The Rhythm of the Teachings - Part 1

Last week we would wake up to a man calling out into the night.
Singing.
He was calling the Muslim faithful to prayer, to goodness, to eat and then to fast for the day. I have always wanted to hear a 'call to prayer' without a microphone/speaker and who would have thought that it would be in McLeod Ganj, home to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama?
After waking up slowly, sometimes falling back to sleep, we do our morning preparations which now include crushing or chewing our individualized Tibetan medicines and chasing that bitter aromatic taste with some warm water (to save plastic we now boil our own). But we are usually up and out the door by 6:50 or 7:00am. Most of the time we find ourselves sitting at our favorite breakfast spot, Lhamo's (Lhamo was the Dalai Lama's name as a child before being discovered and becoming a monk and being thus named Tenzin Gyatso). Beautiful sunrise over the Himalayas, cool breeze and a quiet red room with red and black Tibetan tables. Mary gets Muesli which our friend/Uncle calls "the bucket of fruit." It's huge. I often get the American Breakfast which comes with toast, eggs, a pot of tea, corn flakes, and a glass of fresh juice (carrot/apple). This decadence costs less than 3 dollars which is a decadent price for one person to pay for a meal in India.
Then we walk down to the main temple with many people, maybe half or three quarters of them monks and in dark red robes. And going past security we settle into our place in the back among a veritable crowd of Tibetans and some "Westerners." We chat and relax until the air changes and you look up and see everyones head turning in the same direction, hands folded together, under the mouth or by the heart, following with their eyes a moving entourage. This is how the Dalai Lama arrives almost anywhere. As he walks he waves a blessing from side to side with quick seemingly precise movements of his head and right hand, always genuinely smiling. Sometimes he stops and talks to someone, accepts a gift, or simply looks into the crowds eyes. And I have watched their eyes. How filled with hope, aspiration, and as HH said himself of some Tibetans "with unrealistic expectations," so many are! Many are simply happy to see him. My own mouth does tend to relax into a smile.
Then after a little settling in, and after the chants, the teachings begin...