Posted by: JPEG May 4, 2009
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as continued..........!
15. There are two primary youth clubs in Halesi, the Jana Jyoti Club and the Panchawati Pragati Youth Club. These clubs are dedicated to furthering development in Halesi and have made the elimination of begging practices one of their projects. Many people in town, particularly the beggars, are eagerly awaiting the next visit of the reincarnate lama who has made gift-giving visits to Halesi a routine in his life. It is approaching fast, they say with a greedy twinkle in their eyes. Some people in town, however, suggest that the lamas should stop giving to individual beggars altogether.
At this point a distinction needs to be made between giving destructively and giving in a way that is productive to social causes and the community as a whole. Halesi is a remote town with very little access to resources and a greater economy. Lamas in Halesi, who can raise significant monetary funds from outside sources, have been the primary means by which this town has developed at all. The school in Halesi was built under the direction of the Maratika Lama using funds he raised from abroad. While many oppose lamas giving to individuals,
nobody opposes gifts to the school or other public works. The reincarnate lama who has been most active in Halesi recently has promised that the next time he comes he will build a college for this village. The benefits of Buddhist
involvement for Halesi are enormous. But it is not a total solution to the problem because one individual cannot manage the needs of an entire town. The school in Halesi is struggling because it is not recognized by the government and thus gets no funding. It is entirely dependent on private donations. The school’s principal understands that developing dependence is a major problem and expressed his belief that even if the school receives aid it must still continue to work for and take responsibility for its own future and betterment.
This is the kind of attitude that is necessary here. The very presence of the temple is what brought the Buddhists to Halesi. With the Buddhists came money. Buddhist practices of giving have created dependence in a group of individuals who refuse to take responsibility for themselves. But the community-wide gains far outweigh the losses. As long as they maintain a sense of self-responsibility than the people of Halesi will benefit from a blessing that countless struggling rural villages in Nepal will never receive.
16. Recent History
Rapid Change and the Maoist Conflict
Religious life in Halesi is not isolated from the community at large. Recent history in Halesi is fascinating and there has been a shocking amount of change here in a short period of time. This area of Eastern Nepal was an
emergency zone during the Maoist conflict period. Young people in Halesi who did not wish to become embroiled in the conflict were forced to leave Halesi for other areas since one of the Maoist tactics was to kidnap youth and attempt to convert them to the cause. Halesi was a regular scene of conflict between Maoist forces and the national police. The villagers were caught in the middle, always accused of helping one by the other. In reality, they had no choice but to do what they were told. One man said that the Maoists were kind of like those beggars that pester us visitors. You had to feed them, house them. You couldn’t brush them off. But after they left the army was soon to follow with accusations about supposed Maoist sympathy. Aside from using the town’s resources, Maoists attempted to exert the influence of their ideology on Halesi, but were not able to maintain a presence that could manage it. However the Maoists were just one force in an evolving social consciousness and movement towards caste equality that had been underway in Halesi. One man explains that the law and political situation, not simply the ideals of the Maoists, was on their side. Since the 1962 national law in Nepal declaring the equality of all castes there was a precedent and the disruption of the 90’s made it possible to make a difference in such a remote place as Halesi. In 1995 the Maoists began running programs on caste equality in Halesi, an attempt to diminish discrimination.
Though low-caste people from far away villages could easily get into the temple since they were unknown, it was the local low-caste that were discriminated against most heavily. Even though they had grown up in this place theirentire lives they could not enter. One man recalls how it began. Local boys would enter the temple in pairs. The Giri priests could not exert any physical restraint at this point. They simply looked shocked and appalled. It was the practice of low-caste families to do their puja just outside the temple gate. A Giri priest would then carry the offerings in to the Shivalinga itself. About twelve years ago a local man and his family decided to do their puja inside the gate. The priests could not touch them, they simply stood behind them glaring.
Why are you surprised? If you plant rice and get millet then you should be surprised, this man said to them. But this should not surprise you.
17. In 1999 the Maoists made another dramatic move in Halesi. They confiscated all the town’s alcohol and threw it into the temple. Then they rounded up all the town’s people, high and low caste alike, and forced them to enter the
temple. They de-seated the Giris and formed a temple committee, which unfortunately, only consisted of Giri men. From this point on it was relatively easy for low-caste members of the village to enter the temple. But temple
management in other respects did not change all that much since the same people of old were still in power. The national conflict was still raging and the Maoists did not have time to focus on Halesi. The situation again declinedand Gajurman Rai, a descendent of Bagbashi Rai, the discoverer of Halesi, went to the Maoists
remote jungle headquarters for help in 2000. Over the next few years the Maoists offered sporadic assistance in Halesi. They were involved in protecting Buddhists as they built an expansion to their monastery by threatening any Hindu’s that vandalized the construction. In 1994 the Maoists again visited Halesi and did away with the Giri’s power altogether, as well as seizing all guthi land from their personal hands. Later, they formed a new temple committee and made Gajurman Rai the president. They also made Gopal Giri and his son the new priests of the
temple. Gopal is a direct descendent of the original priest of Halesi, appointed by the king centuries ago. After four generations his family’s position was usurped by another Giri family, headed by Raj Bol Giri. This new line chased Gopal’s family away and dominated the temple until the Maoists interfered just a few years ago.
............to be continued!
15. There are two primary youth clubs in Halesi, the Jana Jyoti Club and the Panchawati Pragati Youth Club. These clubs are dedicated to furthering development in Halesi and have made the elimination of begging practices one of their projects. Many people in town, particularly the beggars, are eagerly awaiting the next visit of the reincarnate lama who has made gift-giving visits to Halesi a routine in his life. It is approaching fast, they say with a greedy twinkle in their eyes. Some people in town, however, suggest that the lamas should stop giving to individual beggars altogether.
At this point a distinction needs to be made between giving destructively and giving in a way that is productive to social causes and the community as a whole. Halesi is a remote town with very little access to resources and a greater economy. Lamas in Halesi, who can raise significant monetary funds from outside sources, have been the primary means by which this town has developed at all. The school in Halesi was built under the direction of the Maratika Lama using funds he raised from abroad. While many oppose lamas giving to individuals,
nobody opposes gifts to the school or other public works. The reincarnate lama who has been most active in Halesi recently has promised that the next time he comes he will build a college for this village. The benefits of Buddhist
involvement for Halesi are enormous. But it is not a total solution to the problem because one individual cannot manage the needs of an entire town. The school in Halesi is struggling because it is not recognized by the government and thus gets no funding. It is entirely dependent on private donations. The school’s principal understands that developing dependence is a major problem and expressed his belief that even if the school receives aid it must still continue to work for and take responsibility for its own future and betterment.
This is the kind of attitude that is necessary here. The very presence of the temple is what brought the Buddhists to Halesi. With the Buddhists came money. Buddhist practices of giving have created dependence in a group of individuals who refuse to take responsibility for themselves. But the community-wide gains far outweigh the losses. As long as they maintain a sense of self-responsibility than the people of Halesi will benefit from a blessing that countless struggling rural villages in Nepal will never receive.
16. Recent History
Rapid Change and the Maoist Conflict
Religious life in Halesi is not isolated from the community at large. Recent history in Halesi is fascinating and there has been a shocking amount of change here in a short period of time. This area of Eastern Nepal was an
emergency zone during the Maoist conflict period. Young people in Halesi who did not wish to become embroiled in the conflict were forced to leave Halesi for other areas since one of the Maoist tactics was to kidnap youth and attempt to convert them to the cause. Halesi was a regular scene of conflict between Maoist forces and the national police. The villagers were caught in the middle, always accused of helping one by the other. In reality, they had no choice but to do what they were told. One man said that the Maoists were kind of like those beggars that pester us visitors. You had to feed them, house them. You couldn’t brush them off. But after they left the army was soon to follow with accusations about supposed Maoist sympathy. Aside from using the town’s resources, Maoists attempted to exert the influence of their ideology on Halesi, but were not able to maintain a presence that could manage it. However the Maoists were just one force in an evolving social consciousness and movement towards caste equality that had been underway in Halesi. One man explains that the law and political situation, not simply the ideals of the Maoists, was on their side. Since the 1962 national law in Nepal declaring the equality of all castes there was a precedent and the disruption of the 90’s made it possible to make a difference in such a remote place as Halesi. In 1995 the Maoists began running programs on caste equality in Halesi, an attempt to diminish discrimination.
Though low-caste people from far away villages could easily get into the temple since they were unknown, it was the local low-caste that were discriminated against most heavily. Even though they had grown up in this place theirentire lives they could not enter. One man recalls how it began. Local boys would enter the temple in pairs. The Giri priests could not exert any physical restraint at this point. They simply looked shocked and appalled. It was the practice of low-caste families to do their puja just outside the temple gate. A Giri priest would then carry the offerings in to the Shivalinga itself. About twelve years ago a local man and his family decided to do their puja inside the gate. The priests could not touch them, they simply stood behind them glaring.
Why are you surprised? If you plant rice and get millet then you should be surprised, this man said to them. But this should not surprise you.
17. In 1999 the Maoists made another dramatic move in Halesi. They confiscated all the town’s alcohol and threw it into the temple. Then they rounded up all the town’s people, high and low caste alike, and forced them to enter the
temple. They de-seated the Giris and formed a temple committee, which unfortunately, only consisted of Giri men. From this point on it was relatively easy for low-caste members of the village to enter the temple. But temple
management in other respects did not change all that much since the same people of old were still in power. The national conflict was still raging and the Maoists did not have time to focus on Halesi. The situation again declinedand Gajurman Rai, a descendent of Bagbashi Rai, the discoverer of Halesi, went to the Maoists
remote jungle headquarters for help in 2000. Over the next few years the Maoists offered sporadic assistance in Halesi. They were involved in protecting Buddhists as they built an expansion to their monastery by threatening any Hindu’s that vandalized the construction. In 1994 the Maoists again visited Halesi and did away with the Giri’s power altogether, as well as seizing all guthi land from their personal hands. Later, they formed a new temple committee and made Gajurman Rai the president. They also made Gopal Giri and his son the new priests of the
temple. Gopal is a direct descendent of the original priest of Halesi, appointed by the king centuries ago. After four generations his family’s position was usurped by another Giri family, headed by Raj Bol Giri. This new line chased Gopal’s family away and dominated the temple until the Maoists interfered just a few years ago.
............to be continued!