Though all things are like a dream...

Sitting here crossed legged on the dining room floor at the Hill St. center in Madison wanting to make one final contribution to this wonderful compilation of experiences, reflections, and thoughts. What can I say...what is there left to write about..? There must be something still left to say and as I think that thought a line from Lama Chopa comes to mind.

"Though all things are like a dream, lacking inherent or natural existence..."

What are dreams? What is reality? India feels like a dream to me...Even now...I see a picture of the Ganges or remember standing on the rooftop of Ganpati guest house and still feel disbelief that I was actually there...that it was not a dream. We were really there in India, we were at physical locations named "Varansai" and "Bodhgaya"...and going further...the only thing that seperated us from the events connected with those physical locations was time...the passage of time...we were within the same space...the same space where Sidhartha attained enlightenment and became known as Lord Buddha Shakyamuni...and he is not gone...he remains...but not in the space...he remains in the Dharma...the living Dharma...

...where am I going with this post? you might ask...even I am not really sure...but there is something about the nature of time and space that is not as rigid and defined as we thought it was...and there is something about the nature of reality that is more dreamlike and flexible that we can see right now. That is what it was important for me to reflect on tonight...

And in keeping with this being the final posting that I plan to make to this blog...I want to thank everyone for being who they were in India and for being willing to make the changes that needed to happen...I include myself in this group...and I thank Rinpoche, Pema, Drichab, Dewa and many others for supporting me in that process. I look forward to continuing to integrate what happened and what I learned and watching others do the same...

And finally...I had intended to put this somewhere for future reference...but never quite got to it....so I will say a few things now in regards to packing...

What I learned about packing for a pilgrimage in India...?
1. Traveling light is very very good...the lighter the better...I think we all were overpacked...well except Pema Dorje...who I remember thinking was very lucky for not having to haul a ton of "essentials" around.

2. Wet wipes and dust masks were essential...and very hard to find in India. Toilet paper was valuable but easily found most of the time.

3. Gauze, tea tree oil, tape were the best things for cleaning and dressing owies in India...forget the fancy first aid kits. I still think the Ace bandage and disposable ice packs were a good idea...thankfully we did not need to use them. Pepto bismal for GI stuff was essential...I used my antibiotic that I brought as well. Would have loved to have Vitamin C and Echinacea along for colds as well as over the counter cold tablets. And we learned that there are mosquiotos in India in the winter...so bug spray was good...Sangmo's purification essential oil spray was very popular. Other essential oil hits were RC, Eucalyptis, and peppermint. I brought Thieves too...but mostly it was too strong to use...

4. Clothes...we all brought too many...they can be washed...Pema's recommendation had been 3 outfits...that was plenty...and take into account buying clothes when you figure that one out. I found that a skirt with long underwear was the most practical and culturally sensitive option. I just about wore out the skirt I brought. I bought a shawl that was a silk wool blend and that was usually warm enough during the day...for early mornings or cooler days I had a light fleece jacket and hat...I didn't wear the hat much though...but I wasn't in Tso Pema either....was colder there.

5. Find a hot water coil as soon as you can once you arrive in India...was well worth the trouble of searching it out...

6. I brought my Lam Rim...was good for the flights but impractical to carry around...and I really didn't read much in India anyway...next time I would save it for when I returned home. And I learned that you could use just about anything as a meditation cushion...I'm no longer attached to the one I used before India...so just in case you were wondering how to go on pilgrimage without your cushion...

I am sure that there were more things that i wanted to include in this list...but it is late and I must retire for the night...so with that...I close this email...

Blessings to all the pilgrims who were with us in India and those that remained in America (or elsewhere) but participated strongly nonetheless...and much love,
Menma