I was once a Buddhist practitioner way back in the 70s and early 80s. These days I just call myself a Buddhist - the teachings of the Buddha for me are the wisest teachings. Why Buddhism? Well, it was the theory, if you want to call it that, of reincarnation that attracted me to Buddhism but in the teachings it's called rebirth. Here is something you might like to know.

Every summer, during the school holidays, my mum and dad would take me and my brother for a trip into what is called the Trossachs, possibly the most beautiful landscape in Scotland. I would have been about seven at the time, a jellybean, a bit green, undefiled. Anyway, we were in the Trossachs this particular day and, suddenly, this incredible view captured my imagination. My dad said this was Loch Lomond. I would never forget that moment when my eyes came to rest on this most spectacular, breath-taking sight. In an instant I seemed to be lost, inwardly transformed, and a bit confused . . . as a boy I might quiz what I thought that day for the rest of my life . . . there was something, possibly a memory?

Fast-forward to 2003, the end of the Iraqi war was nigh, Saddam having been captured. Estonia voted to join the European Union but, more importantly, Ian Oliver set off on his first trip to India. Before that year I had visited various Buddhist centres throughout the UK, Samye Ling being the most memorable, and had my Buddhism in Britain published in 1979. Anyway, I spent two days and two nights in New Delhi, surely one of the filthiest cities on the planet. I shall spare you the details.

My plan was to visit a small town of McLeod Gang about 10 kilometres north of Dharamsala in Northern India, in the state of Himashal Pradesh. Back then it was home to about 60,000 Tibetans. My main reason for going was because McLeod Gang was and still is the home of the Dalai Lama. Maybe he would be there when I visited. So I caught a flight from New Delhi to Kangra airport and from there got a taxi to Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj. It took about 45 minutes and one of the scariest taxi/car trips I've ever experienced; I mean I was in the foothills of the Himalayas. And then suddenly, there it was, on the right hand side, a landscape identical to that of Loch Lomond I saw 45 years ago. Coincidence? No, because looking at my feelings seeing Loch Lomond for the first time and sensing that I'd seen this before - somewhere. My mind took me back to that day, a seven-year-old boy, who was convinced he’d seen something he would see again but with a different meaning. These days it’s called déjà vu.

I’ll leave you with this link; it’s about a little boy in Scotland . . . the first time I saw this video, about five years ago, I simply empathised with his incredible story!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoSrzpLoODo