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The Tibetan voice in Zug

 A Tibetan, born in  India in the first year of the Chinese occupation Dechen Shak-Dagsay fled  with her family to Switzerland in 1965 and ever since she has resided here, in Zug. A mother and wife, a singer of Tibetan Buddhist mantras and a teacher of Thai Chi, Dechen lives a very active and busy life, yet in harmony with her Tibetan upbringing and Buddhist faith.
 
Dechen, you work and live between 2 very different realities, which one do you belong to?

I grew up in Switzerland in a home, that was definitely different, very much Tibetan and Buddhist. My family followed the Tibetan traditions and we spoke Tibetan, my father said that if we lose the language, we will lose our culture. My home was full of Buddhist reliques; it smelled of incense sticks, it was magical world for my sister and me. I loved my Grandmother and my mother's chanting I was fascinated by the serenity and calmness of my parents and grandparents, when they were practicing the daily Buddhist prayers at home. Even as a child I felt that I belong to two different worlds, but I felt so pound of that thanks to my parents, who always created a warm loving atmosphere for both my sister and me. We really felt special.


Was it difficult at the beginning for you to adapt to the Western world?

In the years when we moved to Switzerland there were very few foreigners here and I felt different, it was normal, coming from the top of the world, but for a child it is a lot easier to connect to others and I have this gift, I am open and I connect easily to others.
 

I am sure this has to do a lot with Dechen compassionate character and open approach to others. When we met in one of her Thai Chi classes a few years ago, her warm eyes and the soft touch of her hands fascinated me as well as her calm and peaceful presence. I knew that her father Dagsay Tulku Rimpoche wrote „Practice of Tibetan meditation“  in 2002 and I asked her how should we in the Western world look at meditation, what is the simplest way her father would have explained it and she said that is Training of the mind to overcome one’s own negative emotions, which create the problems in life. Until that day I haven’t heard such a simple, yet profound explanation of meditation.
 
 
Do you celebrate some European holidays and traditions-?

Oh yes, we Tibetans love celebrating (laughs). My mother used to make a Christmas tree and hide Easter eggs. Of course we do not celebrate it in the religious way, because we are Buddhists, but every religion has its own rituals and traditions and some of them have become worldwide popular. However the understanding and the true devotion to the beliefs is something different. My family and I are open to other religions and traditions; we have respect and natural curiosity for them.


You grew up here and obviously you know the Swiss food well, what is your favourite dish?

My husband is also Tibetan and he loves Tibetan food, but very often we enjoy the Fondue and the Raclette, I also prepare sometimes the Rösti.


What about your favourite Tibetan meal? I have read about that tea with yak butter that the monks drink, have you tried it? How does it taste?

Well it is very nutritionals for the cold season and also the yak butter is very special, not like the cow butter in the Western world. The yaks live at altitude of 4000 meters so you can imagine the grass and the herbs they eat are really aromatic and healing. When you add the butter to the black leaves tea with a little bit of salt it can become very aromatic and delicious soup-like drink. One of my favourite Tibetan dishes is the traditional meal called Tsumpa. It is made of Barley, dried, roasted and grounded, then made as dough with water and salt and eaten almost as bread. This meal is not only delicious, but also nutritious as well because of the quality of the barley, grown in the Himalayas.


When did you visit Tibet for the first time?

About 11 years ago, when I was almost 40.


I am sure you had your own image of Tibet, drawn by your parents and grandparents’ stories, but when you arrived there for the first time did you find it the same as in your dreams?

I was surprised, because at home in Switzerland we kept the idea of a very traditional Tibet, from more than 50 years ago and obviously things have changed, but what stroke me the most was the Chinese influence. Almost every Tibetan spoke Chinese and that was normal to them, but not to me. Even the street signs were in Chinese.
I also had this idea that all Tibetans are good people and always correct in their behaviour. I think that is also the Western way of thinking, but I realized that is not always the truth, as well as not all Chinese are bad or negative towards the Tibetan culture. I had to let go of this image of Tibet being Shangri La (a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world, Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia, note from the editor).


I am afraid you have shattered even my own image of Tibetan people, who I thought are very peaceful and wonderful people, all of them. I thought Buddhism is more than faith, it is a way of living?

It is, but if you think of Buddhist philosophy and teachings like medicine, it is still a matter of personal choice whether to take the medicine or not. I think this myth about Tibetans exists in the whole Western world, but I have to say not every Tibetan is peaceful and not every Chinese is savage. Humans tend to polarize, but we have to understand that it is dangerous to think in that way. As his Holiness the Dalai Lama says what really creates suffering is our own state of mind through hatred, greed and ignorance. 


Have you ever thought of going back to live in Tibet?

That has never been a question for me. If you asked my parents they would not hesitate, but I have to tear off the roots I have created here and go to seek for something that may not any more exist in Tibet.  I am happy here, I have home, but I consider myself a Tibetan and I could not be without my bond to Tibet.

Do you speak with your daughters Tibetan at home.
Yes they are fluent in Tibetan.
 
Dechen is the mother of two daughters, who now are studying to become business women with modern career. Funny enough Dechen herself used to have a career in an international company as Marketing Assistant for almost 20 years until one day her father asked her to sing and record some mantras, explained in his book. These mantras have been captured in her debut Album „Dewa Che, Universal healing power of Tibetan mantras“. Its great success surprised everybody. This is how Dechen decided to quit her career in 2001 and devote herself to music. Since then she has released 5 albums and one more together with Tina Turner and Regula Curti, who has been studying and teaching yoga and meditation for many years in her Therapy centre in Erlenbach. This CD with Buddhist and Christian prayers has turned again a great success. More than 30 000 copies have been sold only in Switzerland and there is more to come:
 

Where did this idea for chanting together Buddhist and Christian prayers come from?

It started with our friendship with Regula, who called me to express her admiration to my chanting and music. She thought I am somewhere in the Himalayas and was very happy to find me here in Switzerland. Then one day a monk from the Catholic Church in Einsiedeln called and asked me to visit the church and explain to the monks my music and some of the mantras, which they have been listening for some time.  After our visit we managed to arrange a religious meeting between His Holiness and the monks of the Benedikt  Orden in that same church on the 2nd of August 2005. The meeting emphasized on the importance of exploring our own religions, but at the same time being open and tolerant to the other faiths. The message had a great effect over Regula, who is a passionate lover of Buddhism. That is how we decided to chant together mantras and Christian prayers, which created an amazing energy, which we wanted to share. Then we talked to Tina Turner (who recently converted to Buddhism) and started working on that project. We will soon be releasing „Beyond“ for children and a CD, including the Islamic tradition.

That is a really special story. I bought the Beyond album about 9 months ago and I find it very powerful, connecting to the sub consciousness, it resonates with your core! I also watched an interview with Tina Turner in the Larry King studio, where she chanted Nam-Myoho – Renge –Kyo until she ran out of breath and it was the same Tina, who once sang Addicted to Love and Steamy Windows. She sounded almost like a Tibetan Lama, with those deep and resonating voices and if I did not see her face, I could have sworn it was a Tibetan Monk. But what impressed me were her words about chanting and mantras, which work subconsciously over your soul no matter what religion you are. You don’t have to be a monk to sing mantras or prayers. We are all human beings, who need clothing, refrigerator and shelter, but we need to work on our belief, given by God, said the American singer.

What I want to ask Dechen is about her latest album Jewel, released in October this year. I read that the pictures for the CD have been made near Chokri, where she spent a whole day with a nomad family.


What did you like the most about nomadic lifestyle?

The simplicity of everyday living. Their lifestyle is very much ruled by the rhythm of the animals they look after – yaks, sheep and horses. I ate delicious yak yoghurt and even had the chance to try on some of the nomads’ traditional dresses. I felt really close to my roots.


What is the music in „Jewel“ about?

It is healing music for busy  and modern people, who are not  necessarily spiritual. Even not being a believer this music touches you and goes straight to your heart. It brings peace in your mind and this is essential to restore health. That is why I believe this music has healing powers. 
 
In 2006 the Swiss Television released a documentary about Dechen Personal story and her family, about her social projects in Tibet and about living „on the roof of the world“. She told me that the whole TV crew stayed in a monastery in Tibet for 3 weeks and they did a lot of filming. She organized everything, from the permission of the Chinese government to the food and the photos of the local people. It has been a great adventure and Dechen believes it helped a lot for her social projects and creating understanding of the Tibetan culture. One of the social projects Dechen has been working on is The Tsedön clinic, built almost 25 years ago with the help of her parents, who started it with their own money and the support of some friends. Later Dechen and her sister found the Association „Friends of the Tsedön Clinic“ and now there are about 80 members, who finance the cost of staff, medicine and maintenance of the clinic. Naturally comes the questions are these people Tibetans, but she says, they are from everywhere and mostly Switzerland. If people are more interested about the project they can find further information on www.tsedön.ch


My last question is what does the woman Dechen dream about?

My dream indeed has been fulfilled some time ago, even several times. I wanted to perform for his Holiness the Dalai Lama and I had this opportunity at several occasions. But my dream as a Buddhist is life without fear, with dignity for every human being.
 
 
Tsitaliya Mircheva-Petrova
Special thanks to Claudia Boggio




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