Buddha's Eyes Watch Us From A Giant Stupa

  Bodhnath, Nepal
Thursday, June 11, 2009

We were very keen to visit Tibet via the friendship highway from Kathmandu however the current visa situation is restrictive in that you must go with a group tour in a jeep then you have very little time in Lhasa before you must leave on a flight. Obtaining a Chinese visa is impossible from Nepal at the moment. Tibet was an ancient country the size of western Europe when it was invaded by the army of China in 1950. A place with a unique culture, history and identity, Tibet has been changed dramatically by the Chinese invasion and occupation. Not only have many Tibetan lives been lost, Tibetans in Tibet do not enjoy basic human rights like freedom of speech or religion, there are hundreds of political prisoners in  Tibet enduring punishment and torture and the Chinese government have introduced policies by which Tibetan culture, language and natural resources are being systematically and irrevocably eroded.

the buddha is watching us from all angles

The Chinese occupation has resulted in the death of over one million Tibetans, the destruction of over 6,000 monasteries, nunneries and temples, and the imprisonment and torture of thousands of Tibetans. His Holiness The 14th Dalai lama, Tibet's political and spiritual leader, fled Tibet in 1959 to Dharamsala, India, followed by over 100,000 Tibetans and established the Tibetan Government-in Exile. Yearly, thousands of Tibetans still flee from Tibet, making the treacherous journey over the Himalayas into a world of exile.

a stunning monastery

By travelling there we would be mostly giving our tourist dollars to the Chinese migrants who own alot of the restaurants, stores and hotels and not to the Tibetans. By going there now it would mean we kind of condone the political situation although we could gain personal insight into the situation. It's harsh.

Bodhnath stupa

FREE TIBET

yak bone jewellery

So, we did the next best thing and were well happy to visit Bodhnath (Boudha) which is the religious centre for Nepal's considerable population of Tibetan exiles and feels like a Tibetan village. There was a fabulous, powerful energy surrounding the stupa and lots of smiling people. All week we had been looking at Boudha's giant stupa in the distance from the hilltop at Kopan monastery. We were just in time for the afternoon peak hour clockwise circumambulation ritual of walking around the stupa. Every man and his dog was out spinning the prayer wheels on the brick wall surrounding the structure and also twirling their own personal prayer wheels and clicking through their mala beads, chatting away, praying or muttering the sacred mantra Om Mani Padme Hum as they walked. The ladies were mostly in traditional dresses with colourful hand weaved weaved aprons and nose jewellery and there was a river of maroon and orange robes as the monks and nuns from the many surrounding monasteries and nunneries turned out for their daily parade. We did a few laps then rested but found ourselves being carried back into the circular flow of people so ended up doing a few more rounds whilst sticking our heads in at the stores and shopping at the same time. As well as being a ritual, it's good exercise for the people and there was lots of elderly people out for the walk.

Nadsy stupa me off

The stupor is one of the largest in the world and on first sighting your eyes are immediately drawn to the whitewashed dome and it's top on which there is a harmika, a gold-coloured square block sparkling in the sun that depict the watchful eyes of the Buddha. the eyes gaze out in four directions. The question mark like symbol underneath them that looks like a nose is actually the Nepali number ek (one) and is a symbol of unity of all life. There are thousands of prayer flags flying from the lines that lead to the stupa's spire. In Buddhism the stupa represents philosophy and the five elements. I've noticed that the shape of the stupa is similar to the shape of a person sitting in the lotus position in meditation.

circumambulating the stupa

We found a good rooftop vantage point to enjoy some masala tea and watch the sunset over the gold-topped monastery rooftops with hundreds of coloured prayer flags on the tops of buildings carrying mantras fluttering in the wind. The Buddha's eyes seemed to follow us wherever we went. Heading back to our feral hotel we dodged three ladies with babies all trying out the same 'you buy money for milk for the baby' scam. We ate at a cosy little restaurant called Double Dorje.Next morning we were up and about early so we could catch the morning peak hour around the stupa. There were very few tourists around except for foreign Buddhist students. Once again we joined the flow and spiritual frenzy of the stupa, spun some monastery prayer wheels, followed a guy burning large doses of the juniper incense and watched people feeding popcorn to pigeons. We climbed up the structure where we found an Indian fashion photo shoot happening complete with supermodel. 

turning out Om Mani Padme Hums by prayer wheel

The shopping was overwhelmingly good here so we bought all the CDs we'd heard blasting from shops like Tibetan chanting, Oliver Shanti and Sur Suyda. There was even Tibetan trance music. The choices are endless. We spied some beautiful copper and gold painted statues of Buddha and investigated the jewellery situation. There's some gorgeous turqouise and red mountain coral around. I bought a beautiful silk brocade cover for the dharma books and Nadia bought some incense, a funky red and blue silk brocade and white fur lined vest that i spotted in a shop window from a taxi and that had probably been hanging there since the hippies invaded Kathmandu in the 70's. Sweet. We had lunch at a hip little sandwich shop with stupa views from where we could see pilgrims doing thousands of full body prostrations by sliding on wooden boards on the ground.

stupa must have accessories- prayer wheel and mala

The shopping day ended after i made a significant purchase at a Himalayan textile shop that specialises in the very special and rare, vintage, striped Tibetan aprons known as pangden that have been collected from across the Himalaya. Each region has it's own characteristic designs. I bought two cushion covers that have unique and interesting, patchwork designs made by stitching different pieces of apron together. The fabrics are vegetable dyed and quite hard wearing and i'm completely in love with them. I found my combination of the two by sifting through many piles of cushions, there were no two the same and i had to fight and bargain for them to get them to a reasonable price.We were dreading going back to Thamel so decided to check into a more peaceful and cheap hotel in Paknajol at the fringe of the tourist zone. That night we met up with the crew of Colombian / Australian Diego, UK Tom, US Chelsea, Israeli Hadar, Colombian Camilla and Israeli Dwor from the Kopan course for dinner at the lush OR2K vegetarian restaurant. Diego is off trekking but dropped us the contact for the Tibetan singing bowl healing and Reiki courses and we hope to catch up with him in Dharamsala. We've been getting into the yoga sessions everyday and Nadia is teaching anyone who shows up in the hotel garden.

the eye's of the Buddha

We are confirmed for the Vipassana course starting on the 14th june.

feeding all sentient beings some popcorn

rooftop flags

morning sunshine lights up the top

Vegetarian Joke Of The Day:
Why did the tofu cross the road?
To prove he wasn't chicken.