From Brahma to Buddha, Spring 2006

Primary Locations: Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim Cultures of the Ganges River Plain and Tibetan Communities & Culture of the Himalayas

The Ganges at Varanasi

Flowing from high in the Himalayas southeast to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges River is considered sacred by hundreds of millions of Hindu worshippers in India. More than 2500 years ago, the Buddha began offering his teachings in small villages near the Ganges and the ancient city of Varanasi continues to draw countless pilgrims every year who bathe along its Ghats. An ancient city of culture and learning, Varanasi continues to offer all those who visit a unique opportunity to witness lives of devotion and the traditional ways of living that inform so much of Indian history and culture.

Dharamsala

Spinning prayer wheels, Dharamsala

From a modest monastery on the side of a hill, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of the world’s Tibetan Buddhists, holds quiet court in the bustling town of Dharamsala. The rare opportunity to have a private audience with the Dalai Lama, one of the most renowned and beloved figures alive today, will surely be an unforgettable highlight of our time in Dharamsala.

In this large village tucked inside the folds and valleys of the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, prayer wheels whistle in the hands of the faithful while novice red-robed monks in training dart through the streets. Over the last 45 years, Tibetans have transformed this former British hill station into what is now known as “Little Lhasa.” Dharamsala is home to the Tibetan government in exile as well as dozens of monasteries and important cultural organizations, including the Tibetan Library and Archives. With a healthy mix of people conducting daily rituals with the sacred, it is equally easy to get lost in good-natured haggling in open markets and shops as it is to have lively discussions about the nature of emptiness or how best to reclaim Tibet from the Chinese. It is also where Tibetan traditions of medicine, astrology, law, religion, arts and language are preserved and nurtured. In short, Dharamsala is now the epicenter of the contemporary Tibetan world.

Ladakh

The road to Leh

Few things could be lonelier than that landscape of storm-beaten rose-brush and rock, and yet I never felt alone. All round me, along the path, in the willow grove, by the stream, on and between the rocks, there were signs that others had passed the same way. Prayer flags shook out their yellow and red rags from the heart of a gully or from the tops of crags above me; stones arranged in half circles, in sacred letters…I came to the fork in the path and looked up. There, half a mile above me, was the monastery; there Go-Tsang was at last, high in its cradle of rock, with nothing but the wide, burning sky behind it.
--Andrew Harvey, “A Journey in Ladakh”

High on the Tibetan Plateau in India’s northern-most region lies the former kingdom of Ladakh. Known as “Little Tibet”, Ladakh has been open to foreigners only since the mid-1970’s. Prior to 1962, when the threat of Chinese invasion prompted the rapid construction of a road into the region, travel to Ladakh involved several weeks of difficult walking at high altitudes. However, over the centuries, many nomads, traders, and pilgrims did make this journey across vast plains and from one sparsely settled town to the next, most with ancient monasteries built into the cliffs above the villages. Because of the nearly impassable Himalayan ranges to the south and southwest, almost all of Ladakh’s cultural influences came from its neighbor to the east and north—Tibet. As you walk through some of the quiet side streets of Leh, Ladakh’s capital, it is easy to think that you’ve stepped back in time and are wandering through a Tibetan town before the Chinese invasion. In fact, as many experienced travelers have noticed, Ladakh is one of the very few regions in the world where Tibetan Buddhism and all its cultural forms have flourished without interruption since introduced more than 1000 years ago. This continuity and endurance—of a religious tradition and the people that support it—set in a landscape of austere and formidable beauty, help make Ladakh one of the world’s most magical destinations.

Program Overview

Our journey this spring starts with a flight to New Delhi, the capital of India. The next day we begin our orientation by exploring one of the most colorful markets in Asia, Chadni Chowk, India’s largest mosque, Jami Masjid, and the historic Red Fort of the old city. That night, we will also try to take in a traditional sitar concert in the city. The following day, we travel by train to Agra, home of the world renowned Taj Mahal as well as Agra’s Red Fort. After viewing these two important architectural monuments, we continue by train to Varanasi, the subcontinent' s holiest city. This intensely thriving city is located above the banks of the Ganges River and is considered to be the oldest continually inhabited place on earth. Part of Varanasi 's appeal lies in its diverse blend of cultures and religions. Students will have the chance to see Hindus walk through dawn light for a ritual dip in their cherished Ganges, as well as to observe Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and other devoted people who live and practice in their communities.

It is in this inspirational celebration of life and transformation that we immerse ourselves for four days. We will visit important cultural and religious sites, meet musicians, traditional doctors, university professors, local artisans and other leaders in the community. We will learn some introductory Hindi to help students communicate with our Indian hosts. And after we are settled, we will spend a day completing the Panchakroshi Yatra, one of the most sacred pilgrimages in India. We will also travel to Sarnath, a site for Buddhist pilgrimage and the place where the religion began when the Buddha gave his first sermon on the Four Noble Truths. After having the chance to make the day trip from Varanasi to Sarnath, we will join thousands of pilgrims from all over the world in the place where the Buddha was enlightened, where he gave a majority of his teachings, the site of his last sermon, as well as the place where he passed away at the age of 80 and reached Nirvana.

One of the highlights will be our visit to the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment. The height of the temple is 170 feet and on its top are Chatras that symbolize the sovereignty of religion. Inside the temple in the main sanctum is a colossal image of Buddha in a sitting posture touching the earth with his right hand. In this posture the Buddha represents his accomplishment of the supreme enlightenment with the earth as his witness. Just outside of the temple is a massive Bodhi Tree, thought to be grown from a shoot of the original tree under which the Buddha sat when he became enlightened 2500 years ago. Bodh Gaya is also the home of numerous monasteries and temples for the entire world’s great Buddhist cultures.

While in this area, we will have the chance to visit Rajgir, where the Buddha gave numerous sermons during the monsoon season. Nearby is Nalanda, a center of Buddhist learning for over seven centuries, known for its great teachers such as Nagarjuna, the Mahayana Buddhist Philosopher, Dharmapala, the Brahman scholar, and Padmasambhava, the teacher who brought Buddhism to Tibet. When the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang traveled through India in the seventh century, he recorded more than ten thousand Buddhist students and scholars conducting their studies in Nalanda. We will also visit Vaishala and Kushinagar, where the Buddha gave his last sermon before passing into Nirvana.

After exploring these historic cultural sites, we will begin our travels north from the Indian plains to the foothills of the Himalayas by train and bus. En route, we will stop in Tso Pema to visit an important pilgrimage center associated with Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 7th century. We then arrive in Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. As guests of this community for the next three weeks, we will live with contemporary Tibetan families, begin Independent Study Projects, language training and service learning, meet Tibetan doctors, teachers, and officials, and learn something of these friendly people who have bravely persevered as refugees and maintained their culture through the last 45 years. During this time, we will also request audiences with religious leaders including the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, the young head of one of Tibetan Buddhism's most important lineages, who recently escaped from Tibet. Through our stay, we will also make time for excursions to the Tibetan Children's Village, the Astro and Medical Institute, the Library and Archives, the Tibetan Performing Arts Center, the Norbu Linka, the nearby Tibetan community of Bir, and other important cultural locations. And we will end of our stay in Dharamsala by joining a course on Buddhism and meditation at the Tushita Center in Upper Dharamsala.

We then travel to the nearby town of Chandigarh and board a flight that carries us over the Himalayas onto the Tibetan Plateau to land in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. After a day of orientation, we will begin our home stays in the town of Phey, just west of Leh. In contrast to what students experienced in Dharamsala, these home stays may be in houses that were built several centuries ago and are owned by families that have maintained much of their cultural identify. Using Phey as a base, students will continue their Independent Study Projects and have opportunities to pursue additional service learning projects. We will spend the bulk of each day with the group participating in lectures on culture, art, religion, politics, and environmental issues in addition to a host of other topics. We will also make time to meet with leaders in the community and enjoy many day excursions to nearby monasteries and other cultural sites including trips to Lamayuru and Alchi monasteries. Half way through our stay in Ladakh, we will complete an incredible 8-10 day trek in the Marka Valley, beginning near Leh, passing through several beautiful villages and finishing at Hemis, Ladakh's largest monastery.

After returning from the trek, we will have 10 days to conclude our studies in Ladakh and present our Independent Study Projects to our group. We then board a plane and return to Delhi where we will have a few free days to explore the city in small groups. Our program concludes with a farewell banquet before we board the plane to return to the United States.