Preclinical student Dinny Burge shares her extraordinary experiences at a Tibetan monastery

Inspired by a friend who had spent her medical elective in an Indian monastery 20 years ago, I offered my services as an amateur English teacher to Gaden Monastery in the Tibetan colony of Mundgod in southern India. Of the 8000 Tibetans living there, 2500 are monks living in two separate monasteries.

I was greeted by 400 noisy debaters
I was met at Goa airport by three monks who placed white scarves around my neck in a Tibetan welcome and drove me to the monastery. I arrived at nightfall and as I stood nervously in my room I could hear shouting, stamping, clapping, and laughter. This seemed strange--not the peaceful monastery atmosphere that I had expected. Dorje took me outside to the courtyard, where several hundred monks were standing in groups under the mango trees, debating. It is part of their education, Dorje explained, where they learn to question each other and their teachings. As each question must be accompanied by a stamp and a clap, 400 debating together made a noisy introduction to my stay.

Unlike the monasteries in Dharamsala, which have a large number of Western visitors, Gaden is relatively isolated and rarely has foreign visitors. Certainly no European had stayed at the monastery for several years, and being the only Westerner (and the only woman) in the community of 1500, I generated a fair amount of interest, not least from the children. Tibetan monks may start their training from as young as 3 or 4 years old, and there were boys of all ages in the monastery. The smaller ones looked very demure, dressed in their red robes, sitting quietly to have their heads shaved, or swaying and chanting as they memorised their teachings. Games or sports were forbidden until very recently, and football or chess may now be played on one day a week, although some of the older monks still disapprove of recreational activities.

Soon after I arrived I was taken to meet the abbot. Dorje had instilled in me the importance of respect for lamas (teachers) and supplied me with gifts of fruit and a white scarf to give, with a quick lesson about the correct way in which to present them (I still got the procedure wrong). Typically, when meeting monks there would be an exchange of white scarves and a bow. I was slightly perturbed when monks stuck their tongues out at me but I learnt that this is a sign of respect. I was received warmly by the abbot and all the monks who I met during my stay.

Daily life started at 5 30 am
Daily life in the monastery started at 5 30 am --my house was next door to a prayer hall, where six foot trumpets were blown from the roof twice a day. I sometimes attended morning prayers, where Tibetan tea was served. This is an experience not to be missed: it is made with butter (traditionally Yak's) and salt. It tastes as you would imagine--a mixture of tea, salt, and butter to taste.

Health facilities are limited
I spent mornings in the monastery health clinic--a single room--which is run by a monk who has done three months of basic medical training. The clinic sees many cases of skin infections, gastroenteritis, and occasionally tuberculosis. The monk also offers family planning advice to the local Tibetan community. However, some questions he asked about how contraceptive devices worked revealed complete ignorance--sex education was apparently not included in his training as a medic or a monk. I was not sure that it was appropriate for me to take on the role of sex educator of Tibetan monks and after outlining the basics and promising to get him some leaflets I beat a retreat.

Facilities in the clinic are limited, with no doctor and few medicines. More serious cases are referred to a doctor in the nearby Indian village, but the expense is prohibitive. The health of the community has improved vastly since the 1980s, when severe diarrhoea and dehydration were serious and common problems. The improvements result mainly from the construction of a drainage system to replace the open sewers, as well as health education.

Diet remains a significant health problem, since the traditional Tibetan diet is high in fat and sugar--important for survival in the Himalayan winters but not in the warm southern Indian climate. The so called "cocacolisation" of most developing countries, coupled with the physically inactive lifestyle of study and prayer, has led to a high prevalence of diabetes and other diet related diseases among the monks.

The monks were keen to learn English
Working with classes of 50 young monks, aged from 4 to 15, was entertaining and, although I am not sure how much I achieved in terms of English language teaching, it provided a break from the intensive study which is expected of the children, whose day starts at 6 am and finishes at 10 pm. I could forgive the ones who nodded off during my lessons. The adult students were very keen to learn English (only a handful of the 1500 speak English) and my classes grew in size as word got around that there was a teacher, though I think the extras came more for amusement than for education.

It was a privilege to be welcomed into the lives of the monks at Gaden, and an education which I value immensely. There is a huge need for trained medics and English teachers at the monastery and the monks would be grateful to anyone who could offer some months of voluntary work.