6 | Altitudinal Perspectives

Can one start their day from on top of this world? It seems so in Ladakh.

One can feel the cool and the warmth in parallel, a reminder that two things always exist at once. Some of the world's highest mountains encase you, but with a spaciousness.

The heart is protected but not hardened.

The heart is open and yet supported.

The heart is expansive, beyond the self.

Perhaps it is because of the feeling of intrinsic peace that ripples through these lands, like the first butterfly of spring, gently kissing the hands of each and every elemental being - the elegant poplars, the bedraggled dogs, the round-faced child on her way to school. Perhaps it is the sense of community, and the subsequent sense of trust that stems from such a caring co-existence. Or perhaps it simply is the mountains. Their stability in an ever-changing world. 

Yet the mountains too resemble impermanence - their face revealing different textures as the sun gently lilts to new position; bits of rock chipping away as sun and rain chaotically play with one another. The clouds hide parts of their character - for when are we ever all versions of ourselves at once? Occasionally the veil lifts and an unusual snowy peak is revealed, reminding us to continue to be surprised by the magnitude of life. What unexpected beauty might be held in this precious moment - are you open enough to see it; attuned enough to feel it, courageous enough to bless it?

Clear Himalayan water rushes past thirsty trees. Pray flags flutter, spreading peace into the particulate. Birds dip and dive in gratitude of the rediscovered warm sky. Prayer wheels in motion. Life in motion.

Not commotion.

Though that very well could be the case. With the worst rain in 75 years tumbling down relentlessly for three days without gasping for a breath of refuge, any other city would have fallen into turmoil, despair, aggression even. But not Leh. Here, in this mountainous corner of the earth people live in community - they look out for one another and the health of the other is as important, if not more important, than the health of the ‘self’. Inter-being. Interconnection. That is all people have known, choose to still know.

The region has a palpable Tibetan Buddhist influence, with His Holiness the Dali Lama often visiting, intricate monasteries cling to mountainsides and seas of white stupas stuffed full of sacred relics are found around most corners. This influencing philosophy holds the central desire that all beings will be free of their suffering - action is taken for the collective benefit of all; the web of life in its entirety. It is this very ‘story of me’, with its endless inner critique, that sows the seeds that grow into turmoil in the outer world.

So how do we undo such a state of mind? Knowing that the mind itself has a tendency to trick us through its learnt behaviours that tend towards fear and survival. Surely it requires great commitment and beyond that, great guidance?

“Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step in purifying the mind.” ~ Amit Ray

Does it feel more possible, more probable, when we are living in alignment with those who wish the same thing? The collective energy accumulates like hot air before a tropical storm and sends aspiration through our nervous system. A calming medicine. An antidote to dis-belief. Just a few weeks spent at this altitude - heart rate slowing, breathing deepening - amongst these people - generosity blossoming, graciousness flowing - and I could feel purification begin to happen. There just seemed to be less barriers, less excuses, less distractions. And more moments of kindness to pay attention to, more beauty to gaze into. But that can’t be so, can it? as the wise Sufi prabal goes: 

At the gates of a new town, a traveler asked an old caretaker, “What are the people like here?”
“Tell me,” the old man said, “what were they like where you came from?”
“Suspicious and unkind,” the traveler frowned.
“Then you will find them the same here.”

Later, another traveler asked the same question.
“And what were they like where you came from?”
“Generous and warm,” she smiled.
“Then you will find them the same here,” the old man replied.

Thus, we meet the world we carry within us; new places mirror the eyes we bring. Beauty and kindness are always present and available, in every minute of every day, the changing factor is whether I am available to receive it. 

A sturdy yet tranquil Dzo stands in the center of the road as I walk back home from town in the dark and drizzle. His chalky white horns give his presence away. What is he thinking I wonder? As he looks at me I know there’s been a gentle conversation exchanged. His deep black eyes hold the same belief as each and every Buddha I’ve gazed at. Compassion, love, wisdom. I think he is telling me that the Boddhisatva path is the way in which to bring meaning into this world. That by following the principles, inner calm and peace can not only be sensed, but can be permanently realised as a way of moving through this world, for the benefit of all beings, for the transformation of systems, for the radical imagination to take root and move us towards a more just and equitable and LOVING society…

With peace, Tash x

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What’s been sparking my curiosity?

Hearing: Cows moving rhythmically through early morning village; the occasional whistle breaks an otherwise steady backdrop of birdsong.

Seeing: Sumoor valley at dusk - greyish sandunes set against a stormy sky as she rolls in bringing with her a purpley haze - Al blends into this eery landscape with mysterious metta.

Tasting: Soothing mutton broth with chewy indigenous peas; warming me from the inside out as the cool evening air sweeps in.

Smelling: The hot nutmeg compress and warming oil as Lahmo treats my body with the Tibetan therapy known as Zathi Dukpa. Developed to bring warmth into the body, particularly for those suffering from disturbances of the mind which go onto affect the balance of the body. I drift off momentarily from the warmth and tenderness.

Touching: Pray flag gently stroking my face as I clambered back down towards Hemis; evoking a sense of everything will be okay if you choose to follow this path…

Feeling: Calm of Gotsang Meditation cave; silenced mind, stilled body, deep gratitude.

“We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness, which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world”. ~ Marcel Proust