Wednesday, October 16, 2024 (continued)
We hopped back on the bus for a 2 km/1.2 mile drive a bit northeast to Boudhanath Stupa, the largest stupa in Nepal.
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| A pigeon samples some grain |
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| Bundles of incense sticks and colorful boxes |
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| A closer look at the boxes |
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Boudhanath Stupa (c 600, when King
Songtsen Gampo converted to Buddhism);
workers are in the process of changing
the banners and flags; here the green
"headband" is being removed |
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The five shapes of the stupa (Buddhist shrine for meditation)
represent the five elements: square base for earth, the dome
for water, conical spire for fire, umbrella circle for air, and
a [triangular] pinnacle for ether or the spirit |
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| Ceremonial door |
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Now the "headband" is red; Buddha's
all-seeing eyes are on all four sides |
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We began circling the stupa in a
clockwise direction, along with pilgrims
and tourists on the kora/pilgrimage;
Himalayan Java Coffee features
coffee from beans grown in Nepal |
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| Boudha Stupa View Guest House |
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Guru Lhakhang Monastery music gallery where
we heard the end of a drumming session (KSS) |
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Souvenir shop; although absolutely
forbidden in Tibet, here we are permitted
to have a photo of the 14th Dalai Lama |
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| Food and water are provided to pigeons for good karma |
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| This little girl was determined to catch the white pigeon |
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We had lunch on a terrace overlooking
the Boudhanath Stupa |
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View down on the stupa; hmm,
the base is not really square |
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Had a quick stop at a thangka
(painting on fabric) school |
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| Colorful scarves |
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Traditional Tibetan dress and apron;
the stupa is located on the ancient trade
route between Nepal and Tibet; Tibetan
merchants stopped here to rest and pray
|
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| Another view of the stupa with prayer flag poles |
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| Prayer pole inside the entrance |
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We stepped inside the see this
collection of bells |
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After having been around the kora
a few times, we sat on a bench
to watch all the pilgrims |
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| A group of Buddhist nuns |
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| I guess I was not as covert as I thought in taking photos |
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| Kent took this one! |
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| We started seeing the same people making several circuits |
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| Most of the Buddhists are Tibetans? |
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Under the yellow curtains on the wall are prayer wheels,
but only this group was spinning them; we did the prayer
wheels in a long section chanting om mani padme hum/
hail to the jewel in the lotus, led by Suresh |
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| The woman on the right has her own prayer wheel |
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| Pilgrims were both old and young |
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