Comments from participant in Deer Park's Writing Workshop

I've been at Deer Park, an institute of 'Classical Indian wisdom' doing a writing course for the last few days. The centre is nestled amidst the fields, trees and hay of a lazy North Indian mountain town called Bir, home to a prominent Tibetan exile community.Unlike other places I've travelled to, Bir does not loudly seduce its tourists. The more subtle flirtation of living Tibetan Buddhist masters and the promise of leisurely paragliding over snowy ranges is what draws the odd assortment of visitors here.This is not a place for those with deeply entrenched expectations about spirituality, or those shy of seeming contradictions.

Just last night, I sat drinking tea beside the institute's Tibetan temple, indulging in toilet humour with a translator of Tibetan Buddhism from East Germany, and the only Moldovan I have ever met, watching our British companion fart and juggle simultaneously with zen-like concentration and precision. Bir is a place for unaffected and simple relaxation. However far they may have travelled to get here, whether they are doing free classes in art, theater, gardening or meditation, all those who sojourn here are looking for some kind of peace and insight..."

Ben Joffe