Wisdom #2 – 1984

John Wright, newly-appointed program director of Atisha Centre near Melbourne, was one of a small group of Westerners who traveled to the remote north Indian state of Spiti to attend the Kalachakra initiation given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in July 1983. Here is his account of the journey to Spiti, an area where the late Serkong Rinpoche was an important spiritual figure.

Kalachakra initiation will be given again by His Holiness in Switzerland, July 1985 and to coincide with this, Wisdom will publish a book on the Kalachakra tantra compiled by Jeffrey Hopkins.

Spiti, a poor and barren area north of Simla and very close to the Tibetan border, is racially, linguistically and culturally akin to Tibet. It is normally inaccessible, but hearing that His Holiness would be giving the Kalachakra initiation there in July, a group of us, living in Dharamsala, applied for “inner line” permits and waited. There were many bureaucratic difficulties and we left Dharamsala for Simla at the last possible moment, still not sure that we would get our permits. After more delays in Simla, we were finally given complete clearance and an officer was assigned to travel with us to provide any help we might need along the way.

We left Simla that evening, about 35 Westerners including four children, traveling on a bus we had chartered from Dharamsala. The road climbed up and up, through beautiful deodar forests, all the way to Narkanda at the top of the ridge, 10,000 feet [3,048 meters] above sea level, then down again to the Sutlej River which originates from Mount Kailash in Tibet. We arrived at Rampur after midnight, and since there was no hotel, slept outside in a few beautiful little pavilions and rotundas on the grounds of the local maharaja’s property in the center of town.

The next morning we rose at dawn and left shortly after, traveling along a road which followed the Sutlej River deeper into the region of Kinnaur. By mid-morning we had reached the first check-post beyond which lay the restricted area where few Europeans had ever been, Lama Govinda being one of the exceptions many years ago.

Now the sides of the valley became steeper and the roads, though good, were narrower, more winding and a bit scary at times. The countryside was more mountainous and very beautiful. As we headed further and further northeast toward Tibet it became drier and drier and often it was possible to see what until very recently had been the old caravan trail into western Tibet. Occasional food and tea stops yielded the usual rice and dal and not much else.

Early that afternoon we reached a stretch of road built on a hillside that was constantly moving down into the rushing river below. We slowed down and passed without mishap, although on the return journey we narrowly escaped being crushed by a boulder. An hour or so further on we came upon a landslide that had been blocking the road for three weeks. Even His Holiness had walked around this, and we abandoned our bus for the 20-minute hike around the rocks to the other side. Coolies did a roaring trade charging 10 rupees a load.

Then we had to sit and wait for a vehicle to pick us up. This side of the landslide there were only five buses and some trucks and jeeps to serve a vast area. After some time a hopeful transport official roared up in a jeep and assured us that a bus would “definitely arrive before six o’clock, I hope.” Seven o’clock came and went and we gave up waiting and clambered onto a truck to continue our journey.

The landscape was now more like the real Spiti: very little or no vegetation of any kind and very mountainous. Many parts of the road had been blasted out of the rock and were quite perilous. For those sitting at the front of the truck, in a box on the cabin roof, it was a hair-raising ride as they had to continually duck their heads, whilst laying down at the back I could see the starts and moon with the mountains rising on either side and enjoy the unique beauty of the area.

We stayed that night at Puh, where many years before Lama Govinda had spent a winter after leaving Tibet. Most of us slept wherever we could find a flat spot: in the truck, on roofs and on verandahs. A few “lucky” ones had a room and a bed infested with bedbugs.

The next morning we continued along the Sutlej River valley which grew narrower and steeper until somewhere just before the Tibetan border and Shipkila pass, we met the junction of the Spiti and Sutlej Rivers and there turned west along a road blasted out of the rocky cliffs above the raging Spiti River. After a few kilometers we left the gorge and started to climb up and up, the river appearing further and further away down below.

This was Spiti, totally barren, very bright and marked by an occasional small village with a few trees and irrigated barley crops. By midday we had reached our destination, Tabo, the site of the initiation. As we clambered off the truck, very dusty and relieved to have finished our journey, the local people, most of whom had never seen a foreigner before, gathered around to look at us. Shortly afterward we received a special message of welcome from His Holiness.

Tabo is over 10,000 feet [3,048 meters] in altitude and during the day the sun is very bright and hot with almost zero humidity. Its main feature is the Tabo monastery founded about 900 years ago by Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo, a very famous translator, who also founded Kee Monastery in Spiti and Alchi Monastery in Ladakh. The incarnations of Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo were traditionally tutors of the Panchen Lama. The present incarnation, a 22-year-old monk, is currently studying at the Dialectic School in Dharamsala and has many plans for building a school and helping to improve the lives of the Spiti people.

An important figure in the history of Tabo Monastery had been the late Serkong Rinpoche, who, on his first visit to Spiti, had found the monasteries in such a degenerate state that monks had wives and were drinking chang. He reestablished the pure vinaya and teachings of the Buddha, and it was partly due to him that the Kalachakra initiation was now being given to further strengthen and spread the Dharma in Spiti.

I went to visit the old part of the Tabo monastery which was only one story high and had an abundance of beautiful old statues, thangkas and murals – all very difficult to see as the only light came from a few skylights. The floors may once have been hardened mud, but now were just dust and I had to brush myself down thoroughly after just a few short-length prostrations.

We had arrived at Tabo on the last of nine days of preparations, which included teachings from His Holiness on The Thirty-seven Practices of All Buddha’s Sons by Togme Zangpo. That afternoon we were able to watch the Namgyal monks, wearing very elaborate and beautiful brocade costumes, perform a ritual dance of offerings to consecrate the mandala. The actual initiation started the next day and was spread out over three days. Each morning the preliminary rituals would be performed by His Holiness and the Namgyal monks, then we would all gather at one o’clock for five or six hours of initiation with a short break in between.

As Westerners we were treated with great kindness. Ngari Rinpoche had arranged accommodation for us in a large room in the P. W. D. rest house. There was not much space, but compared to the thousands of people who had to sleep in tents, we were very fortunate. He also arranged for us to eat at the staff canteen provided for the Tibetans working at the initiation. The food was basic but good and preferable to that served in the dubious-looking tent restaurants that had sprung up to cater for the local people.

The biggest surprise however was our seating arrangement. We had been allocated space at the front of the verandah of the P. drang, the rest of which was taken up by Tibetans. Just inside were Serkong Rinpoche and a few meters away, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Also inside were the Namgyal monks, the Kalachakra mandala, local abbots, rinpoches, dignitaries and Hindi translators. Sitting outside were close on ten thousand people, nearly all from Spiti.

During the initiation, haloes were often seen around the sun and the moon. On the last day, which was also full moon, the ceremony was concluded with a long life initiation, and long life prayers were said for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. At this point we were allowed to file past and view the colored-sand mandala of Kalachakra and His Holiness urged us to take a good look as it was very special. The people at the back went first and it was not until five or six hours later that our turn came.

The next day the mandala was disassembled and cast into the nearby river, then the naga ritual was performed. The sky was overcast and there was some light rain, which was very unusual for the area. After this His Holiness left, and it was time for us to leave as well.

Two more eventful days of return journey followed and we were thankful when we finally arrived back in “civilization” at Simla, with its posh hotels, hot showers, soft beds and good restaurants.

Looking back, it was a most extraordinary adventure, although at times very difficult. All the people who organized the initiation did an excellent job; Alex Berzin translated splendidly, Ngari Rinpoche was tremendously helpful, and of course, His Holiness the Dalai Lama: how could we ever adequately express our gratitude for such a precious experience?