Well, yet again...my plans have changed! My "one night stay" in Sarnath is going on 13 days...
Thrangu Rinpoche finished teaching on Friday and we were told that HH Karmapa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogyen_Trinley_Dorje) would be coming to get teachings from Thrangu Rinpoche and that we could write a letter requesting teachings from HH while he was in town. So, the people who decided to stay did just that! The letter was delivered and yesterday he taught! AND today he will teach again! So amazing!!!
Technically speaking (from my limited understanding of all this), HH Karmapa is 2nd to HH Dalai Lama (politically) AND is an amazing realized teacher. Yesterday was my first time meeting him in person, it was amazing. There were under 100 people at the teaching so I was about 30 feet away from him and just sat, completely frozen/fixated on him and his teachings. He's quite a powerful teacher.
I'm also officially a resident of India! Hooray!! This means I don't have to go to Nepal to have my visa stamped (since I hit the "180 day" limit). This is VERY good news. The border has been closed (by ground) because of the 50th Year Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day.
This all means that I won't make it to Nepal where there are many amazing pilgrimage sites and living teachers (and friends I've met along the way), BUT, considering where I am (Sarnath) and what is going on (HH Karmapa teaching)- GRATEFUL doesn't even skim the surface...
The guesthouse where I'm staying is truly amazing. Dr. Jain has made this residency possible! He also sponsors local schools and had a party the other day for the teachers to celebrate Holi. It was on the roof at sunset and all the women in their very colorful saris put bright colored powder on each others (and our) faces! The photos are great! We ate delicious samosas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samosa) sweets and then a man with a harmonium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonium) came and one man with a tabla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabla). The women sang and danced as it was getting dark-it was really beautiful! I was so happy to witness it!
Two more weeks in India- I'm soaking in every moment.
LOVE.
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