Friday, June 4, 2010

I have arrived!

Ok, so this is the first blog of my adventure. Currently I'm in Majnu-ka-tilla, a little Tibetan village just outside of New Delhi proper. For those of you who're interested, here's the link to the hotel I'm staying at today.

http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/india/delhi-r1973745/peace-house-p1019979/

Basically, I'll be updating this whenever I can to keep a journal of my experience. I'll link to my Flickr account so you guys can see the pictures I'm taking, and every now and then I'll be posting essays on here (so be warned!)

A big shout out to all of my Sangha friends back in Tally (Eric, Ron, Rachel, Richard, Becky, Craigie, Louise, etc), the Buddhist community in general, all of my friends who are also currently overseas (Guogu, Danny, Matt, Paula & Ralph), and of course my family. Thanks specifically to Dr. Erndl for letting me do a DIS on "Religion and Culture in Nepal," (who I'll be writing the essays for). This is an amazing opportunity, and I'm utterly grateful to all those who've helped me get here to fulfill a dream of mine.

I think I'm gonna try to do a word of the day on here to reinforce the vocabulary I pick up as I learn it. Today's entry is part of the URL of my blog, and is Tibetan:

Shingta (shing rta) - trailblazer, pioneer, helmsman; chariot, charioteer; champion; spiritual vehicle, guide, mainstay; 'opener of the way.'

Obviously lots of meanings that are applicable to my journey, this blog, and -- who knows -- maybe even me. (It also happens to be the name of my router at home). Basically, this is the vehicle I'll be using to contact the rest of the world during my travels, so it feels very apropos.

Alright, folks, that'll be good for the time being. Now I need to go eat and figure out the next step. Today, relaxing... Tomorrow, Dharamsala and hopefully a glimpse at His Holiness the Dalai Lama!

Tashi Delek!
~ Jeff
(Shantideva)

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