The heart of the pilgrimage

Getting to the Palpung Institute, where the main focus of the pilgrimage was to be held, we stopped off at Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, and Lake Tso Pema, where legend has it that Guru Rinpoche transformed fire into the lake. While there, we visited the Guru Rinpoche statue, and cave. But then it was time to travel onto Palpung Shera Ling ("Realm of Wisdom").

The institute is the seat of the 12th Kenting Tai Situpa, one of the highest-ranking lamas of the Karma Kagyu lineage. There are a large number of buildings spread over a very large, wooded site, in the hills. It includes the main monastery, shedra, stupa temple, at least three retreat centres, a primary school, library, craft centre, a printing & translation centre, 108 stupas, the usual prayer flags and wheels, a guest house, clinic, and lamp house & stores.

Most of the buildings are modern, and attractive, built in an up to date version of Tibetan architecture. The facilities are good, and provide all that is required. All the meals are vegetarian, and were very good indeed.

This institute was our home for the next eight nights. It was the site of the heart of the pilgrimage; a seven day teaching given by Tai Situpa on the topic of Dharma and Sacred Dharma. This teaching was very profound; very moving; and very significant for me. Unfortunately, I cannot adequately describe the teaching, or surrounding ceremonies, as it was an intense, very personal experience. I cannot fully describe, not took many photographs of, the institute; its details; nor the full extent of the site. I was just too involved in, and intent on, the teachings.

The on to Mcleod Ganj and a hotel on the side of a hill, giving a view of the temple complex of HH Dalai Lama. Doing kora is a major aerobic exercise, which takes about 40-50 minutes. Doing kora was the only time while in India that I saw any monkeys other than rhesus macaques: those round the temple complex are gray (or hanuman) langurs. Big beasts, but very attractive with their silver ruffs, black faces, and long tails. I did not get a photo of the langurs, so have included one of a rhesus macaque instead.

And then we had an audience with HH Dalai Lama. We approached his seat and were blessed took our place around the throne. It had been intended that we would then pose for group photos, and be on our way. One of our party had brought a newspaper clipping for HH, detailing Bishop Tutu's response to the South African government's refusal to allow HH into South Africa. HH read the clipping, and then told the rest of us what the clipping said. Apparently the Bishop had deplored the ban, and called on the South African government to rescind it. He then went on to say that of course, it made little difference to him personally, because he knew, from all his work as a christian ministerthat he was destined for heaven. HH, by contrast, was destined for another place.  HH roared with laughter, and declared that Desmond Tutu was very acute. He then went on to give a short, but complete, teaching. Starting with alignment of quantum physics and Buddhism, he moved swiftly onto compassion as a remedy for suffering; that ignorance and fear were the causes of suffering; and that that humanity would be in a much better place if the path of peace were adopted. Then we posed  while group photos were taken. We were so closely packed in that one of our group ended up sitting on HH's foot. She then got somewhat flustered by this apparent act of lese-majeste, until HH grabbed her hand to steady her, and then plonked her hand on his knee to give her some stability. Outside there was emotional release with many of the party in tears, and all of us moved.

You wait all year for a nunnery, then three come along together

Pilgrimage to India 2

2018-10-19 - 2018-10-20
Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery
One of the substantial sub-themes of this pilgrimage was women and the Dharma. This involved us going to three different nunneries, all very different, all the same. Our first destination, after disembarking from the train into the fleet of taxis awaiting us, was the Taragarh Palace. We were in this very grand, tea station type hotel for one night, and as a base tor visiting the first of the three nunneries.

Dongyu Gatsal Ling temple

This first nunnery was Dongyu Gatsal Ling. This is the nunnery founded by Jetsunma Tensin Palmo. A most remarkable woman - described by one of my friends as "Jetsunma Palmo is THE example for all of us female practitioners who believe in making a contribution to the living dharma." She spent 12 years living in a cave, some of the time in strict retreat. Then asked to found a nunnery, which she did. The nunnery is now complete, the last addition, a cafe, was opened just before we arrived. The nunnery is intended for women of the Himalayan region, who have had no opportunity to encounter the Dharma before.

We visited Dongyu Gatsul Ling on two successive days. The first day was a visit to see the nunnery; attend the Guru Rinpoche puja (a very long one - four to five hours, that none of us attended fully); had lunch in the cafe, met up with the administrator and learnt a little about the place. The site is in Himachal Pradesh, in the hills at an elevation of  about 1750m. All the buildings are new, and fresh. They are in one of the simpler styles of Tibetan/Indian architecture. The style tits the location very well. The whole site is beautiful, with masses of plants, a backdrop of hills, a cleanliness that owed much to the lack of air pollution at the location (a substantial difference from Delhi). The atmosphere is one of intent, joyous busyness - all the nuns we encountered working hard, but evidently thriving on their life in the nunnery. A very friendly and welcoming place. There were one or two other visitors there, but only for very short periods, outside of the puja.

The second visit was to meet Jetsunma Palmo. She conducted the audience as a question and answer session. She was born in England, which made her English much more familiar to me (I was after all traveling with a group mainly of South Africans, with an admixture of Scots, an American, and a sole other English person). In all that she said, she was clear, definite, and displaying that most uncommon characteristic, common sense. I also took from her a sense of deep joy in the Dharma, and in her actions. A long, fascinating, and deeply touching session. A very great privilege to have encountered her and some of the results of her actions.

2018-10-31
Thosamiling Nunnery, Institute, and Retreat Centre

Another activity in the gardens

We visited this nunnery for part of the day. This one was built for international women following Tibetan Buddhism  living in India. It was founded by Venrable Tenzin Sangmo, a dutch nun. Located in a rural setting with a backdrop of hills, one of the most notable features is the very extensive gardens, including flowers, fruit, and vegetables.   
 
We were shown around the gardens by Tensin Sangmo. Being home to a wide range of nationalities, and having the gardens available, has led to a certain amount of competition between the cooks. The result of this is a vegetarian cook book with recipes from all over the world. I think everybody took the opportunity of buying one. Mine has yet to be put to use. The nuns provided us with tea and cakes. Again they were friendly, and thriving. They were also harmonious, as evidenced by the recording of their chanted prayers that they gave us. Massed chanting by women is a very different experience to that by men.

We also looked at the temple. The outside of this has paintings of female protectors. I gathered that this may be the only place where there are these representations. They all ride different, mostly mythical beasts. These are a different set from those provided to the male protectors.

biscuit scoffers

018-11-01
Karma Drubgyu Thargay Ling Nunnery

This last nunnery, also founded by an English nun, Freda Bedi (later Gelongma Karma Khechog Palmo) was rather older than the others. It is working at capacity, and needs renovation, and extension. Another community of dedicated, happy, welcoming women. This visit was more ad-hoc than the others. In addition, due to language difficulties, and communication problems, the nuns were a little unsure of who we were.

They did provide tea and biscuits. I felt guilty about us scoffing the biscuits, as it was likely that these were treats for the nuns.









There are photos of all three nunneries available at::https://chriswalton.smugmug.com/Travel/India/Three-nunneries/

Easy preparations in Delhi

Pilgrimage to India 1
Delhi

2018-10-17
Arrived in Delhi at six am, and transferred to the hotel very easily and smoothly. Apart from those of our party who had come in today, but were staying at the airport, I was the first to arrive in Delhi. As I had allowed myself plenty of time to settle in and sort myself out, the next job on the to-do list was to get some money. Erika (our pilgrimage organiser) had arranged for us to be given a sum in rupees, as part of the transfer from the airport, to make sure we could manage tips and small expenses. This is necessary as you are not now allowed to bring rupees into the country, and what rupees I had (and many others) are no longer legal tender, due to the withdrawal of most notes earlier this year. Obtaining currency from ATMs is not a problem - I carry pre-loaded currency cards, and I have done so many times in many different countries. 12 ATMs later, with none of them accepting my card, I was changing my mind as to how easy it was. In most of them my main card was just not recognised. In the one machine that did recognise my card, the transaction was rejected just after I had entered the amount required.

This was starting to be worrying. I checked my wallet and pockets and found I had about £50 and €100 on me. Changed these at the hotel (at ruinous rates) to ensure that I had a basic minimum of money available to me.

I got myself settled in , waited for the next batch of people to turn up, which they did about 16:00. Really nice to hook up with Erika again, and to recognise one of the party, Val Robertson, from Samye Ling, in Scotland. We all removed to the cafe/bar in the hotel for a light snacks, and to start to introduce ourselves. Pleasant, and so to bed.

2018-10-18
Rose to resume my quest to find a workable ATM, after the second bout of money changing in the hotel (they would only do one change per customer, per day). This time I had dug out my backup currency card from its location deep in my luggage. Thus armed I set off to retry my main card, and my backup card. Main card still not working, but I did find an ATM (adjacent to the hotel) that accepted my backup card. This did limit my transactions to ₹10,000 (about £100). I did not think this a problem, as most of the costs had been paid for the trip, and I only anticipated small personal spending. Money also goes a long way in India. (Incidentally, this transaction has still not appeared on my account). This was to bite me later on in the trip, when there was a misunderstanding about what had been paid, and what not. I had to pay out (in rupees) for seven nights at the Palpung Institute. This involved me using my British debit card, using a wireless terminal, on a 2G network, being held aloft outside to get a signal, and the process only taking about 30 minutes. I was later reimbursed for this, in dollars, but it had involved a charge on my account that I had not anticipated. Anyway, by morning end I was happy that my money was sorted out.

During the day, additional members of the party kept arriving, and sorting themselves out. The four of us who had been there overnight went off to see the Red Fort in Delhi. Interesting, even though Indian bureaucracy reared its head - the tickets had been bought by somebody Indian, from the Indian customer counter. I don't look very much like an Indian, so was challenged at the ticket barrier to the inner part of the site. After a lot of to-and-froing I was allowed in. I had been a resigned, and passive onlooker to all the kerfuffle being raised.

On return to the hotel, people were still arriving. After an early, rushed, but very good meal at the hotel, off we went to the railway station. Like previous trips, the scene at the railway station appeared to be one of utter chaos, with people, luggage, porters, crowds, and residents of the station, going every which way, and occupying most of the space. Also as previously, suddenly everything was sorted, and we were all together, waiting for the train, with all our luggage together and next to us. Onto the train, and the enjoyment of my third Indian sleeper train. And suddenly we were on our way.

Autumn arrives at Campbell Park

Shhh......

Off to sunnier climes

Exuberance

There are many good things about living in Milton Keynes. Two of them are that the council, and before them, the development corporation, have fostered many public sculptures; and there is always something new to discover. This sculpture is one I've only just come across.

Sandpiper set

Today, I saw and photographed a green sandpiper. This completed my set of common, non-coastal, British, sand pipers - common, green and wood. Like the other photos I have taken of these birds, the actual bird is tiny within the picture. The pictures below of the green and common sandpiper do show their size. Those of the wood sandpiper are so small I can't make any decent picture from them. They are good only for identification purposes (with a magnifier). So I have a full set of birds but not pictures. Pictures will have to wait until I next see a wood sandpiper.

Green sandpiper

Common sandpiper playing with the big boys

The wood sandpiper's understudy has had to step in. This bird at Marston Vale, is disadvantaged by the lack of colour. The bird was near, but not with, the large flock of other cormorants.

Leucistic cormorant

Bad neighbours

Lunch for the kids

Nesting coot

My hobby's dragonfly watching

Options

Pretty lady

This is one of those dragonflies that display sexual diamorphism - the male and female are different sizes, colours, and body shape. This one was posing for me - just long enough for me to get my pictures, and then off it went.

Where is it?

Birds of China

I was very pleased today, to identify the three birds I took photos of while in China. All three are exotic birds as far as I am concerned, and, with the aid of a friend, I not only tracked down all three, but found that one of them is a rarity even in China, its main place of origin.

sooty-headed bulbul
aka golden-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus aurigaster german, Turdus aurigaster, 白喉红臀鹎

This bird was in the bush just by the entrance to the hotel, as we were leaving DeRong. It was far less perturbed by our presence than we were, trying as we were to arrange luggage, and who went where in what car. This is a common bird in these parts apparently.

The adult has black head, chin and nape with short crest,  brown upper-parts with white rump, and white underparts. Juvenile resembles adult but has browner head and paler vent. 19-21 cm long.

It is found in China, and throughout south-eastern Asia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Kessler's thrush
aka white-backed thrush, Przewalski's Thrush, Turdus kessleri, 棕背鸫

Kessler's thrush
aka white-backed thrush, Przewalski's Thrush, Turdus kessleri, 棕背鸫

These two birds (male top, juvenile bottom) were foraging in the planted strip between a busy road and its pavement. They were just round the corner from the hotel we were staying at in Ganzi.

This bird is found in central China. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate shrubland. It was sufficiently large, (28cm) that initially I thought it was a corvid, and spent some time looking through the lists of such birds as are found in China.

Blyth's kingfisher
aka great blue kingfisher, Alcedo hercules, Alcedo grandes

This is the surprise bonus in my photos. This kingfisher, originating in Yunnan, but found also in Vietnam and Myanmar. In China, the species is estimated to have fewer than 100 breeding pairs. It is thus not only an exotic (as far as I am concerned) but a rare exotic. In spite of it being described as a shy bird, I saw it in a very large, and densely populated People's Park in central Chengdu. I was just sitting by a stream, with my camera to hand, and I looked up, and there it was.

It has deep rufous underparts with a blackish blue breast patch, and brilliant cobalt blue or azure upperparts, tinged with purple. The wings are a dark blackish green, with blue speckles and tips to some of the feathers. The bill of the male is entirely black, while the female has a dark red lower mandible. Its size is 22-23cm.

The species feeds on fish and insects it catches by diving in water bodies. Unlike other Alcedo kingfishers, Blyth's kingfisher dives from a shrub close above the water, rather than from an exposed vantage point. The species is presumed not to migrate. It is described as a shy bird.

 Frequents small rivers and waterways in evergreen forest, hilly regions, or deep ravines. It is sometimes found near streams near well-wooded farmland. Its elevational range is chiefly between 400 and 1,000m above sea level, extending to a minimum of 200m and a maximum of 1,200m.

More butterfly beauties

Speckled wood butterfly

Comma butterfly

A pair of really fit birds

Insect interlude

 

 

gatekeeper, butterfly, female

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot sunny days bring all these beautiful insects into view. All of these were taken within around 600 metres of each other, within two and a half hours. Wonderful displays.

comma, butterfly

ruddy darter, dragonfly, male

red admiral, butterfly

western honey bee

Nest building

Coot behaviour that seemed a little odd.  This coot was building a completely new nest, bringing in material every few seconds. The nest did not exist one week previous - the post was completely alone. This seems very late in the year for a bird to be nesting.

The chick scrambled onto the nest from somewhere else, after I had been watching them for some time. The chick is too old to have been born in this nest. It later became apparent that this chick seemed attached to this coot, but the adult was one of a pair, the other of the pair also having a single coot in tow. This was also odd; if there was to be a second brood, why not use the (presumably) existing nest. Why was the chick using this new nest. The chick spent half its time, when the adult approached, helping build the nest; and half eating the new nesting material. Again this lasted some time.

Eventually the juvenile left for elsewhere. Throughout all this time the adult was industriously building, plaiting reeds into the structure. Two days later, the activity was still the same, except that the nest had become detached from the post and was floating some distance away.

Playing with the big boys

This common sandpiper was so well camouflaged, it had been nearly invisible, until it decided to take a walk along the spit towards the duck and geese.

Local wildlife photography

Over the last 18 months I have been introduced to the delights of local sites for wildlife photography. A friend of mine, a birder, has been introducing me to some of the many sites across Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. As they are so local, provide a variety of habitats, and have a wide range of wildlife (mostly birds), it has been a opportunity to polish my skills, and use a range of different photographic equipment. In addition, I learn a lot from their knowledge of birding, even on one occasion photographing blind, under instruction, to capture a rarity that had been spotted. As our emphasis is different, (birding, and photography), we complement each other in these excursions.

The pictures above were captured at a nature reserve which has become a regular haunt. While I am quite pleased with these shots, the second does show one of my continued technical issues: I tend to frame so tightly that I cut off parts of the subject. (In this case about 2mm of tail.) Still learning.

Wet, non-zombie, cormorant

Blooming poppy

Today's picture

Poseur? Moi?

Light lunch for a Konik

Today's pictue choice

Egret standoff at the Heronry

Picture of the day

The Family Siskin

Picture of the day

A picture from a day