Science for Monks Web Site Redesigned

The Science for Monks web site has been redesigned.  I was one of the instructors in the second cohort.

Post-Trip Post

Last week, after a long 36 hour trip from Bir, India, I arrived safely back in the States.  The day after I arrived, I became very ill:  fever, body aches, headache, nausea, dizziness, stomach problems.   I think something I ate on the plane made me sick.  After 24 hours of feeling terrible, I recovered.

If you have been following this blog, you know that my trip to India was cut short.  The other instructors were able to pick up the slack and from what they have told me through email, the entire workshop was a great success.

I hope to return to India in several months to continue my work with the monks and nuns. 

Stay tuned!

Must Leave

Thursday morning I received some sad news from home and must leave Bir, my fellow instructors, and the monks and nuns immediately.  Unfortunately, I will have to shorten my stay and return to the States now.  I am entering this post from the airport in New Delhi where I am waiting for a flight back to the USA.

Before I left Bir, the monks and I were able to discuss the anatomy and physiology of neurons and reflexes.  We talked about the different parts of a neuron, the resting potential, the action potential and chemical transmission.  This was a lot of material to cover in such a short period of time, but I think I was able to provide the monks with the basics to understand neurotransmission.  Because I have to leave them so soon, I will not be around to answer what I am a sure will be their many, many questions.  I gave my email address to all of the monks and nuns and my TA (Tenzin) will translate emails for any of the monastics who do not understand English.  I expect to hear from many of them. 

Immediately after my teaching session on Friday, I was ready to leave for the Dharamsala airport.  Bryce Johnson and Bobby Sager were able to change my flights to get me out of India as fast as possible.  However, I was told that because of bad weather, my flight from Dharamsala to Delhi had been canceled.  I would have to drive five hours to a different airport to catch a flight to Delhi and then another flight back to the US.  

So I started towards the new airport with one of the Tibetan translators who was going to be dropped off at Dharamsala.  He was able to call the airline and found out that the flight was re-scheduled and that I would make my original flight to Delhi.  So, instead of a 5 hour drive, I had only a 2 hour drive back to Dharamsala.  (I was lucky to see my first monkeys on the side of the road during the drive!)

It is unfortunate that I will not be able to stay with the program for the second week.  The Tibetan monks are such great students; they are so attentive and curious and ready to learn each and every day.  Even though I spent only a short time with them, I consider them to be my students, my teachers and my friends.  I will miss them.  But this is not the end of the story.  It is likely that I will join them again for a second workshop in a few months and we will continue our discussions about the brain. 

The Rain Returns

The lightning returned for a second show on Thursday night.  That night, Bryce, one of the Tibetan translators, and I ventured into the small town below the Deer Park Institute in search of chocolate.  Although several shops had chocolate, Bryce was not satisfied with the selection.  One shop, however, had what he was looking for:  chocolate with fruit and nuts!

On the way home, we heard thunder and saw lightning flashes getting closer and closer.  The first raindrops fell as we were about 100 yards from the gates of the compound.  These first raindrops were only the beginning of another strong storm.  This storm had more lightning and thunder than the previous day’s storm, but it was not as windy.  I tried to photograph the lightning, but the images I recorded are not very good.

We lost power again, but it was restored before I went to sleep.

Another Morning Walk

On Friday morning, Paul, Modesto, Richard and I took a morning walk to the paragliding landing spot just down the road from the Deer Park Institute.  Bir has a worldwide reputation as a place for paragliding because of its tall mountain peaks and favorable winds.  We started our walk at about 6 am and came to the landing zone at about 6:30 am.  We went a bit further and were joined by one of the program’s monks who was out for a morning jog.  This particular monk had lived in Bir for several years and was familiar with the area.  He encouraged us to hike a bit further and joined us as our guide. 

We were rewarded for following him with a fantastic view of the valleys looking to the west.  We returned to the Deer Park Institute at 7:20 am just in time for breakfast.

A Short Break

On Thursday morning, the monks and instructors took a break from the classroom.  The monks planned to hang traditional Tibetan prayer flags from the trees above the Deer Park Institute.  First, they lit a small fire and chanted a few prayers.  Then they unraveled the long ropes with the prayer flags and hung them from the surrounding trees.  Some monks had to climb up tall trees (with their bare feet) to find good spots to anchor the flags.  The monks then chanted again before they formed a circle and threw some fine powder in the air.

And The Rain Begins

Yesterday, we discussed the peripheral nervous system.  The monks became neurologists and tested their 12 cranial nerves.  They really seemed to enjoy testing their vision!

As I left class in the afternoon, I saw dark clouds on the horizon.  It certainly looked like rain.  Sure enough, 30 minutes later, the skies opened and huge raindrops pelted the ground.  Thunder, lightning, and strong winds came along with the storm.  My shoe that I used to prop open my door got soaked.

One of the translators mother made a dinner of mutton dumplings (momo) for us guests from the States.  Bryce, Richard, Paul, Modesto, Bobby Sager and all of the translators huddled from the rainstorm as we ate dinner.  This was the first meat I had eaten in the six days since I left Seattle.

The storm also knocked out power.  Without electricity, I called it an early night and went to sleep at 9:30 pm.  A few hours later, I was awakened by the light in my room:  the power had come back on and of course, I had left the light on.