Bhoudanath is a major center for Tibetan Buddhism, formerly an important pilgrimage stop on the way from Tibet to Kathmandu. When I arrived, I walked around the stupa once (always clockwise) taking it all in.
Then I decided I needed some caffeine so I found a little cafe with rooftop seating overlooking the stupa. As I got to the roof, a couple were leaving one of the premium tables and I started for it. At the same time, a woman who had been sitting at one of the tables further back collected her bags and made for the table. "Do you mind sharing?" I asked. "Not at all" she said.
Karin is from Belgium and has been traveling on her own for the last two months, with a month still to go (thanks to the Belgian social security system which pays for adults to take up to 2 years off to travel during their careers. I'd take some of that socialism!) We got to talking and have spent a good chunk of the last two days sightseeing together around the outskirts of Kathmandu. It's been fun to have a traveling companion and it means that I finally have some photos of me!
Tibetan Buddhism is definitely not your spare, ascetic Zen Buddhism. In fact, many Hindu deities are on display here.
These women are paying tribute to Ghanesha:
This woman was walking along this row of statues touching her prayer beads to each:
Only feet away, here is a sculpture of the Buddha:
There is a gompa, or Tibeten temple constructed by refugees, to one side of the stupa:
Inside the temple, an image of Bhairab, who is the Destroyer aspect of Shiva:
And an elaborate painting of the Maitreya, or future, Buddha:
And the biggest, goldest, gaudiest statue of Buddha I have ever seen (seriously, this guy is about 20 feet tall):
There were prayer wheels of all sizes on display.
The prayer wheel in this room was so large I could not begin to get a photo of it. It had a rail around it that was used to spin it, and a bell on the wall that rang once for each turn. This tiny woman was spinning it so fast it was hard for me to get a photo of her!
All around the outside of the stupa were these butter lamps. Sadly, they only light them on the full moon which I was not here for.
There is a small and very hot room with hundreds of lit lamps, though.
All around the lower level of the stupa were these wooden platforms that people used to perform sun salutations and prostrations. They all had little pads that they landed their hands on so they could slide smoothly down the length of the platform.
After I watched quietly for a while, being careful not to make noise or otherwise interrupt I walked around the stupa again. When I returned to same spot, I found the sad, universal truth of our time. Even meditation at Bhoudanath is not immune from somebody yakking on their cell phone!
The stupa is absolute covered in prayer flags.
This man was hanging more at sunset:
At the base of the stupa, this guy was mixing lime and water for keeping the outside white:
Rules for visiting the stupa:
These women were sitting in front of a shop in a quiet alley winding yarn:
Bhoudhanath is a small walled village with the stupa in the center and shops, temples and monasteries around it. It is the only place I've been in or near Kathmandu with no cars. So I thought this sign was pretty funny.
From Bhoudha Karin and I walked to Pashupatinath, about 2 miles away. Here is what Lonely Planet says about this walk: "It's a pleasant 20-minute walk through villages and farmland . . . ." Not so much, really. It was more like a 30-minute slog alongside a smelly, trash-filled river. Also we were doing the walk backwards from the guidebook so when we got to Pashupatinath we weren't quite sure where to go. We were at the backside of the big fenced park. A Nepali man saw our confusion and signaled us to follow him. We climbed to the top of the hill where we ran into the fence. But there was a hole in the fence that he climbed easily through and encouraged us to do the same. Once inside we realized we had inadvertently avoided the 500 Rp entrance fee.
Pashupatinath is a very holy Hindu temple. So holy that non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple.
We could peer inside though, where we could only see the rear end of this giant statue of Nandi, Shiva's bull:
To enter the temple, you must remove your shoes so there is a . . .
Karin and I walked around for a little while exploring. Here we are with a much smaller, much less polished statue of Nandi:
There were cows wandering all over the grounds:
When we came back to the same spot a few minutes later, this gal was eating her garland:
The highlight of the trip to Pashupatinath was our visit to this home for the indigent elderly, located inside a former temple.
The grounds are beautiful, and the residents we met were wonderful. Some shouted when they saw our cameras, but most smiled when they saw us, put their hands to their chests and said "Namaste!" When we asked if we could take photos, many were pleased and also very interested to see the pictures of themselves.
When I took this man's picture and showed it to him, he took my hand and sweetly stroked my face and hair, smiling:
When we left, we decided to give the 500 Rp entrance fee we had ducked to the home instead.
After this we went to the banks of the river where there are cremation ghats, or platforms. I felt strange watching what was happening, though several young men were there encouraging us to come to the bridge and watch. They told us we could take photos, but that seemed extremely inappropriate. There was a body being purified on one side of the footbridge, then we saw it being carried over to the platforms where large fires had been built. I had to leave to meet someone in town, but when I reconnected with Karin later that evening she said she saw 3 bodies carried to the ghats in a 10-minute period!
No comments:
Post a Comment