Probably McLeod Ganj is my favorite place on the Earth. This peaceful village in the Himalayas gave the shelter to big part of Tibetan community in India and is blessed with the presence of His Holiness Dalai Lama. I am not Buddhist, but it is so easy to find appeal in this teaching, especially when it is presented by such an amazing Teacher. Visiting the teachings of Dalai Lama is free and open to anyone – please check the website https://www.dalailama.com/schedule for His Holiness schedule.

It’s better to prepare for this event a little in advance. To enter the temple on the days of teaching you will require the pass – it is easy to get it in exchange of your passport photo (although last time they just took it at the spot) and a nominal amount of 10 rupees (like 15 cents). Don’t forget your passport and the name of your guesthouse! The registration office is very close to the central square of McLeod, on the the Bhagsunag Road. Usually it is closed on weekends, but if the teaching starts on Monday, they will open the office on Sunday. In case you have missed it, there is the option to register on the day of the teaching in the Temple itself – ask the stuff and don’t waste your time in the common queue for security check.

One more thing to get before going to the teaching is FM radio. It feels like it’s the only place in the world where they sell it still. You need it because Dalai Lama is teaching in Tibetan, and synchronous translations are transmitted on the radio. There are few language options usually – English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian are these which come first to my mind. I was able to listen to two translations – Russian and English, and proficiency of translators is amazing, I felt very grateful for the work they did. Try your radio in advance (it’s better to get the one with a digital setting of FM frequency than the one with the wheel from my experience) and charge it well. Don’t forget the headphones. No other device – cell phones, laptops, cameras etc are permitted inside, you can leave them in the cloakroom (queue 🙁 ) if you mistakenly took them with you.

Next thing – you’ll need to book the spot for sitting. Usually, this “booking” starts 2-4 days before the teaching. Come to the temple with the piece of paper and your name on it and stick it to the floor with the duck tape. You can use any cloth or pillow as well. Don’t take more space than you actually need. His Holiness teaches from the semi-opened room on the first floor and the places from where you can see him directly are quite limited and usually reserved for the organizing groups and Tibetans. But it’s totally fine – you still get an amazing atmosphere! There are areas for different language groups – depending on the availability of translator. You can choose to sit close to your language group or far from it – since the translation is transmitted by the radio and the distance within the temple does not influence the quality. If you have not got the place to sit in advance, well, you always have the option to sit on the ground floor or ask people to squeeze a little – mostly it’s tolerated.

The things to take with you on the teaching day – pillow, yoga mat or something soft to sit on for few hours (but not very high since you’ll sit in front of others), something warm if the weather requires, cup – for Tibetan tea, which is distributed by Monks (oooh, that feeling of having tea with Dalai Lama and thousands of other lucky human beings! ). Take some water and something small to munch on in the break time – Tibetan bread is also provided, but usually, it’s not enough. Take a notebook and pen to take notes if you plan to, your pass (important!) and your best mood!