This stone is carved with the mantra Om Mani Padme Hung in both the typical Tibetan and also in Newari (Ranjana/Lantsa). Newari is the language of people indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley, and this alphabet was used in both India and Nepal. It is from this alphabet...
Tsum Valley is a beyul, a sacred Buddhist valley. Killing is prohibited and small monasteries abound. Monks and teachers from Tibet used to come regularly to the valley, and Buddhism has thrived here. In addition to traditional monasteries, every village has a lineage...
A big tent set up next to the stupa one morning holds more than 150 people with drums and bells performing a Chod practice. Chod is used to cut through our identification with our ego. These are not monks, but everyday Buddhists, practicing Chod for a day as part of...
In Tibetan Buddhism, geometric representations of the universe called mandalas are made from colored sand for special ceremonies. Piped down small tubes, millions of grains of sand are layered to form ornate designs and even drawings of small figures. The process...
After 6am prayers are finished, I find young monks gathered in the back courtyard of a monastery, talking, playing chess, and practicing their horn skills for a big ritual tomorrow. Check out this video of the young monks learning to play the dungchen--a ceremonial...
Staying near the heart of Tibetan Buddhism in Kathmandu is magical. Although the Bouddha area is far from central, it's worth it. Every day I am swept into a constantly flowing river of spiritual practice. Buddhists turn out by the hundreds every morning to walk...
Thousands of people turned out at Bouddhanath Stupa as part of worldwide celebrations for the Buddha's birthday. Observed on the full moon in April/May (this year May 6), Buddha Purnima is less an exact date and more a commemoration of the Buddha's birth,...
Lama Geshe Chants A Prayer http://youtu.be/SyeHLNRxV_0 Lama Geshe speaks Tibetan, so when I visit him, conversations get double and triple translated from a mix English and Nepali to a mix of Sherpa and Tibetan. Whatever is lost along the way doesn't seem to matter...
Lama Geshe is an Everest-area legend. Foreign climbers and local Sherpas come every season to take his blessing before attempting to climb the dangerous summits of nearby peaks. His receiving room is plastered with signed photos of famous climbers holding the blessing...
Om mani padme hum. Buddhists chant this mantra for the Buddha of Wisdom and Compassion incessantly. They carve it into rocks, inscribe it in prayer wheels, stamp it on prayer flags, and recite it hundreds of thousands of times in morning and evening prayers. Lama...
Video: Debuche Nuns Kitchen Tour and New Stove http://youtu.be/cHZ3Sxd56fs This fall, I stopped in at the nunnery to see everything hooked up, in place, in use. The stove has been a welcome addition. They cook morning tea and lunch on it and keep the big wood-burning...
What do the Buddhist nuns of Debuche want in 2011? A stove. The communal kitchen has a big wood-fired hearth for cooking, so at first I wondered why they needed a stove. One nun explained that they spend so much time chopping firewood that it detracts from their...