friday morning (remember, it's 10.5 hours ahead here, so we are traveling backwards in time and arriving Friday morning Minnesota time ha!)-- I will have some little stories about each picture.

Today we hired a driver for about $13 each person for 8 hours so we see more of New Delhi and do some shopping. I would have liked to have not spent that money and just walked around and used it towards shopping, but it takes up a lot of time (walking) and it's really hot, I would have tapped out within a couple of hours and not bought anything anyway. I'm might hate winter, but I'm still a Minnesota girl, and can't handle this heat at all.

Love,
Steph