Leaving Dharamsala

It is 20 to 8 and and we just finished breakfast in this very good Kongpo restaurant. After a short walk JL is now going for a massage and I am again at the internet. Since arriving in India I have pretty much remained vegetarian. It is very easy to be vegetarian here and probably the best protection against stomach sickness. I don't know that it is so much that the meat is bad. It is more likely the case that the food preparation for the meat is not as clean as it should be and that is why some people end up with problems. I am not being overly cautious nor am I taking any chances. With health concerns in third world environments it is best to keep to a middle course rather than being extreme on one side or the other.

It is a beautiful morning here with bright sunshine and a clear sky. The mountains are a shimmering white with all the snow that arrived last Wednesday. The mountains rise straight up behind Dharamsala making for a magnificent sight. Anybody that has seen the Canadian Rockies in Banff or Jasper National Park will know what I mean. The snow is not likely to melt soon since it is still March and the really warm weather is yet to come.

Today is important for me as I will be meeting the Drugpa Kagyu Lama Drugu Chogyal Rinpoche at his monastery this side of Palampur. He and I have always met breifly over the past ten years in New York but I have never been to his monastery. I have been researching Latog and Khampa Gar style paintings for the last few years and he is the most knowledgeable expert in the world on these subjects. (See an example of this painting style - Namkha Palzang). I have a series of questions that I want to ask him and several theories that I want to present to him. With luck and enough time I also hope to see some of the art treasures in his monastery as well as in the settlement of Tashi Jong a few miles away. Tashi Jong is famous for the many tokdens that live in the hills above the settlement. Tokdens are Buddhist yogis and sadhus that keep their hair long and live an ascetic lifestyle.