Here's How Living in a Monastery Transformed Me Forever

by Saumia Bhatnagar (India)

A leap into the unknown India

On the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, lies Mcleodganj, a quaint Tibetan town that prides itself over being the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Steeped in culture and tradition, the hill-town echoes with soul-stirring Buddhist chants. For this very reason, Mcleodganj became my escape one fine summer – an escape from my excessively cosmopolitan life back in the capital of India, Delhi. In Mcleodganj, I stumbled upon the undiscovered world of the Tse-Chokling Monastery that reverberated with an undeniable magic. As I entered, I glanced at a board decorated with prayer flags that detailed a number of regulations. Visitors were requested to dress decently, not consume alcohol, not play loud music and most of all, not be noisy. These rules were in complete contrast to how I usually like to spend a vacation, however, I was in search of an immersive experience, one that would introduce me to a lifestyle starkly different from mine. I entered my cosy bedroom, and the first thing that I noticed wasn’t the breath-taking view from the spectacularly clean space, but the sudden shift in energy that I was feeling. There was an irrefutable positivity in the atmosphere. No amount of luxury could compete with the peaceful environment of the monastery. Over the next few weeks, I spent time with the head monk of the monastery, Sonam La, who remains a dear friend even today. On a bench overlooking snow-clad mountains, he would educate me about the tenets of Buddhism for hours on end. Apart from his teachings, what struck me most was his nonchalance about his revered position. In fact, he was as enamoured by my big-city life as I was by the simplicity of his. He asked me several questions about my position as a woman in an urban society and how it affected my world view. Not once did he make me feel inferior about my starkly different lifestyle. My stay in the monastery compelled me to appreciate the little things in life that I had never paid much heed to. While I was having a cup of tea in the veranda of my room, I noticed a woman hugging a tree! The sight was bizarre to me, and I almost believed that she was intoxicated. But this was her way of connecting with nature and thanking Mother Earth for the gifts she has given us. I tried to trace back to the last time I had paused and been grateful for my surroundings. Like most of us, I had been oblivious to the bounty of nature almost all through my life. One would assume that by staying in a monastery, I had shut myself off from the world. However, I ended up meeting people from 12 different nationalities! Never before had I had a better multi-cultural experience. There were a number of foreign tourists staying in the monastery, and all of them were on a spiritual retreat to India. Even though we shared different backgrounds and languages, I experienced a sense of oneness with them. We would meditate and practice yoga together. We would go out for walks, discuss religions, philosophy and literature. During all the trips I had taken before, never had I introspected or indulged in meaningful activities. My agenda for every holiday had been to check off as many places as I could from my bucket list, I had never thought about experiencing anything in such depth. During my stay, I met a German boy who was still studying in school but had come all the way from his country to teach English to young monks. Knowing that someone so young could be immensely sensitive and charitable, compelled me to think about responsible travel. I had thought that I would escape life and spend a blissful few weeks under the aegis of the Himalayas. To my utter surprise, staying at Tse Chokling Gompa did the exact opposite, turning my focus inward like never before. My experience at this Gompa stimulated me and encouraged me to contemplate about my life, changed the way I travelled, and eventually, transformed me.