Sonam is a Monk. Well he is sort of a monk – but not really. He wears monks robes, but the only vows he has taken are those of your average Mr or Ms Tibetan. He is 'allowed' to wear the maroon robes because at the age of 24 he has already completed one of the toughest Buddhist pilgrimages.
I know Sonam because two months ago he came to a yoga class asking how 'flexible' Vijay was. When we replied 'very' he wanted to see, so he asked Vijay if he could join a class – as I said that was 2 months ago, and now Sonam is Vijay's new assistant. This morning I helped in his forward bending. I laid on top of his back (he is a Monk don't forget) and pushed him down with all my might. After 5 breaths, I was exhausted. When I asked him how he became so strong, he replied by telling me a little about his life...
When Sonam was one year old his mother died. His mother died by jumping into a river to try and save his nephew who had fallen in. Sonam then went to live with his grandmother who he describes as a 'very religious' woman. Sonam and his grandmother lived next to a monastery in a remote part of Tibet and they daily routine would be to 'pray, eat and sleep.' When he was 18 his grandmother died. In her memory and in the memory of his mother, Sonam then went on a pilgrimage to one of Tibet's most holy sites: Mount Kaliash. Mount Kaliash is 6417 meters and revered by both Buddhists, Bons, Jains and Hindus. He walked around the mountain slowly; he visited all the 'holy caves', praying that he mother and grandmother would be given favorable rebirths (ideally as human animals rather than any other type of animal, and praying for them to be free from the ghost realm). Sonam stayed at Mount Kaliash for two months, and then when he finished he decided it was time to leave his home 'country' and come to India.
After walking for 22 days, Sonam and the mixed group of Tibetans he was walking with finally arrived here in 'Little Lhasa'. The walk (which nearly every single Tibetan living in Dharamsala and Mcleod Ganj had to make in order to leave Tibet) is tough. The refugees need to cross high mountain passes, while all the time avoiding Chinese military patrols. When they arrive they are greeted by the Tibetan Refugee Committee and life becomes a little easier. But not for Sonam. Sonam arrived a stranger. He knew no one here. The ra ma la accent of his 'country' men and women was difficult for him to understand. He laughs as he recalls his 'red' wind battered checks, and white skin. But he found the weather too hot, he missed his country, he missed his mother and grandmother, and before long he found that he had taken himself – on another pilgrimage.
Sonam’s second pilgrimage was to Bodghaya – another famous pilgrimage site in the state of West Bengal, and this time he showed his dedication to his mother and grandmother through an act of supreme humility: Three months of prostrations. He travelled around the holy sites of Bodghaya and and with each step he prostrated himself as only the most devote Tibetan Buddhists know how; by kneeling down, leaning forward, hands in prayer above the head, lifting the body back up, taking one step and repeating the process. He prostrated himself so many times that he wore holes through his robes, and then he wore through the flesh around his knees. But he tells me all of this with a smile, as this was a sign of his devotion to the two women who had given him life, and an extra 'insurance' that they should be blessed in their reincarnations.
This morning the Dalai Lama is teaching at the Tsunglakhang Complex. I asked Sonam why he was not attending. His reply was that the 'Dalai Lama has given Tibet away to the Chinese'. I ask him why he doesn't try to return to Tibet (although it is illegal for any Tibetan who has left the country to return) and he replies that if he did he 'would have to act'. And to be an activist in Tibet means a young death – and for now Sonam - the Monk who isn’t - has far too many yoga asanas to learn.
I know Sonam because two months ago he came to a yoga class asking how 'flexible' Vijay was. When we replied 'very' he wanted to see, so he asked Vijay if he could join a class – as I said that was 2 months ago, and now Sonam is Vijay's new assistant. This morning I helped in his forward bending. I laid on top of his back (he is a Monk don't forget) and pushed him down with all my might. After 5 breaths, I was exhausted. When I asked him how he became so strong, he replied by telling me a little about his life...
When Sonam was one year old his mother died. His mother died by jumping into a river to try and save his nephew who had fallen in. Sonam then went to live with his grandmother who he describes as a 'very religious' woman. Sonam and his grandmother lived next to a monastery in a remote part of Tibet and they daily routine would be to 'pray, eat and sleep.' When he was 18 his grandmother died. In her memory and in the memory of his mother, Sonam then went on a pilgrimage to one of Tibet's most holy sites: Mount Kaliash. Mount Kaliash is 6417 meters and revered by both Buddhists, Bons, Jains and Hindus. He walked around the mountain slowly; he visited all the 'holy caves', praying that he mother and grandmother would be given favorable rebirths (ideally as human animals rather than any other type of animal, and praying for them to be free from the ghost realm). Sonam stayed at Mount Kaliash for two months, and then when he finished he decided it was time to leave his home 'country' and come to India.
After walking for 22 days, Sonam and the mixed group of Tibetans he was walking with finally arrived here in 'Little Lhasa'. The walk (which nearly every single Tibetan living in Dharamsala and Mcleod Ganj had to make in order to leave Tibet) is tough. The refugees need to cross high mountain passes, while all the time avoiding Chinese military patrols. When they arrive they are greeted by the Tibetan Refugee Committee and life becomes a little easier. But not for Sonam. Sonam arrived a stranger. He knew no one here. The ra ma la accent of his 'country' men and women was difficult for him to understand. He laughs as he recalls his 'red' wind battered checks, and white skin. But he found the weather too hot, he missed his country, he missed his mother and grandmother, and before long he found that he had taken himself – on another pilgrimage.
Sonam’s second pilgrimage was to Bodghaya – another famous pilgrimage site in the state of West Bengal, and this time he showed his dedication to his mother and grandmother through an act of supreme humility: Three months of prostrations. He travelled around the holy sites of Bodghaya and and with each step he prostrated himself as only the most devote Tibetan Buddhists know how; by kneeling down, leaning forward, hands in prayer above the head, lifting the body back up, taking one step and repeating the process. He prostrated himself so many times that he wore holes through his robes, and then he wore through the flesh around his knees. But he tells me all of this with a smile, as this was a sign of his devotion to the two women who had given him life, and an extra 'insurance' that they should be blessed in their reincarnations.
This morning the Dalai Lama is teaching at the Tsunglakhang Complex. I asked Sonam why he was not attending. His reply was that the 'Dalai Lama has given Tibet away to the Chinese'. I ask him why he doesn't try to return to Tibet (although it is illegal for any Tibetan who has left the country to return) and he replies that if he did he 'would have to act'. And to be an activist in Tibet means a young death – and for now Sonam - the Monk who isn’t - has far too many yoga asanas to learn.
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