A lecture on Buddism

July 1, 2008-(Tuesday)- Palumpur / Dharmasala, India

I started the morning early. Did I mention that it gets light here by 5am? I got dressed and headed down to breakfast. Can you believe, I have given up COFFEE ! Yes, it’s true. At least until I get home. The instant type was just not cutting it, and the Chai they make in the morning is to die for; consequentially, I am now a tea/chai drinker! All the meals are really good. Our cooks are great and they will make anything we request. I requested fruit salad, let’s see how fast it appears. In the mornings there is always a hot meal, usually composed of eggs. But if that is not wanted, there is always oatmeal, cereal, fruit, toast, juice, and tea. I usually opt for cold cereal and fruit. One thing I have to say is that I probably won’t lose weight. The food is just too good. While breakfast and lunch are vegetarian, we do have some meat in the evening at dinner. Usually chicken, as a matter of fact, so far chicken is all we’ve had as far as meat is concerned. I am really missing fish. I don’t eat much beef at home, so it’s no big deal to do without it, but fish, shrimp, scallops! Those I really miss.
Soon it was off to school. We went to teach our regular classes until it was time for the ceremony. When I went into the 9th grade Science class I saw some beautiful flowers the three girls in the front row had picked for me. I was touched and thanked them profusely. Class went very well. Things are really settling in since the schedule was set right. Next was 10th grade English. This particular class is for the children who didn’t pass the exam to advance to the next grade. A few of the kids seem to have undiagnosed learning disabilities. A few just seem to need a little extra help. The education system here is vastly different than in the U.S. Strict discipline is adhered to and the children are punished physically if they get out of line. Sometimes they are hit on their palms with a stick, other times they are slapped in the head--- yes, slapped in the head ! Teaching is lecture style with no option for questions. There is no dialogue and the children don’t contribute—there is no discussion. This is the style they use. It may work for the brightest students, but not for all of them. If a child gets a poor grade on a paper, they are punished instead of rehabilitated. No effort to find out what the child doesn’t understand is made. There is no extra help, and no one-on-one explanations. The children are taught to recite and memorize, but not to use critical thinking. I am trying to change this. I am teaching the way I usually teach, very interactive. Some of the teachers are observing and are open to try new things, others are not. Another problem is the text books. The text books are written in both Hindi and English. The problem is that the English in the books is frequently wrong, even in the “English” subject books. The building itself has a lot to be desired. It is a concrete building with about 12 small rooms. One room is allotted per grade, except for the 10th, which has a regular class and one for the children who failed the year before. The rooms do not have doors, only door ways so it gets very loud and sometimes it is difficult to hear the children or to be heard. My class may be quiet, but the classes next door or across the hall may not. There are windows with bars on them in each room. There is no glass on the windows and they are open to the elements. Inside the classrooms are wooden and metal desks and benches. The ones in this school may have been alright at one time, but now the metal is rusting and the boards are coming apart. Each class room has one blackboard. The blackboards are so worn that it is difficult to write on them, or to read anything written on them. There is electricity in a few rooms, and some fans, but overall that is all there is. YET, some of these children are able to apply themselves and learn, and even excel. As meager as these facilities are, they are MUCH better than the government schools that have all 12 grades in one or two rooms, and only one or two teachers. If it is lucky, there might be text books. The crazy thing about all of this is that the parents pay for the education of their children, even in the government schools. Granted the amount is minimal, but some families cannot even afford this and their children don’t go to school at all. My school, Gyan Deep, is a private school, but at a very low cost. The school was started to bridge the gap between the horrible government schools and the excellent, but expensive private schools. Something was needed in the middle. I surely hope that I am able to help the school get a grant.
At about 10:30, it was time for the ceremony. We all gathered at the doorway of the newly painted room. Some type of prayer was said in Hindi, and then some colored liquid was placed on my forehead, and a few flower petals on my head. Then I was instructed to cut the red ribbon and enter the room. I followed the directions and each teacher and volunteer followed after me into the room. We all took pictures – I had someone take video too! After this we all looked around at the walls of the room. Where there had been bare walls, there were now pictures, numbers, the alphabet, and many other educational images. Each of us volunteers was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a little package that is traditionally given to women. It contained red bangles, a handkerchief, some bindis, and a ribbon. It symbolized good luck for the future, and in marriage. After this was over we were invited to tea in the principle’s office. Tea is safe to drink because it is boiled. The tea was wonderful. The principle, Rajesh invited we volunteers for dinner to celebrate his upcoming wedding. I was honored, but knew that this was going to be a long, long, day.
Before we left for the day, I spoke with Minakshi. She would not be able to make it tomorrow. She is studying for her own classes besides teaching at the school, and her time is limited. I was a little disappointed, but understood.
After lunch, it was time to go to Dharmasala where we would be getting a lecture from one of the Buddhist monks who worked directly with the Dali Lama for 13 years. The ride was uneventful. We arrived at the monastery and went to the room where the lecture would be held. In the room were no chairs, only large pillows on the floor. We sat down and then the monk came in for the lecture. It was incredible. I cannot recap it here, but it was very inspiring. I left feeling uplifted and peaceful. After the lecture we had 45 minutes to walk around and do a bit of shopping in the city. After I changed money I went to the end of the street where the temple was. I took some pictures. Across from the temple were some teens holding a hunger strike targeted to stop the violence in Tibet. I interviewed a few of them with my camera and told them that I would post their cause on YouTube. Being teens, they knew exactly what that was! I saw a beautiful silver ring for my mom, and bought that. I even got a few pictures of monkeys who were hanging out near a dumpster.
Once we got back to the house, we had only a few minutes to change before we left to go to dinner. We went to a restaurant in town and had a wonderful dinner. The food and conversation were great and we began to learn even more about marriage in India. Although Indian couples stay together, there is a high rate of infidelity on the part of the man, and much unhappiness for some women who don’t “adjust” to their husband’s wants and needs. Juggy told us that they usually try to arrange for volunteers to observe an Indian wedding ceremony, but it just hadn’t worked out for this round of volunteers.
Once back at the house, I laid down and fell directly asleep.