Yogis go to ‘Tibet’: a Visit to Bylakuppe and Kushalnagar

Taking advantage of Sunday’s full moon holiday from yoga class (because, at 70% water, people are just as much affected by the waxing and waning of the moon just like the ocean, according to Ashtanga theory), four of us hopped on a bus to visit the Tibetan refugee settlements two hours outside of Mysore. Though a Protected Area Permit is officially required for overnight visits, we had been advised that it was not necessary for a day visit. Still, our monk guide became a bit nervous when he heard that there were police at the next town over, and when leaving the Tibetan area, we passed through a police check-post where we were queried about our journey.

It wouldn’t be a South Asian journey without some sort of vehicle malfunction. About three-quarters of the way to Bylakuppe, the bus got a flat tire. While waiting in the hot sun for the tire to be repaired or for another bus to arrive, I struck up a conversation with a Tibetan woman who was also going to Bylakuppe. She then suggested that we follow a friendly monk, who was going directly to one of the monasteries we wanted to visit. The monk, whom I’d met briefly the previous day at the symposium on the recent unrest in Tibet, graciously decided to be our tour guide for the day. Sketchy self-appointed tour guides will attach themselves to visitors at many tourist sites around South Asia, offering little in the way of explanation and demanding outrageous sums in return for their time. This situation was totally different: it was more like running into a long-lost friend when visiting a new city, and getting an insider’s tour of the town. The monk displayed classic Himalayan hospitality and generosity, treating us to lunch, arranging all our taxis between the various monasteries, accompanying us to four different monasteries, and providing detailed explanations of the murals inside the temples.


When we got around to asking how he’d decided to become a monk, he shyly and laughingly revealed that he’d been recognized as a reincarnation or trulku at age 18 while attending school, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Not only did we have a kind monk as our tour guide, but he was a recognized lineage holder! Since his recognition as a trulku, the monk, whom we should call Rimpoche (“precious gem,” the appropriate title of respect for a trulku), had been studying in monastic schools in Dharamsala and now Mysore. He’s completed 15 years of study towards his Geshe title (the equivalent of a PhD in Buddhist philosophy), which requires 21 years of education, after the completion of Class X in secular school. (No more complaints about how long a PhD takes!) Given his extensive education and his solid English skills, Rimpoche was one of the most enlightening people I’ve talked with about Tibetan Buddhism.

He and the other trulkus of Sera Jey Monastery (named after one of the most famous monasteries in Tibet) had organized the Tibet symposium in Mysore along with some of the local officials of the Tibetan government. They believe that informing the international community about the recent unrest in Tibet will help bring more pressure to bear on the Chinese government.

Though most of the temples I’ve visited in eastern Bhutan are of the Nyingmapa tradition, the Bylakuppe area has monasteries of three of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingmapa, Sakya, and Gelugpa (the Dalai Lama’s school). Unlike the temples I’ve visited in the Himalayas, these temples are all shiny, new and modern, with windows and high ceilings, brightly-colored paintings on the walls, and burnished golden statues.


In the ancient temples, smoke from ritual butter lamps has darkened the paintings and statues, and the wood rooms are typically dark and window-less. Even when paintings are restored, smoke-blackening is not removed. As one conservator said, “If you want a new looking thangkha, get a new thangkha.”



Our first stop after lunch was to the Sakya temple, set amidst rolling hills and fields. Birds swooped through the three-story open concrete structure, as Rimpoche explained the various images and deities.



At the Golden Temple, a Nyingmapa monastery inside beautiful gardens, we saw a 60-foot-tall golden Buddha flanked by 58-foot-tall deities. Indian tourists roamed the large hall, taking photos and examining the paintings.



When Rimpoche pointed out paintings of protector deities, curious about the transition of Tibetan Buddhism from the Himalayas to South India, I asked if the deities had abodes in the landscape, as they are said to in Bhutan.



He smiled wryly, as people often do in Bhutan when asked about deities, and said he didn’t think so, but that the deities might appear to enlightened masters in dreams or visions, thus giving rise to their artistic depictions.

A smaller chapel was dedicated to Tara, the goddess of compassion, with images of Green Tara and White Tara circling the walls. As we stepped into the chapel, the monks were just beginning a puja (ceremony) with bells, drums, chanting, and long horns.



Five of us crowded into a rickshaw to travel through neat villages and well-tended fields to Sera Jey and Sera Mey, two monastic schools in close proximity, each with 2000-3000 monks. These are the universities of higher Buddhist education, and for advanced training, everyone must come here. The monasteries and their campuses form a small town with winding alleys, shops, and residences. The atmosphere was wonderfully peaceful and calm after the streets choked with honking motorcycles and rickshaws of urban Mysore. With their calm, order, and apparent affluence, the Tibetan settlements contrasted sharply even with the nearby Indian villages.

After showing us around Sera Jey, his monastery, Rimpoche took us to his home for tea. In Bhutan, too, monks will frequently invite visitors in for tea. Their residences are usually cramped but orderly single rooms. Rimpoche led us to a spacious two-storey house that would not look out-of-place in any Western suburb that he shares with several other monks, including his nephew, as well as his thangkha-painter brother. We had tea on the second-storey porch, with a nice breeze blowing in off the hills.



The grand finale of our tour was a visit to Sera Mey, temple of the Medicine Buddha, which is the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he visits South India. A huge golden throne, requiring stairs to ascend, holds a gigantic picture of His Holiness. Paintings of all 14 Dalai Lamas circle the hall. One hundred and eight small statues of the Medicine Buddha flank the main statues, which include the founder of the Gelugpa school, the Buddha and Avalokitasvara, of whom His Holiness is an incarnation.