Meeting the Dalai Lama taught me…

By Geraldine Nordfeldt

As a Mum of three daughters (aged 6, 9 and 11), leaving my family for two full weeks – the longest we’ve ever been apart – was an enormous decision.

I’ve worked as a journalist, media adviser and media trainer, and for the past two years have been slowly writing a fiction novel inspired by the Dalai Lama.

I’d been watching ATC’s social media for the past few years, longing to visit the places in the incredible pictures from the ‘Little Tibet’ tours. I first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in-person in Darling Harbour as a 16 year old back in 2002 (shout-out to my year 10 Modern History teacher Ms Hawes for sowing the seed with a semester on Tibet). I remember being appalled by the injustice of the Tibetans’ experience, and inspired by His Holiness’ message of compassion and non-violence.

Booking this trip, I understood ATC could not guarantee our attendance at any event with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, especially given his recent knee surgery, but the opportunity to be in his orbit, amid the Tibetan community was enough to convince me this trip would be incredible. So when our eclectic little group finally gathered together in Delhi we were elated to see the itinerary confirmed our attendance at an outdoor public blessing. We ranged in age from 31 to 74, a gentle bunch of curious souls with a shared empathy for the Tibetan people.

2024 Little Tibet tour participants, Dr Zoe Bedford (Executive Officer ATC) and representatives from the Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration.

The Himalayan Mountains rose steeply behind the runway at Dharamshala Airport, shrouded in fog, an otherworldly welcome to our adventure. Monkeys, dogs, cats, horses, sheep and goats roamed along the steep winding road up into McLeod Ganj as our skilled drivers carefully manoeuvred around tuk-tuks, motorcycles and of course, the many sacred cows stopped in the middle of the narrow roads.

I felt like a quasi-ambassador as we shared tea and listened to leaders from various Tibetan NGOs share stories of their work. I was especially moved by the warm welcome and heartfelt gratitude from Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang during our visit to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.

2024 Little Tibet tour participants with Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang during their visit to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. Photo credit: Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (Facebook).

My new favourite meal is mutton ‘thenthuk’ (a hearty cross between minestrone and pho with thick flat noodles) – I happily slurped my way through a few bowls at the red-bricked cozy Kalimpong restaurant in McLeod Ganj, with a side of fluffy tingmo (steamed bread), a few momos (dumplings) and washed down with a mug of steaming ginger lemon honey tea.

I also shared two unforgettable dinners with a recently arrived young Tibetan man who willingly sacrificed a lucrative job and ‘comfortable’ in Shanghai for exile life. He paid a ‘guide’ (or our media would call them ‘people smuggler’ to navigate the treacherous journey across the Himalays into Nepal then India, and left Tibet without telling his family of his plan – for their own safety. Well-dressed and articulate, he wanted the freedom to speak his language and practice his religion. His physical living conditions in Dharamshala were a sharp change from his former life, and while he is fluent in Mandarin and mostly Tibetan (he was frustrated with gaps in his birth language due to his compulsory Mandarin education), he is now studying English. I was deeply impressed by his determination.

Tibetan writer and activist Tenzin Tsundue also shared stories of his imprisonment and release in both Tibet and India, and how poetry and writing helps him articulate his experiences of life born in exile from a country he’s never seen. He sells his beautiful books (‘Kora’ and other stories) for just 50 rupees (90 Aus cents!!!) and proudly wears his signature red bandana – he told us that ‘he’ll only remove it when he can finally visit a free Tibet’.

I was most affected by the whole-hearted embodiment of the Dalai Lama’s teachings of non-violence and ‘others before self’ in every Tibetan we met, and how these practical Buddhist principles permeated the Tibetan community-in exile and seemed to fuel their determination and guide their lives. The Tibetan Childrens Village school motto ‘Others Before Self’ sums it up perfectly.

The day we met His Holiness we woke early, carefully folded and rolled our marigold-coloured khatak scarves and walked down to his temple where we lined up with the other attendees. Passports checked, hands stamped, all belongings left outside, we were admitted, screened and thoroughly patted down (my hair braid was even squeezed for contraband). Once through security, a team of officers lined the 200 attendees in a spiral queue around the concrete round-about of the steep driveway outside his residence. His Holiness arrived via golf-buggy (or Lama-mobile) and was seated on a soft chair covered in a gold cloth.

Our Khataks were presented back to us by an assistant monk, and one-by-one we walked in line to be received by His Holiness. It was over in a blur, some in the group were blessed with a touch on their cheek, one even described feeling a ‘tingling’ sensation. I think I blurted out something like”‘thankyouforallthatyoudoit’sanhonourtomeetyou” in one garbled breath before being gently guided aside.

Geraldine during a line audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Photo credit: Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

A group of reporters from the local media greeted us outside and we were interviewed about our experience. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day, I felt ‘lit from within’ by an enormous sense of optimism and gratitude.

So the Dalai Lama taught me that travel (and life) doesn’t always meet our expectations; sometimes it can exceed them beyond your wildest hopes.

Booking this trip was a big commitment for my whole family, and not one I made lightly. It was a tricky domestic juggle to make it happen, but one I would highly recommend to anyone curious about Tibetan culture and the experiences of this extraordinary exile community. My heart has been broken and cracked wide open by the ‘Little Tibet Tour’ of Dharamshala, and I will continue to do whatever I can going forward to assist the Tibetan people.

Over 11 days ATC X Zoe Bedford curated a jam-packed and thoughtful itinerary with a full-spectrum of spiritual, historic, political and cultural activities and meetings. Despite Zoe’s repeated insistence ‘I’m not a travel-agent/ tour guide’ she did an outstanding job as both and ATC is lucky to have her sharp intelligence and fierce advocacy.