Blogs from Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia - page 5

Vandaag een bijzondere dag gehad, met vele aspecten: religie, cultuur en natuur. Voor het eerst hebben we kennis gemaakt met het Nepal buiten Kathmandu (en buitenwijken of aangegroeide steden). En dat was een zeer interessante en bijzondere ervaring! Onze ochtend begon al vroeg. Zoals gewoonlijk werden we automatisch gewekt door fanatieke tennissers op de tennisbaan naast ons appartement die van zes tot zeven in de ochtend de baan hadden gehuurd. We stonden dus om acht uur bepakt en bezakt klaar voor onze dagtocht. Eerst een taxi gezocht. Dan blijkt toch weer eens dat het best lastig is dat Nepalezen nooit nee zeggen. Dus op de vraag “weet u waar het Gokarna klooster zich bevindt?” krijg je standaard ja te horen. En als je dan instapt en merkt dat je chauffeur aan elke passerende collega moet vragen ... read more

All I can write is what I know and what I know is this: the world changes everyday and, if you let yourself, you will change with it. I've been thinking a lot since I came to this part of the world, about people and places far away and out of reach, and about the ones staring me right in the face, that I couldn't or maybe wouldn't want to escape from. This phenomena around and inside of me, be it physical and present or conjured up by memory or fantasy, are the tools the world has given me. With their influence my thoughts are shaped, though not set. That final moment of assessment, the one that ultimately predicts mood and action, that is entirely up to me. This notion of understanding instills in me ... read more

this is one of the harder entries for me to begin. it's hard to know where to start or how to sum up the past few weeks. i guess for personal relfection's sake and for your understanding's sake, i should just start. about a month ago i left kathmandu and took a 10 hour bus ride (3 1/2 of which were spent in stand-still traffic) to the nepali city of pokhara. its a pretty touristy destination, a lot of people hit it on their way up to the annapurna trekking circuit. we spent the night there and took an early flight into the airport at jomsom. jomsom is the first town in the region known as mustang, where i spent the next 20 days. we began walking that day, about 3-4 hours until we arrived that ... read more

One of the largest Buddhist Temples in the world and the sounds of monks worshiping in a nearby monastery.... read more

Well, I've returned from the silence. The sitting. The meditation. And the feeling is quite overwhelming. For any of you who don't know what I just put my self through, I will fill you in quickly. I applied to take a 10 day Silent Meditation in the Vipassana technique. Vipassana means to "see things as they really are" and was the meditation practice of Gotama the Buddha. It basically involves sitting in the same position for over an hour, observing your breath and trying to accept the fact that the intense knee and back pain is "impermanent" and will pass, much like this life that we live. You are also supposed to observe all of the other sensations on your body, like the itches and the tingling and the legs falling asleep without reaction to them. ... read more