My Journey to Jedi School - The Tushita Experience.

It was past midnight when Air India Express flight IX92 bound for Amritsar Airport (ATQ:  Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport) was about to take off when a passenger at the back of my seat screamed which sounded like a pre-cursor to a suicide bombing. Too much terrorist movies for me I guess but it totally scared the hell out of me. Even the person next to me freaked out a bit. I asked my seat mate to tell me what was the guy saying, he said it was sort of like 'To God be the glory' kinda stuff. Maybe that was his way of wishing everyone to have a safe flight. When the the plane landed at at around 4AM, the same guy shouted again and the whole plane answered in unison. Perhaps thankful that we arrived in one piece. 

Vipul was the  driver who picked me up at the airport. I think he is in his late twenties, married with no kids. He has been living in Dharamsala since birth. He works for the travel agency I've hired for the the trip. He has been picking up tourists/clients all over India. 

It was still dark when we left the airport. It was a 6-hour trip contrary to what I have been told which is for only 3 hours. My balls were literally shrinking the whole trip. He drove fast against high beam headlights from the opposite traffic. I was even wondering how he can see the road as he sometimes swerves away from pot holes at 100km/hour. And that is just half way of the trip. When we were already in the mountains on our way to McLeod Ganj, the roads were very narrow at the edge of a cliff, and in fact a two way road where two cars (and sometimes trucks) can barely fit. Not to mention quick overtakes on a blind curve. I even kept on chanting my mantra of 'grant us safety o lord'. To top it all, it was raining hard. Perhaps, that was another encounter of fear yet it was definitely worth it specially when I arrived at Hotel Dev Cottage.

The room was huge and the balcony view was awesome! Since it is almost 2000 km above sea level and with lot's of (pine) trees, it was pretty cold. Good thing I brought jackets with me. I stayed for the night before heading to Tushita.

Tushita, a sister center of the Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu - Nepal, was built in 1972 to serve as a retreat center. It has been more than 3 years that I have postponed this trip due to work responsibilities. And I am very much happy that I decided to push through with it this year. 

I have never been exposed to Buddhism that much considering that I come from the Philippines, which is largely a Catholic nation. However, I recently discovered that my philosophy and beliefs in life are more or less inclined to Buddhism. Hence, the reason why I decided to get a closer look about Buddhism. 

Tushita offers several courses all over the year and one of the famous courses they have is the 10-Day Introduction to Buddhism. The course easily gets filled up so I decided to register few months early. Just to give you an overview of the course as well as the center itself, here are some tidbits of information.

The Retreat Setting
This is a silent retreat which means that all the participants are not allowed to talk to anyone even to your partner. The purpose is to focus more on yourself, that you become more introspective. This is also good since it removes your social obligation to greet people, smile at them or whatever. Even if you attend the course as a couple, you are encouraged as much as possible to stay away from each other. There are only two instances that a participant can talk: 1) questions during lectures but only to the lecturer and not to the fellow participants; 2) during the one hour group discussion.

Food and Accommodation
Vegetarian food will be served throughout the whole course. With unlimited supply of milk tea, lemon & ginger, water, typical meals would be 
a) Breakfast - oat meal; home baked bread; butter and honey
b) Lunch - two vegetable dishes; rice; another carbohydrate source (e.g. grilled pumpkin, potatoes); salad; fruits
c) Dinner - soup; home baked bread; butter and honey

and a picnic lunch at the end of the course with extra desserts and even vegetarian pizza. 

For the rooms, you will be sharing it mostly with fellow retreatants. The number of people in each room would vary. You can also get a room only for you but older people or those with special needs are priority. By the way, there are a lot of monkeys all over the place. you are literally at their arms reach. They have dogs to woof them away and they have also hired people to scare them out specially when you are having your lunch outside. However, there are times they will just out of the blue snatch your fruit away from you. Just be cautious though. 

Tushita runs on donation. However, a lot of participants have been asking what would be the best amount to donate so that the whole center can still run efficiently. Hence, Tushita decided to quantify their expenses for the whole course. If in case you'll get a room for yourself, you just have to pay around 7000 Indian rupees for the whole duration of the course. However, if you'll be sharing a room with the others, it will just be around 4000-5000 Indian rupees. 

The Course
Buddhism can be divided into 3 aspects:
a) Psychological Aspect of Buddhism
b) Philosophical Aspect of Buddhism
c) Religious Aspect of Buddhism

Buddhism for me is actually a way of life on how you 'conquer' yourself through understanding your mind and the 'truths' about our existence. And with this, the course itself focuses mostly on the first two aspects of Buddhism. It discusses about the mind, causes of suffering, meditations, enlightenment, compassion, karma, and a little about the religious aspect. 

Typical daily schedule is:
0645     - Meditation
0730     - Breakfast
0900     - Lecture
1200     - Lunch
1300     - Karma Yoga Jobs (assigned daily task like dish washing)
0200     - Group discussion
0300     - Lecture
0530     - Meditation
0630     - Dinner
0730     - Meditation

For more information, Tushita has an extensive FAQ page on their site. Click here to read.


As a conclusion, the course itself for me is totally worth it. I have found an answer to one of the life questions that I have been trying to figure out (to be blogged soon).  The course provided reaffirmations to most of my beliefs. Though i still have to reconcile a few. And that is also what makes Buddhism interesting. You are encouraged to scrutinize the philosophy and not take it on blind faith. As the Buddha would say, 

"Do not accept any words on faith,
Believing them just because I said them. 
Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,
And critically examines his product for authenticity.
Only accept what passes the test
By proving useful and beneficial in your life."

For most of the participants, they said it is really 'life changing'. For those who are on a crossroad, or in a difficult stage of moving on, or simply trying find his/her happiness, then I would highly recommend this course. 

Namaste.