Namo buddha nepal monastery9/5/2023 ![]() The site of sacrifice, a small cave with a stone Buddha, tigress and cubs, is no more than 200 metres from the monastery’s main hall the stupa containing the remains of that iteration of the Buddha is on the other side of the hill. Namobuddha is said to be where the Buddha, as prince Chenpo (Great Mind) in a previous incarnation, fed a starving tigress to save it and its cubs from starvation. Nonetheless Namobuddha has been holy for an “immeasurable” amount of time, according to monk Acharya Pasang Wangdu Sherpa. Many stay for longer periods-for monthly workshops or twice-yearly Buddhist seminars. While many visitors visit for the day from Kathmandu, or spend the night in one of the numerous guesthouses in the surrounding area, staying at either of the monastery’s two residences gives guests a chance to take part in, rather than simply observing, monastic life. Since consecration of this monastery, in 2008, it has become a tourism hotspot. This Namobuddha monastery follows the Tibetan Kagyu school of Buddhist thought, and has a population between 250 and 400, fluctuating throughout the year. The twice-daily ceremonies-there is one at 6am too-are when the monks put their learning into spectacular practice.Īt all other times of day, however, it is distinctively serene. The sounds transcend any feeling garnered by other forms of music. The music and mantras are powerful and all consuming, even to the uninitiated, including this writer. Everything seems to revolve in a circular motion, ebbing, flowing and following peculiar rhythms. Young monks walk up and down the rows of their cross-legged compatriots, pouring steamy butter tea into bowls and divvying fruit. The soul-consuming music rattles the room’s every atom.ĭepending on the pitch and tone of the instruments, each piece of music is dedicated to deities-high pitched, loud music is played for wrathful ones while softer, smooth music is dedicated to the peaceful. The well-versed also perform various hand gestures, with eyes closed, while the ceremonial rag dung (brass trumpets) accompany the beating of vertical table-sized nga (drums). The sitting monks rock back and forth as they recite their mantras - some by memory, whereas others read their scriptures. The multicoloured hall seems bigger than it is, an illusion created by the endless Tibetan Buddhist artworks that cover every surface-the walls are decorated with the lineage of Kagyu Buddhist masters, intricately hand-painted. With everyone in the monastery’s main hall, the puja begins and the monks recitation of mantras crescendos. Suddenly, the sound of a giant drum being struck in quick succession reverberates throughout the campus. The gong tolls methodically, as more and more file in. Monks hurriedly walk from distant corners of the sprawling campus in time for afternoon puja. Striking a small gong, a young man in maroon robes surveys the picturesque Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery grounds and Kavrepalanchok’s distant paddyfields and outlying villages. ![]()
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