Mandala

from Ojai Magazine Summer 2021

TOO LATE TO BE BUSTED!!

Cultures Thrive in a Caring Culture

by MIKI WALKER

In Tibetan Buddhism, the kaleidoscopic mandala visual is an emblem of the sacred space within the universe that all minds yearn to reach in quiet meditation. Having a mandala image present in a physical space is believed to send out peaceful and healing vibrations to those who are in its presence.

Such is the goal of Mandala Restaurant on North Ventura Avenue.

The Tibetan/Indian/Japanese fusion eatery opened in June of 2016. “We’ve lived in Ojai for over 23 years,” says Dorjee Tsewang (who supports his wife, Dolkar, Mandala’s owner, with customer service). “And for all those years we’ve been in the food industry. We worked at the Ojai Valley Inn spa for almost 15 years. We had a dream to open up a restaurant. Then this [location] became available; it used to be a Japanese sushi restaurant. And I love sushi. So, when we bought it, we thought it was a great idea to keep sushi on the menu as well, so it became Asian fusion. At the beginning, a lot of people hesitated before coming here: ‘Is it Tibetan? Is it Indian? Is it Japanese? What’s going on?’ The foods of Tibet, India and Japan complement each other to become a wonderful cuisine.”

Traditional Tibetan fare includes the garlicky ginger-infused momo dumplings and thukpa noodles, but includes Indian curries, samosas, naan, and plenty of sushi (the fi sh is supplied by a Los Angeles-based fi sh market and is sourced from Alaska, Canada and Japan). “It’s Americanized sushi,” Dorjee says. “If you go to Japan, you may not get all these rolls of what we have here. It’s different; it’s our own creation.” The customers have also contributed to the innovative items. “Sometimes when we serve the customers, customers may say ‘… can you put this and this together, let us try it out and see how it feels?’ Like our sushi burrito: sushi from Japan and burrito from Mexico. It’s an interesting combination we’ve never had before, but we put it on the menu, and it’s very popular; people love it! And it’s very healthy too! Some people come here first either for Tibetan food, sushi rolls, or Indian curries. Sometimes I’ll start a conversation [with them]: ‘Ok, you know what? Today I want you to explore this. Skip this. Do something different.’ Some people learned how to eat sushi here.”

Dorjee had an arduous trek to Ojai. Originally from the Amdo region of Tibet, he escaped Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1992, and met his now-wife Dolkar — who grew up in a city a few hours away from his village — when they both reached Dharamsala, India. “We escaped from Tibet through the Himalayas, walking 30 days in the snow. We became refugees in India in 1993. That’s a different culture; Tibet is over 14,000 feet above sea level, and then reaching India, it’s very low sea level, very humid, hot, different culturally, and linguistically, the food … it was a culture shock. During that time, we learned about Indian cuisine: very healthy, and a lot of curry-spiced food. We really loved it.” Dorjee and Dolkar lived in the refugee camp for five years. “Basically, we just survived, getting breakfast, lunch and dinner; we never thought about ‘What’s our dream job?’ or ‘What is our dream for the future?’ I never had that dream before.”

Then, they met some Americans from Ojai and Santa Barbara who came to the refugee camp to teach the couple English. “They started to sponsor us, and a few years later, they said, ‘We’re going to bring you to America.’ We didn’t know what was in America. We were refugees; we were homeless. So in 1998, we came to America through sponsorship and landed straight in Ojai, and we never left the valley. Ojai is our home.” Jonathan and Linda Lambert met the Tsewangs in autumn of 2000 when they moved into the same neighborhood and became fast friends. In 2003, the Ojai Film Society showed a documentary, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, which depicted the history of the Chinese takeover of Tibet.

“When we came out of the movie, Dolkar was in the lobby and was crying because they knew this history. They were there and knew people who lived through it,” recalls Jonathan Lambert. “We knew that even though they didn’t have very much, they sent money home to Tibet,” Lambert continues. The Lamberts were sympathetic to the Tsewangs. “So we said, ‘How can we help? Can we give you something that you can send home?’ Dorjee basically said ‘… wow! Let me think about it.’ The next morning, he came up and knocked on the door...he said ‘Can I share my dream with you?’” His dream was to create a way for his remote village to get health care and education.

“This was Dolkar’s dream, too,” adds Lambert. “From that, we helped them form a new 501(c)(3), which was the

**Mandala CEO and Head Chef Dolkar Tso prepares momo dumplings with Tibetan flavors.**

Tibetan Aid Foundation.” Several other neighbors joined the cause and became the first members on the board of directors. The Tibetan Aid Foundation really is a dream come true for Dorjee and Dolkar.

“That’s an extension of our American Dream,” Dorjee emphasizes. “We have benefitted from the sponsorship of American citizens at the refugee camp. We really appreciated their help. One day, we went to Santa Barbara to see our sponsor, Steve Harrison. And I told him ‘We are getting paychecks. So, we’re going to write checks to you; we are going to pay back all your money. You helped us.’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t want your money … I have plenty. What you can do is work hard and study hard so that one day you become successful, and share that success with people who are in need in Tibet or in India.’ And we kept that promise.” In the time the nonprofit was established, a 13-room clinic was built in the Chazu Valley of Tibet, staffed with both Tibetan and Western-trained doctors. Educational scholarships, accessible health care, and clean water projects were also established.

The opportunity to bring basic necessities to his homeland strengthens Dorjee’s conviction in the power of giving back to the community at large. “As an immigrant, as a refugee, you just think about survival skills, but you don’t forget about helping others,” he says. “It’s giving back. Even in the restaurant, we provide free food to the homeless shelter here in Ojai. We’ve been part of a meal delivery program for seniors through Help of Ojai. It’s not because we have to; it’s because we are part of a community. I think it’s very important.” Last year in March, once California shut down, “...everybody freaked out and went home and locked the doors,” he comments. “Instead of doing that, we left the door open. My wife and I discussed ‘What do we do? We give.’ So we give free lunches and dinners to the homeless shelter. In turn, we get support from the community because we give. It’s just a beautiful win-win situation in this business.”

“We have learned a lot about compassion from watching Dorjee and Dolkar,” the Lamberts state. “Watching them, and the way they deal with problems and how they want to help has been an education for us. It helped to change how we see the world. Dorjee … is always willing to reach out and learn, and use what he knows and what he’s learning. And watching that is a very affirming thing.”

“We Tibetans, we come from Buddhism; we believe in the Dalai Lama’s compassion and kindness,” says Dorjee. “Very family-oriented people. Naturally, we host people in our house.” When he and his wife came to Ojai in 1998, they had neighbors and friends who always enjoyed Tibetan and Indian food in their home.

“So, that’s part of the nature of serving people — putting others before us. I think also, when we work in the hospitality industry, it’s really become our second nature. We love to serve people. When we bought Mandala, realistically we bought it for ourselves. We left from a corporate job, and we created a space as if we were in Tibet, and also as if we were in India: the music, the ambiance and the environment. We create in such a way that guests come in and we share the space with people. The environment and listening to music creates relaxation. People can rejuvenate themselves while sitting here and enjoy their meal. When guests aren’t here, we enjoy it ourselves for meditation, doing yoga and eating healthy food. That’s how we create the sanctuary called Mandala.”

“Community is so important, especially in times like this,” says regular customer Carmel Rivello Maguire. “It’s a community restaurant where you gather your soul. It’s not like a regular restaurant. It is the Buddhist soul, made with love. When you make it with love, it touches a deep part of your soul.”

Rivello Maguire has become so close with the Tsewangs that she even taught them how to swim in her home’s pool. “They’re going to be there to celebrate my 85th,” she notes.

The Tsewangs are very grateful the long and winding road led them to Ojai, and Dorjee says being here has only served to help him and his family thrive.

“We hear of restaurant businesses suffering since the pandemic, but we’ve never been affected. We’ve hired eight people since the pandemic started. That’s the ripple effect of the community: once we give, the community supports, and with community support, we hire more people and give them jobs. As long as we’re part of the community, we’ll survive. That’s the beautiful part of the Ojai community. My wife and I, we step back and say, ‘We have enough; let’s share it.’”