dharamsala

it's been a long time. somehow i don't feel too much like spending time on the net or take photos, which is good news i guess. life here are quiet fulfilling, with an excellent combination of nature, hedonism, social life and spirituality. things are flowing smoothly, almost by themselves, and the more i stay here the more i am live the moment and the less i plan ahead - and even when i do i am aware that it's not much more then a mental entertainment.

the way from kathmandu was nice, and on the flight i met bodo, an
australian around his 60s who lives now in india (quiet low budget life),
writes about buddhism (he believes the whole thing has to be reformed)
and doing some business. he helped me soften the potentially traumatic
delhi expirience, get organized quickly, and catch the night bus to
dharamsala a couple of hours after i arrived.

as you might know, it was the english who united india in its (more or less) current structure, and though english is the official language, each place has its own language, without which it is impossible to understand the underlying fabric of local life. around dharamsala, i soon discovered, that language is hebrew (although tibetan and hindi may also prevail among some service-providing castes). first i didn't know whether to be happy with it (there's a sense of home-sweet-home after 5 weeks of speaking, reading, writing and sometimes even thinking in english, when you hear barry sacharoff in the lobby of your guest house) or disgusted. however, a couple of days here taught me that i don't really have to choose, just accept and enjoy the fact that i am eating breakfast on a himalayan foothill, and discussing the parking problems of my own neibourhood in tel aviv.

it is really easy to make friends here, and somehow you always meet each other on time even though there is hardly a way to connect. many people are dealing with spirituality and having meaningful expiriences, which makes a special atmosphere. i even have a cute israeli lover who lives 200 meters from my house in tel aviv... i meditate in some groups (one of them today was realy WOW!), walk around in the hills, and play a lot of music. i stay at a guest house is managed by the monks, dupong losaling monastery, which is quiet, clean and cost about 15 shekels a night (bathroom attached). the activity choise for tonight, for example, is between KABALAT SHABAT at one of the two local BEIT CHABADs, or an indian classical music concert.

things are going well, so it seems, and i am feeling there is inner development, emotional, spiritual, and also in my academic vision. there is alot of space to let things be - be they delighting or painful - and go through them slowly. even the unpleasant news about the break-in to my appartment, and my stolen sitar and electric guitar cannot change my general feeling at the moment. time, new expiriences, and my meeting yesterday with my tibetan friend and teacher geshe pema dorje la, eased the conflicts from the retreat and revealed the few next steps along the path. they also dissolved somehow the need for certainty and full clarity in it. i meet many people along the way, each with their own practices, and with their own (sometimes contradicting) ways of putting their expiriences and insights into words; but there's no doubt about the general direction - living, learning, practicing, loving, developing and serving others.

that is for now. i am sending you my love from here, and wish you a pleasant and inspired shabat.