Bellerophon symbol, variation 7 jonath.co.uk
Friday 21st Nov 2014 22:50:29
 Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery, Day 1
My confirmation email receipt thingy said that I was expected at 6pm. I set off (with my tiny little Toyota hire car) from home at about . . . oh, I don't know . . . half past two? Something like that. However, when I got to Lockerbie I suddenly realised (I had actually realised before but only acted on this realisation once at Lockerbie) that I had, like, no cash on me. I was due to stay at a Tibetan / Buddhist in the middle of nowhere, so they were unlikely to take Visa Debit payments (how wrong I was!). So yeah . . . I stopped at some kind of community hall thing on the outskirts of Lockerbie and said to my sat-nav, "MOFFAT", as it looked kind of nearby. Sat-nav was a bit like, "Who?!" so I just set off anyway, as there weren't many roads to choose and Moffat was sign-posted. I got to Moffat, parked the car right outside the Balmoral Hotel, withdraw some cash and went for a coffee at a café that was just about to close (oh, and a slice of this peppermint / chocolate slice thing . . . mmmmm, gorgeous).
I don't know what time I got to the monastery. Phone records would suggest 17:42, at which point the sun had long since gone down. I knew the car park was located outside of the main monastery area, but didn't realise that the walk from the car park to the monastery would be almost entirely devoid of any kind of lighting. There were two or three people ahead of me making the same journey, so I kind of followed them, using my mobile phone torch app (incredibly useful in these circumstances). I'll probably say this again and again but if thinking of going to this place (especially in autumn / winter): take a torch!
Anyway . . . as the outlying buildings appeared, I lost the people I was following, who might not have been heading to the reception anyway. In hindsight, the site was actually quite small and easily navigated during daylight, but hey . . . After a little wandering around, I found the reception and joined the queue of people signing in. There were about 7 or 8 people in front of me. 5 / 10 minutes later, I was given my key: room 5, Tashi Deleg house. The monk who served me informed me that supper was served from 6pm to 7pm and that the meditation course was due to begin at 7pm in the main temple. The monk dude gave me a little map (on the other side of which was an agenda / timetable of all the things happening over the weekend), scribbling on line and arrows relating where we were to where I need to be. I think it would have been about 18:20 by then, so I realised I better get a move on.
'Supper' was served in this main dining area, which was the same area used for breakfast, lunch, dinner. One thing that the monk forgot to mention but which I either knew about already or else figured out: take your shoes off before entering temples and/or eating areas. So yeah . . . supper was a case of: grab a plate / bowl, grab some cutlery and then help yourself to whatever pots of soup have been salvaged from the lunch-time meal. Which possibly sounds a bit negative, but isn't necessarily. There were two kinds of soup, but hardly any of either were left by the time I got there. I think it was lentil and vegetable in one pot and . . . god knows . . . something else vegetarian in the other. There was no meat. There was also no water. No coffee. I repeat: no coffee. There was no coffee. There was hot water and tea bags but no coffee. There was no coffee. These are not necessarily negative things, but just things to bear in mind. The tap water was potable, and there was coffee on-site (at a cost; from the café) but not nearly as plentiful as the bags of tea. Anyway, the soup was good; very filling and wholesome. Plus there were plenty of spicy sauces and condiments to flavour where necessary, not that it really was.
I went back to my room, possibly got changed, freshened up, did some unpacking . . . blah, blah, blah. A word or two about the accommodation. My experiences were based on a single room in Tashi Deleg house. Upon the bed were laid out, neatly folded: pillow cases, a mattress cover and a duvet cover. Guest were expected to make their own bed and return used linen to the laundry room prior to checking-out. Also provided was a small hand towel. I wish I had known that, about the hand-towel, and then I could have brought my own bath towel but hey . . . no problem. So yeah . . . the room was basic. The radiator thermostat was off, which didn't help. Guest are expected to turn on the thermostat if they require (which at this time of the year is pretty much a given!) and turn off when they leave, so as to keep their heating costs down.
So yeah . . . where was I? Possibly the accommodation. Well, see, the thing about the accommodation and the food at Samye Ling is that it seemed correct for the environment. This is a Buddhist retreat where you're there . . . well, for all manner of reasons, I guess . . . I was there to learn about meditation. I wasn't expecting lavish food and accommodation and it would have seemed wrong had that been the case. Imagine a friend or close relative has been involved in a car accident and you go visit them in hospital (perhaps they've broken a leg and suffered cuts and bruises); you wouldn't say to them, "So, anyway, do you have that £5 you owe me? It's just that, you know . . . I'm a bit short at the moment. It'll make all the difference." It would seem inappropriate. To turn up at a Buddhist retreat and whinge about the food / accommodation would likewise be inappropriate (of course, up to a point!). The food was fine and the accommodation was fine, and that's all there that needs to be said.
I got to the main temple thing at about 18:55, took my shoes off, and found a seat near the back. I reckon there were about 60 people there. There we met our 'tutor' (?!), a Glaswegian nun based at Samye Ling, who had been there for about 30 years. I didn't quite catch her name . . . Anu? Ani? Not sure. Google to the rescue . . . Ani Lhamo, previously Edith Hope - http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21580964
Ani spent a long time explaining the set-up of Samye Ling, the rules, where things are and the timetable for the weekend. By her own admission, she over-ran a bit, as she had been hoping to do some meditation with us, but time didn't really allow that. Not that it really mattered . . . she was one of those people who had that effortless confidence and manner to talk for hours on end whilst engaging their audience. Perhaps she also had experience on her side. Maybe she had delivered this talk many times. Whatever . . . Anyway, at the end, she suggested that we say hello to at least one person we don't know. And so I came to know another Glaswegian, Margaret, who was sat in the row in front of me. I don't think I really spoke to Margaret much after that. She was probably thinking, "What is that moustache thing?" Movember . . . So yeah . . . I made my excuses and went back to my room, reading for a while and then getting an early night. Well, that was not before popping back to my car to collect my sleeping bag. Thereby adding to the list of important things to bring: sleeping bag, coffee, meat, torch.

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