Author Archives: Dave

To spare the Defence Colony driver another round trip to the airport at 3 AM, I joined Bennett at the airport although my flight left later that the morning. We parted in a daze, still feeling under the weather and … Continue reading →

It’s just another day in Dharamsala. For us, it’s departure day. We say goodbye to the view from our porch, to the Archive and the monument just outside, the monastery, the temple and its unceasing crowds, Rabzay at the security … Continue reading →

It all moves quickly now. The teaching is over and the staff invites us to the Korean restaurant for one final meal. Waiting for Bennett outside the apartment (taken by Bennett, which is why we’re waiting) So much has happened … Continue reading →

Avalokitasvara (“he or she that looks down upon the sound (cries) of the world”— Chenrezig in Tibetan) is the bodhisattva of compassion, embodying the compassion of all Buddhas. Chenrezig vows to free all sentient beings from suffering. …the approach [that … Continue reading →

Teachings in Dharamsala, HP, India from June 7 to 9: His Holiness will give three days of teachings on Introductory Buddhist Teachings which will include Kamalashila’s The Middling Stages of Meditation (gomrim barpa) at the request of Indian Buddhists at … Continue reading →

The moon is almost full. Inside the Archive, Lobsang prepares an interviewee for a Skype call with Voice of America. Five days until the plane leaves Delhi. All of the important events in Buddha’s lifetime occurred on days when the … Continue reading →

Fires burn day and night on the hillside. On hot days and on sick days, the smoke can be oppressive. It seems like we’ve been lying here forever. Who knows how many days have gone by? One of us says … Continue reading →

As long as there are Destructive Karmas, the soul is caged in a body and will have to experience pain and suffering in many different forms. (Jainism: Concept of Karma) I can no longer fight it. Bedridden for several days, … Continue reading →

The Namgyal Archive database is “massively retroactive,” which means a lot of data entry and structural design is happening in parallel. It’s like building a hotel and checking in the guests simultaneously, or designing the bridge as you’re crossing it. … Continue reading →

Imagine: four hands. Four! If we could have maintained uprightness and four hands, consider the possibilities! There is no end to the fascination one can have watching these rhesus monkeys. It’s like looking in a mirror that reflects back 25 … Continue reading →

When people return from Asia with their monkey travel stories, I sometimes detect embellishment. Did the monkey actually rip the backpack off your shoulders and chase you through the temple? Did it really steal the woman’s underwear and then jump … Continue reading →

Sometimes, your head is so deep in the trenches that you forget why you’re there in the first place. Today, the Dalai Lama makes his first appearance in town since we arrived, and it all comes together. Choeyang from DIIR, … Continue reading →

There is always an ongoing monkey subplot in McLeod. They gather around the apartment in early morning and at dusk. They come for water and general mayhem: climbing the electrical lines, exploring the construction sites, and facing off with territorial … Continue reading →

The Dalai Lama recently arrived back in Dharamsala after an extended trip to Europe. His next teaching is scheduled for three days at Tibetan’s Children Village. On the mornings of June 1 and 2 His Holiness will give teachings on … Continue reading →

Acha-La invited us and some friends to dinner at the Korean restaurant, so tonight Bennett and I followed the water pipes down the hill. (On a previous evening, I tried to get around this locked gate to Jogibara Road by … Continue reading →

The Archive needs a photo for an upcoming book and DVD set to be published in Taiwan, so we got out the camera and got to work. Leaving the monastery, Phuntsok now has to worry about things like how his … Continue reading →

Tonight we walked up Temple Road for dinner at Snow Lion. Chemey was there. So was Sangye. Sangye used to live in the U.S., painting houses and eventually getting a job at the Tibetan channel at Voice of America. Steeped … Continue reading →

When we arrived at the Archive today, the equipment Bennett ordered from Mumbai had finally been delivered: a color matching chart, lighting reflectors, diffusion, even a Leatherman (one of those multipurpose tools, like a Swiss Army Knife for tough guys). … Continue reading →

Lunch varies at the monastery. Some days there’s nothing more than rice and dal served from buckets. Other days, they serve “special lunches,” funded by sponsors who offer money in exchange for pujas performed by the monastery. Navigating the lunch … Continue reading →

Public speech We are gathered here today to show our solidarity to the two self-immolations that happened in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa. Yesterday around mid-afternoon, there was a report about two self-immolations: 19-year old Dorjee Tseten and 25-year old Dargye. Both … Continue reading →

After hanging the flags skyward, we looked down and followed our own separate details. Phuntsok started gathering a plant he uses for cooking while I explored the ladybug situation on Triund. Ladybugs Amla, pala: “father, mother.” We have a song … Continue reading →

We arrived at the top of Triund before nine in the morning. The air was still cool but the sun was already blazing. Crows and birds of prey circled the valleys below. (click for larger image) (click for larger image) … Continue reading →

At lunch yesterday, everyone was discussing the best hour to depart McLeod to climb Triund. Chemey started the bidding at 7 AM. Lobsang upped the ante to 5:30. Lepa, who wasn’t even going, suggested four in the morning. We compromised … Continue reading →

A series of soccer matches is happening at Upper TCV (Tibetan Children’s Village in Upper Dharamsala) this weekend, so Bennett and Phuntsok went to the opening event to shoot footage for VOA. Opening ceremony Opening Song Cows occasionally disrupt games … Continue reading →

Bennett has been getting everyone into a routine, going out for a few hours everyday with the big cameras (Sony EX-3s) and tripods. Some days they start early to catch the best light, which means the day ends early too. … Continue reading →

Today, Lobsang brought us to a café that sells cookies filled with tsampa (roasted barley flour—a Tibetan staple for centuries). He also mentioned that the staff has exceptional artistic talent in the coffee arts—sometimes they even write the price of … Continue reading →

After lunch, we have tea at Tibet Café. For a while, we thought this place was called Maggie’s because they have a soup on the menu with that name, but it actually refers to this Nestlé brand of instant soup … Continue reading →

A cross rhythm consists of a main beat scheme (a purpose in life) and a secondary beat scheme (a perceived obstacle). Each beat scheme has a significance and function in making up the distinct cross rhythmic texture. In the following … Continue reading →

Rabzay and Phuntsok invited Bennett, myself, and a number of Namgyal monks over for dinner this evening. Rabzay used to work as a security guard at the Private Office of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. She now works at … Continue reading →

Today is the 61st anniversary of the controversial Seventeen Point Agreement between Tibet and China. Activists, dressed in traditional Tibetan dress, handed out fliers disputing the validity of the agreement. Journalists interviewing Tenzin Tsundue, poet, activist, and General Secretary of … Continue reading →

After leaving the Archive, we walked up Temple Road with Geshe Kunkhen. Temple Road is lined with Tibetan trinket stands—bracelets, Buddhas, and of course, Tibetan singing bowls. To our surprise, Geshe La explained that Tibetan Buddhists rarely, if ever, use … Continue reading →

After returning from Dharamkot, Lobsang and I discussed my meeting with Geshe Kunkhen and his brother. Lobsang Discusses Geshe Kunkhen We met Tenzin Tsepag’s brothers. At “Pizza Hut?” Yeah… He’s feel not well. We also met the younger brother—the singer. … Continue reading →

Timmy, the dog next door, has a pretty straightforward life. Around dusk, he leaves the safety behind the screen door and surveys the monkey situation. It must be pretty terrifying: a hundred versus one. As the monkey squeals turn to … Continue reading →

Since we arrived, Bennett has been on a quest for diffusion to color and soften the light. They’ve experimented with all kinds of materials, including khatas from the wedding. Lighting tests The “magic hour” After work at the Archive, we … Continue reading →

Passang got on his motorcycle to leave, and Bennett suggested getting a couple of action shots. Eventually, everyone took a turn… A couple of Namgyal monks observe the antics Lobsang tried out the unforgiving depth of field on Bennett’s new … Continue reading →

After pizza, we walked back towards McLeod. Passing a Hindu temple When we reached the top of TIPA road, Phuntsok pointed out two monks walking toward us. Chemey said, “This is Tenzin Tsepag’s brothers.” Tenzin Tsepag worked for the Archive … Continue reading →

Our destination in Dharamkot was this pizza place. A lot of monks head here on the weekends. We had to change our order a few times to accommodate what was available. We ended up with three pizzas—the deluxe one with … Continue reading →

Phuntsok, Passang, Bennett, and I met up at the cafe in the morning. Left to right: Fuji FinePix F10, Canon S90, Canon 7D, Nikon D700, Sony HVR-Z1U, GoPro HD Hero, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4S We brought plenty of cameras for … Continue reading →

Certain kinds of stomach ailments just cry out for soda. We’ve been on a carbonated drink kick ever since getting sick. Magic bubbles The combination of strong carbonation and weak straws provides routine dinner entertainment

McLeod Ganj (Lobsang calls it “mini New York”) is bursting at the seams. The nearby villages Bhagsu Nag and Dharamkot have attracted Indian and Israeli tourists, respectively, for years, especially in summer when the temperature gets above 45 (Celsius) in … Continue reading →

Today everyone went out to shoot on the roof and around the temple where people circumambulate. We threw together a little script—a 30-second piece about the Archive to provide some structure for the shots. Bennett explained the rule of thirds, … Continue reading →

This guy sharpens knives and makes keys. He stopped by the monastery so we engaged his services to get a second key for the apartment. We left the key with him for an hour or so. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when we … Continue reading →

Bennett started teaching the staff this week. He began with the basics: f-stops and aperture, shutter speed and angle, ISO and gain. I tune in when I can, since the review of all this stuff is really helpful for me … Continue reading →

Someone brought sunglasses to Snow Lion one night in 2006 and everyone had a good time trying them on. Bennett was playing around with his iPhone and we got an idea for a 2012 photo series to complement the sunglasses … Continue reading →

This evening, people gathered at Snow Lion to watch the Dalai Lama receive this year’s Templeton Award. He is donating the money to an Indian organization called Save the Children, the Mind and Life Institute, and to a fund for … Continue reading →

San Francisco has hills; McLeod is hills, bathed in stairways and buildings of heart-stopping verticality. One wrong step could easily end it all, either by a precipitous fall or a speeding taxi. Everywhere, there is new construction, often illegal. At … Continue reading →

My friend Jake is one of those resourceful people you want to know during the Apocalypse. He’s undaunted by existing infrastructure, both physically and socially. Wall: can easily be torn down. New plumbing: get out the solder and let’s get … Continue reading →

On the cab drive back from Kangra, Bennett and I succumbed to an inevitable—necessary?—photographic saturation with the colors and landscapes. When you’re out of practice and in an exotic new environment, taking photos can feel like being a kid in … Continue reading →

This evening, as Bennett and I walked home from the Korean restaurant on Jogibara Road, a fierce storm split open the sky. We rushed back as quickly as possible to capture some of it. The storms here are amazing. Living … Continue reading →

Lobsang said there was a fire puja and mandala dismantling happening in the temple, so I called Bennett to let him know. Roof of the temple Making offerings The fire in the center of the mandala is the final purifying … Continue reading →

The Character Viewer in Mac OS X is an amusement park for language lovers—Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Lao, Archaic scripts… the list goes on. When I first saw it, I really wanted to meet the guy at Apple who created it. … Continue reading →

At breakfast this morning, Lobsang told us that there was a press conference happening at the Tibetan Government in Exile, and if Bennett wanted, he could go down with Phuntsok to record footage for Voice of America. If you ever … Continue reading →

We’re living on a hill overlooking Lower Dharamsala. Each morning and evening, we walk the steep foot path next to Kirti Monastery and Chonor House.

Here’s a photo I took of Snow Lion in 2006. Not much has changed, although they’ve switched to strictly vegetarian cuisine. Chemey still eats breakfast here every day, and often dinner. He pays a monthly tab. It was great to … Continue reading →

Six years. Back at the Archive. Use of the limited space here is always astounding. There’s now an entire soundproofed studio, complete with double doors and triple-paned glass. You can see monkeys attacking each other outside, but when the doors … Continue reading →

Our first morning in Dharamshala, Bennett and I hiked the steep incline down Chonor House Road, grabbed a vegetarian Canadian breakfast at the tourist cafe on Temple Road, and then headed to the Archive for our first day. We’ve only … Continue reading →

I had warned Bennett about my routine from last time: cautiously enter the house and review each surface, like scanning a page for typos. The mission was to eliminate any disturbingly large spiders before settling in for the night. But … Continue reading →

Lobsang found us a great two-bedroom apartment overlooking the hills in McLeod. He knew a monk who was going abroad while we were in India, and he agreed to let us stay in his place. Here we have attached the … Continue reading →

The last leg of our trip is just a one hour flight from New Delhi to Dharamsala. Due to Kingfisher Airlines weight restrictions, we had to leave our bigger bags at the Defence Colony to be delivered later by bus. … Continue reading →

We arrived at the New Delhi Airport around 1 AM, two calendar days after leaving San Francisco. A Tibetan man from a local Delhi branch of the monastery met us with a “Mr. Dave from America” sign and drove us … Continue reading →

We arrive in Beijing about twelve hours after departing San Francisco…

Civilization, meet screens. Screens, meet civilization. First payphones became extinct (RIP), and now airlines no longer feel the burden to provide entertainment screens for their customers.