Hands And Beggars
Today, according to the Tibetan calender, is Buddha's Birthday. Not only is it His birthday, but the same date marks His attainment of enlightenment and the day of His death. So, the prayers at the Namgyal Temple started early this morning, though too early for me. I was up all night after drinking way too much butter tea (Tibetan tea) for my Injie stomach to handle, but I did manage to get to the temple to witness the folks from "Give a Hand to Free Tibet" hard at work trying to reach their goal of collecting one million hands.
All over the temple grounds, strung up like prayer flags, hands waved in the breeze carrying words of hope to the Tibetan people that they have not been forgotten.
Janis Somerville, one of the project's coordinators, explained that the group would soon be leaving for Ladakh where two huge hands will be contructed and left facing open towards Tibet. "We wanted to get to the border of Tibet from the Indian side but we won't be allowed to get that close from India because it is a very sensitive area. So we are going to Ladakh to get as close as we can with the Tibetans help," Somerville said. "After this, we go to Germany where we will join a peace caravan and we will be doing this in every city every day for a month. After that we want to continue collecting hands in the power centers of Geneva, Brussels, Paris, London. We just want to keep the pressure on."
The group is still a long way from collecting one million hands. They are hoping to have that many to display when His Holiness visits Germany in the beginning of November 1998. To find out where to send your hand and other ways you can help out. contact Give a Hand to Free Tibet.
Over the years this day has come to be more than a gathering of Buddhists praying and celebrating Buddha's Birthday, but also a gathering of Indian beggars. From nearby villages the beggars come and line the road leading to the temple. It was a sight to behold, for sure! I witnessed Tibetan families, carrying blue and green plastic bags bulging with coins that had been saved all year, placing a coin in each outstretched hand. Monks and Nuns helping beggars sort through and count their earnings, and even a representative from His Holiness' office was handing out bills worth 10 rupees each.
It is quite a "profitable" day for the beggars and has been estimated that each one might earn as much as 200 rupees (aprox. US $5, or for another perspective: a full meal in a local Dharamsala restaurant costs 30-50 rupees). Word has spread, so each year the crowd that gathers has grown bigger. It's been speculated, however, that not all of these people are beggars. Some are people just playing the part for a day to reap the benefits of the compassionate Buddhists. Whatever the case may be, it was a scene which I have never before witnessed and I was struck by the beauty that shone through from a surface that, at first, appeared ugly.
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