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                Some of the most moving acts of compassion I have ever seen have been among
                                      some of the poorest people on earth.

         The Zangskar Valley of Ladakh is situated in a remote corner of the Indian Himalayas.
         The people eke out their living from high altitude desert soil that is under snow for nine
         months of the year. To help some of the women get an education, I often travel to this
         pristine yet desolute region, even when it means trekking for days over mountains,
         avalanches, and treacherous waters. Invariably I am met with extraordinary kindness
         wherever I go.

         Although the people of Zangskar are ethnically Tibetan, due to the vagaries of history,
         they now live in a Muslim district of a disputed territory in northern India, struggling for
         physical, political, and cultural survival. Without adequate schools, medical care, or
         nutrition, their only comfort is the Buddhist faith of their ancestors and their love and
         devotion for the Dalai Lama.

         One summer, a soon as the snows melted, I journeyed to the region with a Zangskari
         nun friend. Descending from the icy mountain pass, we stopped at the house of an aunt.
         The woman had recently lost her husband to an avalanche and each of her children had
         only a single shirt to wear, despite the bitter cold. Yet despite her empty larder, the aunt
         poured us endless cups of butter tea in her mud-floored, smoke-filled kitchen. A huge
         genuine smile came with every cup as she compassionately anticipated every need.

        The love of family and friends was the family's only wealth, but it was immense. Laughter
         was their gift to one another. Such generosity of spirit in the midst of astonishing poverty
         can only come from a heart of pure love, teaching all of us life's greatest meaning.
                                                                                                  ~ Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Taken from the book ~
Buddhist Acts of Compassion
by Pamela Bloom ~