public transportation in Delhi

Delhi is a rediculously enormous sprawling city. It covers almost 600 square miles. My hometown of Cable, in comparison, covers about 5. My bus from the north dropped me off right at one edge and I had a plane to catch 4 hours later at the other edge. I thought to myself, "sounds like a good opportunity to put public transportation to the test." To start things off, I had to cheat a bit and take a 3-wheeled "auto rickshaw" to the center of town called "Connaught Place."



Then I hopped on a subway, which was only introduced/completed earlier this year! Naturally, the line that goes to the airport is still very much under construction. I got some advice from a local policeman and hopped on a train to a stop about 12 miles from the airport (by Delhi standards, this is "close.")



I then walked over to a nearby road and found a local man who worked at the airport to serve as my guide. I hopped on a bus with him and literally about 80 people, 50 of whom were standing. I had a big trekking pack on my back and a daypack in the front, which made for a tight squeeze in a smushed-in bus. After about 40 minutes, we hopped off the moving bus (it never really stops, only slows down) and got on another one, which looked like it was built in the early 1960's.



This time, I was not able to fit in the bus, so stood on the stairs, hanging on for dear life as my backpack protruded into the chaotic streets. As my hands became numb from supporting my weight on a railing, we reached the next transfer point.



After negotiating a few wandering cows, dump trucks and motor cycles, we crossed to the median to catch our next bus--this one actually headed to the airport!

I arrived right on time to check in for my flight. It was not the easiest way to get to the airport, but certainly more memorable than a boring old taxi ride. And I made a friend along the way.

Blessings from great Buddhist masters

I am in Dharamsala now, in North India, which is home to the Dalai Lama. I am doing research on a couple of topics, including a biography of Padmasambhava, founder of Tibetan Buddhism, drawing from multiple sources. A unique Buddhist master with a direct connection to Padmasambhava is the Nechung Oracle. He is a 52 year old Tibetan man with extraordinary kindness and wisdom and undeniable clairvoyance. From time to time (he knows it's coming), a spirit enters his body and he becomes a medium for that spirit to give some advice to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people. That spirit is a form of Pehar Gyalpo, whom Padmasambhava converted to protect and serve Tibetan Buddhism. Because of this, the Nechung Oracle has a close connection with Padmasambhava. He is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met. I interviewed him about a sectarian spirit whose name I can't mention (worship of it was banned by the Dalai Lama and some of its followers brutally murdered the head of the Dalai Lama's university and his 2 attendants in 1997 in Dharamsala). The reason I can't mention the name, is that some followers of this spirit are not stable and I am not looking to attract their negative energy. Anyway, he gave me a fascinating interview in Tibetan. At the end of our meeting, he touched his head to mine which is a sign of respect and camaraderie in Tibetan culture but extremely rare for a master like this to do to a Westerner he didn't previously know. It was quite a blessing. I made a money offering to him, but he said at the end of the meeting, "you're going to need this later on in your trip" and gave it back to me.



After lunch, I came outside and noticed people were lining up along the road. It turns out the Dalai Lama was going to come by soon in his vehicle, on his way to the airport. I joined the greeting party and the Dalai Lama smiled at me and waved from about 3 feet away through his truck window. Another special blessing.



That day, something rather miraculous happened. In August, I had sold a book to a store in Minneapolis for $25. It was a rhyming dictionary used and signed by Yip Harburg, who wrote the Wizard of Oz songs, "Brother can you spare a dime" and more, using this dictionary. Selling it for this low amount without consulting the owner was a foolish thing to do and the owner was quite upset when she found out in September. I called her to check in a few days ago, and she yelled at me for about 10 minutes for having sold this book for $25 (apparently holding this anger in since September). To her, it was a priceless family heirloom, which I wasn't aware of. So, after receiving blessings from these two great masters, I contacted the bookstore. They wrote back to say that they still had the book and they would sell it back to me for only $35. This is a tiny fraction of what they had the book listed for. I bought it back and mailed it to the original owner as a Christmas present. Blessings all around.

Tomorrow evening, I am doing an event to promote my book Compassionate Action: The Teachings of Chatral Rinpoche at an American-owned restaurant. A member of Tibetan parliament named Geshe Thupten Phelgye will be there to read the chapter he translated. I'll try to take some pictures.