The Grey Lady visits Nepal
and walks the same streets
that we did last winter.
In Frenetic Katmandu, Finding a Quiet Space
"Tucked on the eastern outskirts of Katmandu, Boudhanath is both an eye of calm within the capital’s dusty pandemonium and a sanctuary of Tibetan Buddhist culture amid a nation dominated by Nepali Hindus.
"Many of its thousands of residents, in fact, have come directly from the old country. Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet -- nearly 60 years ago -- droves of refugees resettled in neighboring Nepal, transforming once-sparse Boudhanath into a bustling Little Lhasa.
"Throughout its narrow dirt streets, posters of a smiling Dalai Lama grace ornate Buddhist monasteries, Tibetan folk-medicine stores, traditional artisans’ workshops, and restaurants serving everything from yak-cheese pizza to Everest brand beer. By night, masses of Tibetan worshipers light butter candles around the massive base of the centuries-old stupa -- one of the subcontinent’s most sacred Buddhist structures -- which resembles a white dome topped by a tall golden ziggurat...
"On a bright morning, my parents, stepbrothers and I join dozens of foreign travelers and long-time Western expatriates in a lecture room in Boudhanath’s White Monastery to partake in a decades-old local tradition: the free weekly lecture on Buddhism offered by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, the institution’s head monk.
"Sitting cross-legged on an elaborately cushioned chair, he launches into the day’s lofty themes -- evil and suffering -- making clear that, in the Buddhist view, their roots are neither divine nor metaphysical nor even found in the material world. Rather, they are the product of disturbing emotions -- attachment, aversion, closed-mindedness, envy, pride, arrogance -- that plague our minds.
"'But it’s not the ultimate goal just to achieve personal happiness in itself, a sort of selfish peace,' he continues through a translator. 'We must look at all sentient beings and, seeing that they are suffering, wish from the bottom of our heart that they may be happy and have all that causes them happiness -- and that I will take responsibility for this, that this is my duty.'
"In some far-off room of the monastery, horns wail, bells ring and drums pound, like a cosmic orchestra tuning up. None of the assembled listeners even cocks an ear. All attention is focused on the monk’s words.
"'There is no greater good that we can do,' he goes on as the Himalayan light and echoes of distant instruments fill the room. 'This is the greatest gift that we can give.'"
"Tucked on the eastern outskirts of Katmandu, Boudhanath is both an eye of calm within the capital’s dusty pandemonium and a sanctuary of Tibetan Buddhist culture amid a nation dominated by Nepali Hindus.
"Many of its thousands of residents, in fact, have come directly from the old country. Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet -- nearly 60 years ago -- droves of refugees resettled in neighboring Nepal, transforming once-sparse Boudhanath into a bustling Little Lhasa.
"Throughout its narrow dirt streets, posters of a smiling Dalai Lama grace ornate Buddhist monasteries, Tibetan folk-medicine stores, traditional artisans’ workshops, and restaurants serving everything from yak-cheese pizza to Everest brand beer. By night, masses of Tibetan worshipers light butter candles around the massive base of the centuries-old stupa -- one of the subcontinent’s most sacred Buddhist structures -- which resembles a white dome topped by a tall golden ziggurat...
"On a bright morning, my parents, stepbrothers and I join dozens of foreign travelers and long-time Western expatriates in a lecture room in Boudhanath’s White Monastery to partake in a decades-old local tradition: the free weekly lecture on Buddhism offered by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, the institution’s head monk.
"Sitting cross-legged on an elaborately cushioned chair, he launches into the day’s lofty themes -- evil and suffering -- making clear that, in the Buddhist view, their roots are neither divine nor metaphysical nor even found in the material world. Rather, they are the product of disturbing emotions -- attachment, aversion, closed-mindedness, envy, pride, arrogance -- that plague our minds.
"'But it’s not the ultimate goal just to achieve personal happiness in itself, a sort of selfish peace,' he continues through a translator. 'We must look at all sentient beings and, seeing that they are suffering, wish from the bottom of our heart that they may be happy and have all that causes them happiness -- and that I will take responsibility for this, that this is my duty.'
"In some far-off room of the monastery, horns wail, bells ring and drums pound, like a cosmic orchestra tuning up. None of the assembled listeners even cocks an ear. All attention is focused on the monk’s words.
"'There is no greater good that we can do,' he goes on as the Himalayan light and echoes of distant instruments fill the room. 'This is the greatest gift that we can give.'"
The Grey Lady visits Nepal
and walks the same streets
that we did last winter.
mr damon, 15:50
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