Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Entrance to Namdroling Monastery Bylakuppe near Kodagu in Karnataka is a little Tibet.  In 1960, the government of Mysore (now Karnataka) allotted about 3000 acres of land to the Tibetan refugees.  Today nearly 70,000 people of Tibetan origin live in that place which attracts a lot of tourists. The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is one of the attractions.  Established in 1963 by Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche, the monastery educates hundreds of monks who graduate after a ten-year course which includes a three-year period of spiritual retreat.  Inside the Golden Temple The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.  It is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into old Tibetan language carried out in the 8 th century CE.  The Tibetan alphabet and grammar were created just for this endeavour, according to certain traditions. One of the plaques inside the Golden Temple attached to the monastery say

Book Review Author: David Michie Publisher: Hay House India, 2013 Pages: 216       Price: Rs 399 This is a good book for those who want to have a quick and fairly meaningful peep into Tibetan Buddhism and its current headquarters in Dharamsala and around.  If you are, however, fairly familiar with Buddhism as well as motivational books, this book may disappoint you. In most places the approach of the book is quite simplistic.  Simplicity is an adorable quality; but being simplistic is not.  Look at the Dalai Lama’s advice on anger, for example: “It (anger) is not permanent.  It is not part of you.  You cannot say, ‘I’ve always been an angry person.’  Your anger arises, abides, and passes, just like anyone else’s.  You may experience it more than others.  And each time you give in to it, you feed the habit and make it more likely you will feel it again.  Wouldn’t it be better, instead, to decrease its power?” [p.130] [If you find that advice profound, please