Yesterday afternoon we arrived at our hotel in Boudha
which is an area east of Katmandu where there are many Tibetan
refugees living. This area holds about two dozen Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries and
the famous pilgrimage site pictured below, the enormous Bodhnath stupa around which
thousands of pilgrims and Boudha residents walk each day in devotion to Buddha.
It is a breathtaking site and an example of the power of religion in the life
of these people. This morning we will visit the stupa again and some of the
monasteries.
We returned to the Bodhnath stupa after a simple breakfast at the hotel this morning to visit some of the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries nearby. We started at the Guru Lhakhang Monastery, which is right next to the stupa in the main square, and were given a blessing for long life in the prayer hall. Two monks chanted, rang bells, beat a drum, and clashed symbols as we sat on the floor before an array of vivid life sized statues of Buddha and other important figures such as Padmasambava, the man credited with bringing Buddhism to Tibet. It is hard to miss the elaborate decorative art of this Tibetan monastery’s prayer room.
You will probably notice that I am sitting with very stiff hips and a sweaty body (evidence = very moist hair) after neglecting my yoga practice for too long. Take a close look at the monks' hands and notice the elaborate "mudras" they are making with their fingers interlaced. The cymbals they used for the ceremony have a red ribbon attached and are behind the monks on a shelf. The drum is the green disc in the foreground of the image and the striker is the bent stick near the right knee of the closer monk. Just behind my head is the donation box. The "cups" in front of the golden statues are butter lamps burning. The scarves a round our necks are called khadas and are used to make offerings -- they are wrapped up in them -- as well as assuring that we were honored and, incidentally, kept warm. This photo was taken by our buddy the monk with Dick’s DSLR camera and the young man seemed very familiar with the operation of this material object. :-)
We invited our friendly young monk to lunch, and he escorted us to a Chinese restaurant near the stupa. There were many monks there with their friends and the waitress bore a stunning -- I got goosebumps when I first saw her -- resemblance to our granddaughter Lisa Pham. Our Lama Friendly took our pictures with my iPhone and offered to buy it. :-)
Here is Dick looking dapper in his kadha and Siskiyou Century T-shirt.
After lunch Lama Friendly guided us to Tharlam
Monastery where a very high ranking lama was about to arrive with enormous
ceremony that included scores of monks of all ages. Two long rows musicians in "Mohawk design" red
hats a crest of red feathers playing "trumpets," drums, and conch shells
lined a "driveway"
paved with orange marigold petals that lead into the main temple. The lama and his retinue "processed" over the flowers and between the musicians in a big SUV. The picture below shows
the end of the retinue entering the temple. We sat outside and watched as
people entered with offerings or babies or elders and monks came and went with
ceremonial gear.
After an hour plus of listening an unintelligible sermon while seated on very firm grass, we bid adieu to Lama Friendly -- who had retrieved our kadhas and wrapped out offerings in them -- and abandoned the venue to
return to our hotel. There we found that Donna and Karma and Jawane, Karma's friend and our guide, had just arrived. We were elated to see them safe and sound.
Happy, lucky us. Namaste, Marian
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