receive our newsletters
join Friends of FPMT
Drilbu Ri, Lahaul Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Tushita Meditation Centre.
FPMT resident teacher, staff members, and volunteers at Tushita Meditation Centre, the FPMT center in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, went on pilgrimage to Lahaul (Garsha) in August 2019. The group traveled together in the Tushita bus and two additional vehicles on a route which included crossing the Rohtang Pass on the Leh-Manali Highway from Kullu district to the Lahaul Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh. Ven. Tenzin Kunphen, spiritual program coordinator, and Maria Nobuko Corrales, creative project assistant, share the story. This is a short excerpt from the published online story, “Tushita Meditation Centre Staff Went on a Pilgrimage to the Land of Dakinis.”
In August 2019, the Tushita staff did something remarkable following Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice. We closed our doors for a week and went on pilgrimage together! Our destination was Garsha, the Land of Dakinis (also know as Lahaul), in northern Himachal Pradesh, India. This spiritual adventure was filled with both trying and recurring obstacles that threatened our safety and caused some to turn back, but it was also filled with powerful blessings for those who endured!
This wasn’t the first time Tushita staff had traveled to Lahaul. In 2013, we were blessed to be invited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to visit Lahaul, where Rinpoche did a private retreat in Triloknath together with Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche and Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme). Tushita staff traveled with Rinpoche for two weeks. Then in 2015, following Rinpoche’s advice, the Tushita team went on pilgrimage for the first time, making a one-week pilgrimage to Lahaul.
Markula temple, Udaipur, Lahaul Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India, August 2019. Photo courtesy of Tushita Meditation Centre.
In August 2019, our primary pilgrimage destinations were:
- Drilbu Ri Mountain—revered Chakrasamvara mountain, Palace of the Buddha’s Enlightened Body
- Phakpa Temple in Triloknath—revered Chenrezig statue and the Milky Chenrezig Lake (Omay Tso), Palace of the Buddha’s Enlightened Speech
- Markula Temple in Udaipur—revered Vajravarahi temple, Palace of the Buddha’s Enlightened Mind
On the way we visited:
- Sangam—the spot where the Chandra and Bhaga Rivers meet and unite together as Chandrabhaga River
- Tara Temple and Palden Lhamo waterfall near Sissu
- Padmasambhava caves and statue in Rewalsar (Tso Pema)
At 10 P.M. on August 18, nineteen of Tushita’s staff and volunteers loaded up into a bus and two additional vehicles to begin our long overnight drive to our first waypoint: Manali. Ginger tablets and Dramamine were washed down, strategically timed, along with prayers for effectiveness by those pilgrims susceptible to the destabilizing effect of the twists and turns promised by the road ahead. The hours of winding roads lived up to their reputation as a few meals reversed course, never completing their digestion, and others barely held on.
In the early still-dark hours of the next morning, just outside of Manali, we came to a halt. We were faced with a two-lane road that had crumbled to less than one, washed away by the heavy rains into the river below. Vinod, Tushita’s trusted driver who manned one of the vehicles, assessed the situation, uncertain if we could make it across. With a nagging feeling telling him “no” he reluctantly backed off, allowing the car that had come up behind us to make their choice.
As this new vehicle asserted its confidence in forging ahead, we all felt a wave of both relief and empathy as the car became stuck precisely where Vinod had a bad feeling. Reversing and attempting two hour-long detours before finally finding an alternate way through, all three Tushita cars reconvened in the light of a new day in Manali. …
Read the full online story, “Tushita Meditation Centre Staff Went on a Pilgrimage to the Land of Dakinis,” and view more photos online:
https://fpmt.org/mandala/in-depth-stories/tushita-meditation-centre-staff-go-on-pilgrimage/
For information about Tushita Meditation Centre, visit their website:
http://tushita.info
FPMT.org and Mandala Publications brings you news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and of activities, teachings, and events from over 160 FPMT centers, projects, and services around the globe. If you like what you read, consider becoming a Friend of FPMT, which supports our work.