"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion."
~Dalai Lama~
Walking down the street towards the Dalai Lama s home in Dharamshala at 8 am, I was pleasantly surprised to see a peace pole just at the entrance to his residence. Felt deep gratitude for the work done by the
Saionji family does to have these reminders to pray for peace placed all over the world.
What made it even more special was that just a few minutes earlier I had received a darshan of the Dalai Lama as he was driven down this very street and as he waved at all of us excited pedestrians, I felt a descent of peace left behind in his trail.
Soon after, as I entered the temple right by his house, I was again surprised by some young Tibetan volunteers who were serving all the visitors a cup of butter tea and warm bread with huge smiles. Though I had just had my breakfast before coming here, I received the offering in deep gratitude to their heart of service and sat down to partake of this special treat. The generosity of these simple mountain people who themselves are in exile from their beloved homeland teared me up.
As I settled into my seat at a respectful distance from the lovely Buddha statue in the temple, I was touched by a beautiful chant going on in the temple with hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people participating in the ceremony. My soul felt nurtured, both by the warm bread and the collective chanting.
I sat in this enchanted state for a long time until an old Tibetan lady sitting close by beckoned me with a smile and in broken hindi explained that today's prayers are for the peaceful soul journey of all the people who perished in the recent Nepal earthquake. She taught me the chant ''Om muni muni mahamuni e swaha'' and even gave me her prayer beads so that I too may participate in the ceremony.
As my fingers turned the beads, I remembered Jayesh bhai who always says that in times of natural disasters our prayers always reach the affected people long before our material relief does. I felt a visceral ripple of peace as I prayed along with all the others and also deep gratitude for the gift of prayers.
