China chapter 2

Well so far so good. The only blogging problem is that I haven't figured out where or how to put pictures....and I have quite a few. Also I had to jimmyrig a way around to actually view my blog and I am kind of sad since it doesn't look like I can access Ricky's or Elizabeth's blog.

Yesterday was really amazing, we went to Kunbum Monastary which is about an hours bus ride from our hotel. It is a really important monastary to the Gelupa school and I felt honered to be able to visit. There are about 20 different temples you can walk around in, and they are all really amazing.

I especially liked the Kalachakra temple where there is a permanent mandala built and amazing frescos of Tara and Kalachakra painted on the wall, with beautiful statues in the corners of Maitreya and 1000 armed Chenrezig. The energy in there was really intense.

I felt really happy to visit the Long Life temple so soon after the retreat. I said a few Amitayus mantras for sentient beings. One of the other people I was with said she had the strangest feeling of dejavu that she had been there before and I got a kick out of that...she probably had been!!!

The Tara temple may have been my favorite and I spent a while offering prostrations there. There were so many thangkas of different Taras many that I had never seen before. It was very much like the Green Tara sadhana when it talks about different colors, numbers of arms and wrathful Taras. There were several 4 armed semi wrathful Taras, but not the one I was familiar with!

It was pretty awe inspiring to think that I was in this place that was older than america. They were even rebuilding several of the temples which was interesting to watch and very detailed.

China is very different and some things are a little difficult to get used to. Like driving...it's basically controlled chaos. Half the time you are sure you are going to crash...there are almost no rules...I think I have seen one place with a stoplight where people actually stop. No stopping on right turns and left turns also if you can get away with it. the buses are pretty fun too.

I wasn't sure how big of a place we would be in...well Xining has about 3 million people in it. There are so many places to shop...that's what we have been doing today. There are night markets and whole streets with outdoor stalls, and different kinds of food and pastries. Things are pretty cheap too...i bought a nice mala and bell and vajra @ the monastary for the equivalent of less than 20 dollars.

Despite what I thought we are eating really well. The custom is to order too much food much to my chagrin...I am wondering how they eat so much and stay so thin here. I found a little public workout area about 3 blocks from the hotel we are at and I have been going there to do pullups and dips in the morning as i have decided to get back into shape. No gym so I have to go old skool... pushups, situps etc. I am really sore.

People everywhere stare at you and it's understandable...I have only seen about a half dozen other non asians since I got here and most of them are also english teachers. But I have learned a few chinese words and i usually just smile and say hello in chinese. Today in the mall I said hello to a monk and these tibetan guys and it turned out one of them was a famous tibetan musician...they wanted to take pictures with us and they gave me a poster. It was pretty funny.

Speaking of teaching we will be starting next week...we are basically teaching a summer school class then going to Yu Shu for a tibetan horse festival which should be pretty cool. After we get back it will be pretty intensive between english teaching and tibetan learning. I am also considering some extra tutoring for chinese because everyone speaks it here and it certainly would make things easier.

Things are both simultaneously exciting and frightening...but I think as time goes by it gets better. But all of the people that we have met from the school have been really cool to us...without them I think we would be lost, where to go what to order how much to pay etc. I hope maybe someday they will come to the u.s. so I can take them around and return the hospitality!

Most of all I am really grateful and appreciative for the help we have gotten from back home because without them we would have been in a much lower position for negotiation with the school, but that is a whole other story I don't feel like getting into right now.

Anyway everyone is waiting for me to leave so I am going to bounce...time for some noodles.

p.s. there is no english spell check on this computer so my appologies