Overview
This unique professional development program for New York area teachers was made possible through generous support from The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation and the Dwight School.

The program consists of four primary components:

1. A series of intensive pre-departure teacher training classes and workshops conducted at the Rubin Museum of Art.

2. Travel to the Himalaya of Northern India to learn in situ and firsthand about some of the distinctive cultural, religious, and arts traditions that have been practiced in this part of Asia for millenia.

3. Curriculum development and lesson planning beginning in India and continuing immediately upon return to the U.S.

4. Implementation of the new global studies curriculum in classrooms during the fall of 2006.

At the Rubin Museum
During the series of Educator Training Workshops at RMA, participants will be guided to connect the work in the museum collection to their own lives. To do this, we will explore various themes including: Teaching, Beauty, Peacefulness, Wrathfulness, Meditation, and Enlightenment.

Informed by gallery and studio activities, mindful observation of art work, and travel experiences, teachers will create interdisciplinary lesson plans for integration into their classroom instruction in their host institutions.

Travel and Immersion Learning: Tibetan Buddhism - A Study in the Indian Himalayas
Throughout this program in the Indian Himalayas, participants will be challenged to explore the history and beliefs of one of the world's most important religious traditions as it is being practiced and preserved in geographic exile.

Our aim during this program is both to study the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism and to locate this tradition within the context of the ceremonies and daily rituals that allow it to thrive.

After touring the major sites of Delhi, we make our way high into the Himalayas to explore the monasteries and spectacular landscapes of Ladakh, or "Little Tibet," one of the very few regions in the world where Tibetan Buddhism and all its cultural forms have flourished without interruption since introduced more than 1,000 years ago.

From Ladakh we make our way down into the Himalayan foothills to explore Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama and headquarters of the Tibetan-Government-in-Exile. The current epicenter of Tibetan culture, Dharamsala is where Tibetan traditions of medicine, astrology, law, religion, language, and the arts are preserved and nurtured. From Dharamsala, program participants will emerge from this intensive study of Tibetan Buddhism with a richly informed awareness of how the religion continues to inspire cultural survival in the face of overwhelming odds.

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In his seminal work, The Interpretation of Cultures, anthropologist Clifford Geertz writes that the goal of the researcher is to "descend into detail, past the misleading tags, past the metaphysical types, past the empty similarities to grasp firmly the essential character of not only the various cultures but the various sorts of individuals within each culture, if we wish to encounter humanity face to face."

For the program to succeed, participants will need to travel with humility, to become actively engaged in the culture, to make the most of their encounters with the people they meet and to try learning through avenues that may be unfamiliar at first. In order to achieve these goals, we will provide educators with the necessary tools better to understand the culture, with a special emphasis on culturally appropriate behavior as well as learning key words and phrases in Tibetan and Ladakhi languages.

Continue reading "Himalayan Immersion Overview: July 2 - 16, 2006" »

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Proposed Itinerary (Please note that travel within India can be unpredictable and this is subject to change)

July 2-3: Flight from USA to Delhi.

July 4: Morning orientation in Delhi. Visit main cultural sites including the historic Red Fort and Juma Masjid, India's largest mosque.
Board private coach to Dharamsala.

July 5: Arrive in Dharamsala. Check into hotel. Afternoon orientation and visit to Namgyal Monastery, home of the Dalai Lama.

Continue reading "Daily Itinerary" »

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Below are some highly recommended books and movies that will help you better prepare for your experiences this summer. If the time allows, borrow or purchase a few of these titles. Libraries are likely to have several of these as well. So that we have at least one book in common to discuss, please be sure to read The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison---it is a highly engaging whodunit that gives a wonderful overview of Tibetan Buddhist issues.

History
John Avedon, In Exile From the Land of Snows, NY: A Knopf, 1984. This excellent book and should almost be required reading! It offers a clear and concise background on Tibetan culture, and details the events surrounding the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese.

Tenzin Gyatso, H. H. the Dalai Lama, My Land and My People, NY: Potala, 1983. This is an autobiographical account of the history of modern Tibet, told by His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the XIVth Dalai Lama. We also recommend any other publication by His Holiness such as Ethics for a New Millennium, The Art of Happiness, The Meaning of Life from a Buddhist Perspective, and The World of Tibetan Buddhism.

Mahatma Gandhi, (Louis Fischer, ed.) The Essential Gandhi, Vintage, 1962.

Continue reading "Suggested Reading and Viewing" »

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BACK PACK/SUITCASE - Your main container to store your things. Something light weight and durable is best.
DAY PACK - A book-bag or fanny-pack to use for daily excursions (to carry camera, water bottle, jacket, notebook, etc).
STUFF SACKS - Light-weight and compact, using stuff sacks to separate clothes, food, toiletries, and everything else will bring order to your pack, and make your life simpler.
MONEY BELT - A very important item to wear daily, under your clothes, safely hiding your passport, money, etc.
RAIN COAT - A water-proof wind breaker, ideally light-weight and breathable. (Monsoon season in Asia is wet but tropically hot.)

Continue reading "Suggested Packing List" »

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Hi everyone. I’ve been able to meet some of you already at the Rubin Museum of Art, and hope to catch up with the rest of the group before we get on our very long flight to India. I am so very eager to join you all in India. I’ve been lucky enough to work for Brad in the past, and from that I know that this trip will be an exciting and intense time. I’m on track to finish my dissertation before we leave. I’m writing on religious geography, revelation, and regional identity formation in nineteenth century Khams (eastern Tibet).

I started traveling in Asia after graduating college. I knew I wanted to visit Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and I knew the names of some of them, but not much more. I got off my one-way flight to Delhi in the evening, the sky was purple and full of bats, and the air smelled like mangos and dirt. I knew nothing except that I wanted to go first to Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bo tree, so my first day I went to the train station with my bag and stood amid crowds like I’d never seen before.

Continue reading "Hello from Alex Gardner, Program Director" »

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Dear Educators,

Having met most of you, I'm becoming increasingly enthusiastic about our upcoming journey. I've already learned quite a bit in our brief encounters, and I have had glimpses into how much more there is to learn. It's exciting to know that you are interested in bringing Tibetan and Himalayan culture into your classrooms.

The desire to investigate inspired me to go to India nearly 20 years ago and to live in Nepal for an extended period of time, often leading experiential education programs for young people coming to Asia. Since 2001, I have been able to work in environments where I can tie together digital technologies, the Himalaya and education. And so the investigation continues, but first some more about me...

Continue reading "Greetings from David Newman, Program Director" »

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Participating educators meeting at the Rubin Museum to discuss their experiences learning about and practicing different forms of meditation

In preparation for this summer's field studies in the Indian Himalayas, teachers have been gathering every other Friday for two hours at the Rubin Museum to participate in a series of workshops designed to introduce them to Himalayan culture. Continue reading for details on the teacher training curricula...

Continue reading "Professional Development Workshops at the Rubin Museum of Art" »

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Olivia Beens
I have been interested in ancient cultures for many years and use the iconography in my own artwork. I've been looking at Tibetan art for years but haven't been able to put all the pieces together or in a proper context. I'm hoping that this trip will add to my knowledge base intellectually and spiritually. In teaching children I'd like to offer lessons based on my interests and study. On a personal level I am interested in learning more about the religions and practices in India and Tibet. The iconography fascinates me and I yearn to understand the symbolism on a higher level. I have always wanted to go to India and Tibet and see this as a heaven sent opportunity that I am certain will be with me for the rest of my life.

Ellen Cowhey
I hope to drink deeply of all the resources this trip and program may provide, and in turn, share that depth of knowledge as richly and creatively as possible back with my students, other faculty members, and the wider community. I would very much like to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, particularly how it is lived out by the Tibet community in exile. I would be interested in visiting the schools that the Tibetan children in Ladakh are attending and finding out whether or not they are government sponsored and the language in which they are learning. In 2000, I had the opportunity to visit some government and privately-run school programs for children of various economic backgrounds in Calcutta. I've also visited several school programs in Thailand for refugee children along the borders. I'm also interested in grassroots sustainable development projects, but I'm wide open to exploring the possibilities that our path provides.

Continue reading "Participating Teachers: Motivations and Goals" »

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Program Co-Director Alex Gardner examines a text by Gendun Drub, the 1st Dalai Lama, at a recent Teacher Workshop.

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Some of the group at JFK getting ready to board their Air India flight.

Everyone made it to JFK for this evening's flight to Delhi. Check back soon for updates from India.

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David emailed a brief message from Delhi to say that everyone is doing well. They were heading to catch the bus up to Dharamsala and promised to write with more details soon.

Happy July 4th!

John
Global Learning (NYC)

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We arrived in Dharamsala yesterday at 3 pm, after traveling since 10 pm the night before from Delhi--after a broken alternator, games of gin rummy at fluorescent lit truck stops, many on-the-side-of the-road mechanics, then finally abandoning our private bus to the public bus, then rickshaw drivers taking our things over to the four jeeps we alternatively hired. On the way up the mountain, monkeys coolly watched our ascent from side posts on the road. Still, so very much easier than the journey the Tibetans made to get to this place.

This morning, we arrived at the temple just after 6 am for the morning prayer. How many maroon-clad monks filled the space, it was impossible to say, along with the bright orange robes of the Indian monks, former "Untouchables." I was struck that they are still set apart, but I need to find out more about that. Monks busily served butter tea out of big silver kettles, and giant flat muffins, which we dipped into the butter tea. They also came around with rice with sweet beans. Such hospitality for such a tremendous crowd.

Continue reading "Hello from D'sala" »

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Lotus presents Lama Tenzin with a kata

It was a long night's journey into day with a broken bus and no sleep to get from Delhi to Dharamsala at 4PM the following day. We definitely bonded through the purification of facing the hardship with jokes, games, and songs. It feels like heaven, though, here in Dharamsala. And Namgyal Monastery (where the Dalai Lama resides) was everything I expected and so much more! We are high in the Himalayan clouds and it's been a lively celebration for His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 71st birthday. I met many people including a Hermit monk who came out for the birthday celebration! I've taken 218 pictures today! I think the children pictures will be the most telling. They posed for me and enjoyed seeing the resulting photos in the camera playback. This evening Lama Tenzin Yignyen, an artist monk and scholar who studied with the Dalai Lama for 35 years, gave us his time by offering our group a beautiful teaching on the Four Noble truths and Buddhist teaching. It was under a colorful tent in the stone patio with stone tables. His words resounded through the raindrops and it was a very beautiful teaching. Our group asked many thought provoking questions.We shared a great Tibetan meal tonight with the Lama. It's delightful having so many teaching colleagues as traveling companions.

Lotus

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Finally, I got some sleep. I woke up at around 5.45 and took some much needed time to center. And the rain rolled in at 7AM. 7AM on 7/7. I liked to think that the monsoon had started -- the first real rain we've had, but it did quiet down after a half hour.

In preparation for our audience with HH the Karmapa, Alex delivered a great introduction, digging deep into the history of Buddhism in India and the development of Mahayana (complete with Lotus' now much expected interjections and challenges to his statements). As usual, time got away and without having much chance to check in, we boarded 4 jeeps (well, 3 and a really nice Toyota minivan that smelled like new car) and headed down the hill toward Gyuto Monastery, the current center of the Karmapa's mandala.

Continue reading "Yet another incredible today" »

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Teachers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar

Jullay Brad!

This trip has been wonderful. We have been running around trying to see all the sights and have been loving them all. Each day has been filled with exciting opportunities to open our minds to the ideas and culture of the Himalayas. We have explored Tibetan Buddhism with talks with Lama Tenzin, a visit with the Karmapa answering questions about teaching, to the awe inspiring Sikh temple - The Golden Temple in Armistar. The people have been warm and welcoming as little old ladies help us through a prayer service making sure we get the most out of it. The food has been wonderful and flavorful, I think we all eat our weight at each meal! I have thoroughly enjoyed the fruit of the region especially the mangos and apricots! We will be visiting the Siddhartha school tomorrow and I am really looking forwards to meeting the kids! More to come!

Erica

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Kathleen working with students at the Siddhartha School...

and enjoying their creations

In Dharamsala, I felt as if I was in another realm -- geographically because of the location of our hotel (high above the city and with a perfect few of the Namgial Monastery and the residence of the Dalai Lama and spiritually because of the sense of the sacred that seemed to be very real in Dharamsala. We were all at the monastery for the celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday and experienced it in different ways. I watched some of the dances, music, and speeches by dignitaries and then did a cirumambulation around the grounds that was incredible -- prayer flags everywhere, shrines, beautiful colors of text on rocks, etc. And most wonderfully the day was very misty, so that at times, the mist rolled in and pieces of the landscape and shrine disappeared and reappeared -- quite primeval and wonderful. In any event, the day of celebration was remarkable and we were very much a part of it.

Continue reading "Reflections from Kathleen" »

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Ellen with some new Indian friends

We're up in the Himalayas now, Ladakh. Absolutely stunning. This morning, I went to two (smallish) mountaintop monasteries and one stupa on the top of a mountain. The stupa was at six am and kind of winded me for our schlepping around later on. Still, there's an exhilaration and lightness and beauty being up so high, the colors painted on the Buddhist images are that much more vibrant and the landscape is stunning--a lot of barren brown gigantic mountains with a few snow peaks left (global warming?) and then brilliant patches of green in the irrigated parts of the valleys. We went to a school for Tibetan refugee children, but need to go back tomorrow, since they were expecting us in the morning. So, standing in the parking lot of an already stark landscape, I started playing with three or four little boys, drawing a line in the dry dirt with a pointed stone, and leaping over it to see how far we could jump.

Continue reading "Hello from Ellen" »

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Dear Friends and Family,

To my great joy, the luggage has arrived!!! Well, at least mine did - some of the other's bags are still to be heard from. I hope for my friends’ sake that their luggage turns up soon. I'm glad I got my bag - I had bought a thangka in Dharamsala and didn't want to lose it. Also, my journal was in the bag, and I was looking forward to recording the rest of my India adventure in it.

There is a monastery in the center of town, and I was privileged today to get a look at a sand mandala that the monks were putting together. For anyone who hasn't seen this process, it involves dripping small bits of colored sand in intricate patterns, building up, grain by grain, a map of the path to enlightenment (about 5 ft in diameter). I have some great pictures.

Also of note, the scenery here is quite striking. When we came in on the plane, we flew over the Himalayas - nothing but mountainous desert for hundreds of miles, and the occasional verdant green spot where these tenacious humans have actually succeeded in getting stuff to grow. It's astounding. I made an attempt to photograph some of the mountains, and I think I've got some nice shots to bring home.

Continue reading "Greetings from Laura P." »

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I thought I would share a moment from this morning. We spent last night in the village outside the Jama Yuru monastery, having arrived lateish in the day after an incredible visit to the I thought I would share a moment from this morning. We spent last night in the village outside the Jama Yuru monastery, having arrived lateish in the day after an incredible visit to the Siddartha School in the morning. This morning I awoke about 4:45 and went out walking at around 5:00. I walked up to the monastery (a good climb), circumambulated a bit, and then sat and watched the sun come up over the mountains. The sun moved slowly, casting a soft glow until at last it was over the mountains and casting shadows across the hills and bathing the monastery in light. I was alone, except for a few birds—sparrows, I think—and it was without a doubt one of the most peaceful, sublime moments I've experienced.

Kate

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Dear Friends and Family,

Thanks to those of you who wrote to express concern about the bombings. I only just learned about them myself a couple of hours ago, and I am horrified. Also a little scared - we're flying back to Delhi tomorrow morning - early. I'd like to believe that the people who put together these sorts of disasters have understandable motivations - I can even understand resentment and hatred of the US and its citizens, but I cannot comprehend why anyone would be motivated to plan and carry out destruction of this magnitude in India - I wanted to believe that India was a peaceful place, and that it had in common with NYC a certain cosmopolitan diversity which made it a strong and tolerant nation. Apparently not everyone likes this quality.

Continue reading "Farewell to Leh" »

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Erica and Laura exploring by traditional pedicab

The trip has been truly fantastic and awesome in all senses of those words. Lyssa and I left the group this morning, but I still feel carried by the surge of energy that David and Alex's insights and passion for the subject brought to the group. I have a few contacts now in Leh, and am hoping to set up a meeting or two in the next few days -- particularly with a conservationist working on preserving monastery murals (we think) who David gave me contact info for.

Laura K.

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Hey guys,

Lyssa and I had a great day and stayed almost as busy as you have been keeping us. But we do have a few questions, and as we are unable to pester you immediately, we thought we'd find a slower method...

We did end up going to the Siddhartha School this morning - one of the highlights for me was actually the bus ride there, as we were in a smallish school bus (think size of the coach to Dharamsala, but with more seats) that eventually picked up approx 60 students and teachers! Most of the preschoolers had a tough time hauling themselves up the first step, and had to get hoisted by their peers. It was introduced to the entire morning assembly that we were going to teach an art class (oops) but it was a lot of fun, and we have a whole mess of student work to show for it...

Anyhow, the questions actually come from the second part of the day. We eventually made it back to the city in time to see the sand mandala ceremony at the monastery (which I hadn't realized was actually part of the group of related monasteries that Khen Rinpoche presides over).

Continue reading "Bonked on the head--please explain..." »

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Lyssa visiting with Khen Rinpoche, founder of Siddhartha School

Julley! (hello, please, thank you & goodbye in Ladakh--it's all purpose!)

We started the day riding the Siddhartha school bus into Stok with about 60 students and teachers standing in the aisles and sitting on top of each other. Khen Rinpoche a Buddhist abbot started this school 10 years ago to serve the children of Ladakh. We came earlier with a group of teachers to observe, meet the students pre k-10th grade and in some cases teach a short lesson. Apparently the 3rd grade missed out on the day so they insisted we return. My friend Laura and I met 25 students in the 3rd grade class and they drew pictures of life in Ladakh for us to exchange with students in New York. It was a blast- the children so full of joy.

Continue reading "Greetings from Lyssa" »

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Olivia painting with Siddhartha students

3am---------Dharamsala July 6th, I think. Oh my, so far an amazing journey. This hotel Pema Thang is charming, a view of the mountains, lovely balcony-just terrific. My body on some other time zone. The trip from Delhi on a small bus didn't work out very well. It was an adventure---grueling but we are here after a sleepless plane ride, bus ride—jeep ride that I shall never forget. The trucks and bus horns will be with me forevermore---70 miles an hour passing trucks that are highly decorated, personalized and look like toys a child might create---no side walks --women in beautiful brightly colored clothing always hard at work, always beautiful with beads, veils. Men handsome and dark. People sleeping almost anywhere, on meridians, along the side of the road--truckstops playing Bollywood, a dog barks outside. I have not walked through town yet. I want to go to the Temple at 6:30 for morning prayers.

Continue reading "Journal Entries from Olivia" »

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Lotus and students at Siddhartha School

Sandy with Khen Rinpoche, founder of Siddhartha School

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Chanraszig Gompa (photo by Lyssa Palu-Ay)

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Lyssa, Sandy, Geoff, and Laura on the way up to Shanti Stupa in Leh

Lyssa and Laura offering butter lamps in Dharamsala on the Dalai Lama's birthday

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Back again at the Rubin Museum of Art, Lotus takes her turn sharing with the gathered teachers and program funders some of the ideas and inspiration she drew from her time in the Himalayas.

"I was just so powerfully struck by what this experience meant to you as teachers. It's amazing how much advantage you get in teaching out of a very short, intense time and I think we need to remember that these experiences can be really big experiences in the teaching world--and we ought to think about how to create more of them." --Bruce Payne, Executive Director of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation

"You [teachers] are bringing back to schools what is such an important part of the East and I am so impressed because I always say there are only three essential things--you want to inspire kids, you want to educate them, and then they have to take action.

From this they will carry away with them something that they can use in their own lives. I think we as a group need to recognize the Rubin Museum for having generated this, so that we can open our eyes to the East as Americans. It is an extraordinary step--imagine if this could be done all over the country, wouldn't it be a far more compassionate, understanding world?" --Stephen Spahn, Chancellor, The Dwight School and Trustee, The Rubin Museum of Art

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