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Meditation Caves, Buddha’s Birthday, Our Last Days in Kathmandu

Lama D and I had a relaxing lunch at Schechen Monastery today. Clean yummy food. The best Dahl and Yak cheese in Kathmandu! We are getting ready to go back to Bhutan. Our house is waiting for us in Paro. I’m looking forward to clean air, pristine water, learning Dzongkha, and writing my next book, Kingdom of Happiness, The Bhutan Travel Cookbook. Asura cave, Pharping We visited Padmasambhava’s cave in Pharping, high in a mountain monastery near Kathmandu. Asura cave is a cave sacred to Guru Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche, or Padamasambhava was the wise and powerful guru who brought Tibetan Buddhism to…

I Visit the Headless Goddess, and Start a New Book

High up on a hill overlooking the Kathmandu valley is a small village which guards the oldest temple in Nepal. No one knows for sure how old the temple is. The famous inscription on the Western Gate was written by King Manadeva in 464 CE. The Hindu temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and some of his friends, in the vast pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses. Legend tells us in ancient times, a cow herder bought a beautiful cow which gave large amounts of milk. Every day it grazed in the hills of Bhaktipur, but one day it stopped…

Turning Point! I Visit Durbar Square, Ancient Kingdom of Patan

I FINALLY finished my book proposal. To celebrate, I took a day off to visit the Kingdom of Patan with my friend Lee who is visiting from India. On the other side of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu lies an ancent city that even now boasts an unparalleled artistic heritage. The Kingdom of Patan, also known as Lalitpur has undergone numerous transformations since its cultural peak thousands of years ago. The city within a city retains its glory as a city of culture, religion, art, history, and a rich fusion of Buddhism and Hinduism that has peacefully coexisted for centuries. Patan…

Kathmandu Rainy Season is Here!

It’s the rainy season in Nepal. The Temal Jatra Festival last week marks the beginning, and it rains every day, mostly in the afternoon. This week I’ll show you a few interesting things about living in Kathmandu. There’s no running water to speak of in Kathmandu. I’m lucky to live in an apartment building with seven units, and we have a huge water tank on the rooftop. It’s filled by pumping water through pipes upstairs. Passive solar panels provide enough power to give hot water almost every day, although you never know how long it’s going to last. So when…

I Visit the Oldest Hindu Temple, and Risk a Haircut

Pashupatinath Temple (Pronouced Pa-shu-pa-ti-NATH) is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. Although it is not known exactly when the temple was built, most say it dates back to 400 BCE. According to ancient Nepali texts Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, the deity here gained great fame here called Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus. A richly ornamented pagoda houses the huge sacred linga or holy symbol of Lord Shiva. You’ll see a photo below, however non-Hindus are not allowed into the most sacred areas. If you speak to the ascetics that live around the temple, they’ll respond in very good English and…

Just Another Week in Kathmandu

Earthquake in Kathmandu. This morning I was meditating quietly in our 3rd floor apartment when the ground shuddered. Yep, sure enough, it was a 4.1 magnitude earthquake at 9 am. According to the National Seismological Centre, it was an aftershock of the big earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. I did wonder what I would do, and what might become of our apartment building – briefly. Then it rained and the air cleared beautfully. All is well. Mahakala is a tantric Buddhist protective deity. His mask has five human skulls on the crown, a symbol of transmutation of the five…

Living in Kathmandu – Accepting the Moment

Sorry for being out of touch recently. I’m sinking into the Nepali culture inevitably. I thought I was going to live in Bhutan. But now by surprise I live in Kathmandu, because the Lama’s work is here. That’s OK. I can accept. There’s been a huge shift as I’m no longer a tourist, and I accept daily life of a Kathmandu resident. I just live with enjoyment and notice the hard work and kindness of others all around me. I watch tourists run from site to site, and I can’t be bothered. I follow the local pace. I go see…

Gho and Kira, the National Dress of Bhutan

By Tshering Yangdon. Did you know the Bhutanese national dress was codified over 400 years ago? The code was set in the 17th century, during the reign of the famous Rinpoche and “Father of Bhutan”, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Yes, the Zhabdung’s far-sighted vision of maintaining the country’s unity and sovereignty led him to establish a national dress for Bhutan. Gho and Kira are the two very unique pieces of traditional dress. The Gho is for men and the Kira for women. Rinpoche Zhabdrung succeeded brilliantly in uniting the country under one rule, in the face of violent civil wars and internal…

What is the Government of Bhutan?

By Tshering Yangdon. The government of Bhutan is a democratic, constitutional monarchy with five branches of government, overseeing a population of approximately 800,000 people. The 2008 Constitution of Bhutan provides for five main branches of government: 1) Monarchy, 2) State Religion, 3) Judiciary, 4) Executive, and 5) Legislative branches. All the secular and religious branches of government are unified under the King. In this constitutional monarchy the King acts as a non-party political head of the government. Bhutan’s fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, is the hereditary head of state. The King of Bhutan is called “Druk Gyalpo”, meaning “King of the Dragon Kingdom”. 1)…

A Quiet Week of Working and Healing

It’s been a very quiet week working on writing projects and healing my back. Not too much happening. As soon as my spinal muscles are completely healed, I’ll return to Paro. My Bhutan visa for 11 months just arrived, and that is great news. I’m here in Kathmandu with the Lama and his daughter “Baby”. I stopped at this storefront when walking around the Boudha. I love the flaming statue of Mahakala with the Stupa reflection in the window. Amazingly, one day the sun came out! It was warm enough for a relaxing break on the hotel rooftop. My DIY pedicure-manicure…