Miami University Tibetan Studies Program: The program continues, and field trip to TCV!

    Since the audience with His Holiness life in Mcleod Ganj has returned to normal. Classes and projects continue. Our esteemed Buddhist philosophy teacher, Geshe-la Graham Woodhouse left for south India last weekend on his way back home to England. Geshe-la Kelsang Damdul, assistant director of the Institute for Buddhist Dialectics, who spent six weeks last year in and around the Oxford campus, is now teaching in his stead. We are continuing to have guest lectures in Dr. Akers’ applied anthropology course. Last week we had representatives from the Tibetan Womens' Association, as well as the Secretary of Education. The group from TWA spoke about Tibetan Womens' role in the movement into exile in 1959 and their position within the modern government in exile.

     In the past two days the weather has turned from clear and warm during the day to cold, rainy, and overcast all the time. To my Tibetan host family this type of change is pey yak poo doo, or “very good”. It hasn’t rained here since the end of the monsoon season in late September/early October. In fact, according to my host family, the last two years have been especially dry, with water shortages causing many families to have to traverse a steep hillside down to the river to wash their clothes. Much of this dry weather is attributed to a lack of snow on the mountains during the winter, which according to the locals, seems to be a growing trend caused by global warming.

    Two recent field trips have been an inspiring source of information for us. The weekend of October 31st we were given a tour of the Tibetan Reception Center, where Tibetan refugees are cared for until they can receive and audience from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Each refugee that crosses over the Himalayas, usually during the winter, first checks into the reception center in Katmandu, Nepal. Their troubles don’t end when they reach the Nepalese border. Many refugees are turned back, and nuns and women laypeople are often beaten and raped by members of the Nepalese army. Once they reach the Reception Center they are checked in, and after a few days, sent to Delhi, where further processing ensues. After only one or two days they move again to Dharamsala, where they will be granted an audience with His Holiness, and will receive his blessing. Many of the new arrivals we saw still had the rosy cheeks characteristic of the high plateau people.

    Last weekend we spent Saturday morning at the Tibetan Children’s Village, a school for Tibetan refugee children, as well as for some boarders and day scholars. By and large the majority of the students are refugees that have come over from Tibet. Their parents have sent them to receive an education or to join a monastic order. Others that are older come on their own will, recognizing the comparatively large amount of freedom that they have in India. From the reception centers in Katmandu and Delhi they are sent to one of TCVs branch offices to begin their school if they are under 18. If they are between the ages of 18 and 50 they are sent to one of the Tibetan Transit schools, where they will learn various vocational and trade skills.

    Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the visit to TCV is enjoying the company of the youngest children in the baby room. Each year students bring stuffed animals, clothing, and toys for the youngsters to enjoy, and this year was no exception. Mutton for lunch the day before kept my immune system on high alert, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to stray too far away from the bathroom that day. However, I managed to get many photos from Renate Seiwert, and was there in spirit. (photos to be added ASAP.)