A week or so into our stay in McLeod we noticed a sign in the street saying that English speakers were needed for a conversation class with Tibetan monks who were studying the language. It sounded interesting and fun, and more than anything, it sounded like a great way to meet some more people and maybe even learn a little about Tibetan Buddhism.
The class was three times a week for an hour each time. We started going right away and went to every class for the first several weeks. Later on, Julia started Rogpa baby daycare and wasn’t able to go anymore. I was also busy a lot more often with my film, but I still made it a point to go whenever I could.
The teacher, a woman named Margaret from Australia was always glad to have us and was very excited about the fact that we would be there for three whole months.
How the class worked was we would go in and sit down in the back of the classroom, usually as Margaret was finishing up their lesson from before. Each day there was a different topic they would talk about, share some ideas and learn new vocab dealing with the topic. Then Margaret would write some example questions up on the board. The monks would then choose one of us as a partner and we’d all spread out around the room to have our conversations. Then after about half an hour we would switch partners and talk to someone else.
Our first couple visits we barely even got to discuss the topic on the board because we spent so much time just getting to know each other and learning about the monks and their lives and lifestyle.
I remember when we were first learning about McLeod and getting ready to come, I was very interested in the idea of all the monks living there and wondered if I’d get a chance to get to know or talk to any of them. Well this was a great opportunity to do just that, not to mention also being able to work with Jamyang at Tong-Len.
These monks just loved to talk about Buddhism though, and why wouldn’t they? We found out that their level of study of Buddhism was equivalent to if they had earned a PHD. It was both easy and hard to believe. On one hand, this is what they had dedicated their entire lives to. Most of these men had been monks at least since their teens and were now in their 20s or 30s, and Buddhism was their subject of study every day. On the other hand, if you were try and guess these guys’ ages, you’d almost always be under because, for one, Tibetans don’t seem to age until they hit their 90s, and second they were the most playful, fun-loving, humble people you’d ever met. They loved to laugh and would give the heartiest laughs to even the simplest jokes. I always had such a good time talking to them and seeing their optimistic take on life was inspiring.
And when you look at His Holiness the Dalai Lama (their greatest role model), he is always smiling and joking and laughing. Even after all he’s been through in his life, which has not been an easy life at all, he still finds it easy to laugh.
I learned a lot from the monks about themselves and about many different aspects of Buddhism, but what I loved most about these classes was just being around the monks and taking in their fun personalities.
It is an example I could definitely learn from, and that I am trying to learn from. My life may or may not be more stressful than theirs. I have a very busy schedule, school, work, a wife, church callings, etc. But they have had to flee their home country, travel to somewhere new and start over. They study most of the day, have homework, and a lot of the same kinds of chores. When it comes down to it, I don’t think the stress in my life is so very different than anything they would go through, and therefore, their ability to laugh and have fun shouldn’t be something unattainable for myself. I’m not saying I’m never happy. I love to have fun and laugh and play; I just have a harder time doing it when I have other things on my mind. So this is something I hope I can learn from their example. Right now I don’t feel like I am doing great at it, but I just need to keep reminding myself. And if I can do it, I think it will have been the greatest thing I learned from them because it will have a lasting effect on the rest of my life.
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