Retreat in the Heart of Darjeeling

I just arrived in Dublin this  morning. It’s Mother’s Day and the sun is shining! I’m sitting in my room at the Hilton Dublin Kilmainham and suddenly I’m hearing bagpipes. Is this for real? Indeed.

Oddly, some things about Dublin remind me of India… small details such as stonework, architecture, and the way streets are landscaped.  In fact, if I remember correctly, Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) who designed the War Memorial Gardens here, also had a hand in some landmark buildings in India.

I love places where people paint brilliant colors on their doors and window sills and where they have lots of flowerpots. Darjeeling is that way.

I’m also fond of the little signs over the mail slots that say, “No Junk Mail Please.”

How do you think that would work in the US? Probably about as well as when you sign up for, “Do Not Call,” and you get more sales calls than ever.

My hotel is located right across the street from Kilmainham Gaol–A notorious old jail.

Since there are no accidents, I will be happily giving mantras for the violet flame of God’s mercy and forgiveness to transmute unseen records of activities that took place in this historic spot over the  centuries. The jail has been preserved as a monument to the struggle for national independence.  Who knows? Maybe some records were mine from other lifetimes.

Well, a Tibetan Buddhist temple is just two doors down.  And, a Catholic enclave is next to that  so there are plenty of prayers and mantras for the old events at the jail.

What will it be tomorrow? The Dublin zoo? Or the national leprechaun museum?