Norbulinga

            We heard about Norbulinga from our first set of host parents, and they recommended it to us a very beautiful place to visit. It was a bit off the beaten path; we had to take a taxi down through lower Dharamsala, and I’m glad we did or else we probably would have gotten lost trying to find it.

            The sight as we walked in truly was beautiful. On the other side of the large stone gate entrance, we were met by trees, a stream, and a winding stone-laid path that wandered off through the complex.

            Since I haven’t said yet, I probably should, Norbulinga is a type of University for Tibetan arts. It’s a very beautiful little campus and appears to be more of a tourist attraction, but there are actually students there, learning about the different Tibetan arts.

            Not sure where to go, we spent the first little while just wandering and looking at all the great sights. At the end of the path we came to a tall temple with the biggest statue of Buddha I’ve ever seen. There may be bigger somewhere in the world, but I’m pretty sure that’s the biggest in Dharamsala.

            After we had wandered for a bit we found out it was possible to get a free tour of the campus, so we did! And I’m glad we did because without him we never would have found where the students of the university were actually studying.

            The guide took us to the different rooms, which were located on second stories, and brought us right into the student’s working areas and gave us a look at what they were doing. We saw painting, woodwork, and cloth or silk work.

            Because the purpose of the university is to preserve Tibetan Buddhist art, it is not a university that just tells its students to go off and paint or carve or sew whatever they want. The artwork we saw was all very traditional and religious. It is also all very intricate and detailed and usually meant to tell a story.

            One painting was showed to us and each part explained. In most Thanka paintings it seems, there is usually a larger image of Buddha in the center, with many smaller images surrounding with events from Buddha’s life. I was very impressed at the way they could tell someone’s life story through a painting, and wondered what other people’s lives might look like if they were to be illustrated in that way.

            All in all, it was a very beautiful and inspiring visit, and being a fan of the arts, I greatly appreciated it and even missed my own little corner of my university back home.