Kopan Monastery
Hello!
I'm so far behind in posts, sorry about that. Will start with most recent happenings and then work my way backwards when I have the time. My last adventure was a two week stay at the Tibetan Buddhist Kopan Monastery on a hilltop over looking Kathmandu. I signed up for their introductory course on Buddhism. The first part of the course was split between meditation practice and buddhist teachings which were always followed by lively Q&A sessions from us skeptical westerners. There were about 50 of us in all. The last 3 days were spent in silent retreat and meditation. The teaching sessions were split between a Swedish nun whose been practicing since 74, and a Tibetan monk. The nun was good because of similar backgrounds and familiarity of the western lifestyle, and the monk was interesting to see buddhism from someone who grew up in it, offering up two different viewpoints.
The monastery itself was very peaceful and was home to over 200 tibetan monks, young and old. It was great to view some of the rituals, like late night chanting filled with low gutteral movements, and their daily debating rounds on the teachings. The debates are very lively, held in small groups, each monk accentuating his points with slapping their hands point by point.
In all it was a great stay, ate well, met good people, and opened up to a different way of seeing the world. Here's some pics, hope you like them.
I'm so far behind in posts, sorry about that. Will start with most recent happenings and then work my way backwards when I have the time. My last adventure was a two week stay at the Tibetan Buddhist Kopan Monastery on a hilltop over looking Kathmandu. I signed up for their introductory course on Buddhism. The first part of the course was split between meditation practice and buddhist teachings which were always followed by lively Q&A sessions from us skeptical westerners. There were about 50 of us in all. The last 3 days were spent in silent retreat and meditation. The teaching sessions were split between a Swedish nun whose been practicing since 74, and a Tibetan monk. The nun was good because of similar backgrounds and familiarity of the western lifestyle, and the monk was interesting to see buddhism from someone who grew up in it, offering up two different viewpoints.
The monastery itself was very peaceful and was home to over 200 tibetan monks, young and old. It was great to view some of the rituals, like late night chanting filled with low gutteral movements, and their daily debating rounds on the teachings. The debates are very lively, held in small groups, each monk accentuating his points with slapping their hands point by point.
In all it was a great stay, ate well, met good people, and opened up to a different way of seeing the world. Here's some pics, hope you like them.
posted by Ted @ 2:54 AM
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