I walked down to the Bouddenath Stupa today and a nice monk started talking to me and we walked around the stupa three times together and did some simple chanting. He said a prayer for me and my family and gave me a little red blessing cord before I went on my way.
Tonight I went for a long trek with Detchen, through neighborhoods and backroads that I never would have seen on my own. We wound our way up to the top of a very steep hill and arrived at the Kopan Monastery just as the sun was setting and a nice 3/4 moon was high in the sky. It is a beautiful, large monastery overlooking the whole Kathmandu valley. There were monks of all ages, a small restaurant, an internet cafe and the grounds were incredible. I will look forward to going back one of these mornings when the monks chant and do their prayers in the temple. We thought we may have to spend the night because it was so dark and there are no taxis up there, but a nice man gave us a ride down the hill and dropped us close to home.
When we got back, I sat with the sisters Detchen and Dolma in the garden and drank homemade warm wine, we ate noodles and laughed until our bellies and our faces hurt. Life is pretty great here.
Tomorrow I will see my friends at the clinic for lunch and meet Som and Sajani in the afternoon.
Happy Halloween to everyone back home!
No comments:
Post a Comment