September 13, 2008

Wow! I have quite the learning experience here. The Nepalese government is being ‘encouraged’ heavily by the Chinese government. As in, Nepal with by Chinese ‘owned’ in just a few years from what I’ve been told.

This morning I was so tired that I left morning puja early to go back to bed. I got up at 8:30 a.m. to head to the internet café, but plans were changed. Anna and I headed out to Boudha when she told me that one of our monks had returned the night before. And the other 4? They are being deported to India as they don’t have a Nepalese card.

We ended up getting a taxi to the Tibetan refugee camp that is run in cooperation with the Tibetan community and the U.N. I cried most of this morning. We saw them and gave them some money. Hopefully enough for them to have food for the 4 day trip to the Dalai Lama’s office where they will receive help. They had been hoping that they would get a refugee card there and then come back in maybe 2 months. But we’ve learned that is most likely not possible.

Nowang (not sure how to spell his name) jumped the fence tonight and came back. He is only here long enough to get some clothes and supplies before he has to be back in the morning. I think they leave for India tomorrow. Karma, the monk I was especially worried about, is supposed to be returned to the monastery tomorrow. He doesn’t have a refugee card, but they said he is too young to be deported. I hope and pray that he is returned tomorrow. That still means that 3 of the monks will be deported.

I know that this must be part of the plan for their lives and I am very thankful that I got to meet them! But I am still saddened for them.

They have to go to India and stay there unless they get proper paperwork. Nepal hasn’t issued refugee cards in something like 13 years so it is doubtful they will be legally able to return. And now they have been documented. If they return illegally they will be turned over to the Chinese government who will beat them, most likely until they die.

The old Tibetans here believe they will get to return to Tibet someday. However, since they fled the Chinese they will be tortured until they die if they return. They believed the Olympics would change everything. But we’ve seen in the news in the U.S. what happened to those that tried to speak out against the Chinese occupation during the Olympics. They were either refused entry or forced to leave the moment they started to demonstrate. Who knows about the unreported cases?

Anna says this is all very good for me to experience. I have firsthand experience with the corruption. The newspapers all say that the Nepalese government will no longer be so nice to demonstrators. Not even to foreign demonstrators.

The Dalai Lama cannot even come into Nepal. Anna says that the Tibetans don’t understand when the government says it is against the law to do something and they will retaliate for it. They don’t understand there will be severe consequences if they do. She tried to use the correlation of ‘if the U.S. said that you cannot demonstrate outside an American embassy Americans wouldn’t do it.’ I told her that I thought she was wrong about that. If the U.S. government said we cannot protest I think we’d have the majority of Americans out protesting the next day because we believe in freedom. She agreed. But you cannot do that here.

Onto other learnings, we received a teaching today. Of course I didn’t understand a word of it which I was very disappointed in, but I received it none the less. And I will be forever changed because of it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a normal day and then Lama-la and Dechen will be leaving for 3 days to lead puja elsewhere. I’m bummed about that. Maybe I will ask about having a question session with Lama-la soon.

Not too much else to report on. I’m sure that is enough. Oh my goodness! That should be! I pray that Karma is returned tomorrow and that they other monks are blessed on their journey forward. That wounds can mend. That hearts can be put back together.

May I receive from this trip all that I am supposed to. That I can be a humble student with an open heart and ears that listen. Medicine Buddha!