Sitting across my screen against a wall the brightest shade of blue, a gold-glazed idol of Buddha in a meditative state in the backdrop, Lama Aria Drolma is radiant. I have a feeling the morning sun shining through the shrine room in the Palpung Thubten Choling Monastery has little to do with it. Situated in upstate New York, she made this space her home, and the 20-odd nuns and monks that reside here her family, thirteen years ago, when she was ordained a lama (a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teacher). “I love the simplicity of my life here. I don’t have to impress anyone or apologise for who I am. I enjoy my spiritual practice, it gives me a positive state of mind, and when I’m there, I have the ability to help others, be there for them, empower them. I enjoy being peaceful,” she says to me at the beginning of our three-hour-long chat, the end of which had me feeling a lot less anxious and a little more peaceful.
She begins her day at 6 am, invoking blessings by chanting aspirational prayers, followed by breakfast and daily chores. What chores, I ask with intrigue. “We are an organisation, and as a committee, we plan auspicious events and teachings for our followers. I respond to emails, do the usual office work and manage the bookstore. We follow a sattvic diet and take turns to cook,” she tells me. During their evening prayers, the Buddhist nuns call upon the deities to help them stay within their practice when they feel like giving up and protect them on this challenging path. For Das, this path—of impermanence, spreading compassion, love and kindness, and meditation—opened up after years of holding on.
AN EPIPHANY OF IDEAS
Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av VOGUE India.
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Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
