Happy Buddha Jayanti!

Today is the full moon of the month of Vaisakh in the Buddhist Lunar Calendar, and is celebrated as the anniversary of the Buddha Shakyamuni's birth, death and enlightenment. As such, it is considered to be the most holy day in the annual Buddhist ritual calendar. Although the Tibetans consider this day (Saga Dawa'i Tsewa Jo Nga) to be next month, let us not split hairs and yell out a hearty Buddha Saranam Gacchami (I go for refuge in the Buddha) if we feel so inclined, like the marching school kids have been this afternoon:

This morning for the full moon, we performed a feast offering ceremony at the monastery in Chapagaon. It was the first time many of the young monks participated in this particular ceremony, or even attended it. They requested me to sponsor it, and I heartily agreed, $60USD well spent, if you ask me, as I have a connection with the ritual: the Lama's Heartpractice Which Dispels All Obstacles, the Essence of Enlightened Activity (bla ma tugs sgrub bar che kun gsal sphrin las snying po gshugs), a short version of an offering feast to the protectors and dakinis combined with an essential tantric practice involving the meditation and recitation of Guru Rinpoche, Avalokitesvara (Compassion) and Amitayus (Long-life).

Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche (The Precious Master), was the historical Tantric super-adept who is credited with bringing the esoteric form of Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th Century. Many rituals in the school of the Earlier Translations (Nyingma) involve visualizations of him, who is considered to be inseparable with the Buddha and one's own teacher.

One of our twelve year olds, Jigme, reading prayers this morning in assembly.

A local Chapagaoni sitting calmly in meditation during this morning's rituals.

IN OTHER CHAPAGAON GOMPA NEWS, last week His Eminence Phagchog Rinpoche spent the night at the monastery. He had a nice opportunity to interact with the monks: Rinpoche gave some teaching, made offerings to the assembly, and had time to watch some evening futbol matches.
Phagchog Rinpoche meeting with the monks.

Phagchog Rinpoche chatting with the monks.

We also developed plans to give specialized language training to monks that show promise as translators for the future. We have selected two for Newari and Nepali language, two for Chinese, two for English, two for French, two for Spanish and two for German. It will be a challenge to find suitable teachers that can come to Chapagaon for the monks, but we will work hard now to plant the seed of these languages in their young minds, so that in the future they can become expert translators. That said, if anyone wants to come and live out in Chapagaon Nepal for a while as a specialized language instructor you are most welcome!

In Celebration of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: Parades!

Dustin' off the mitts after a bit of climbin'.

Oh I am missing my Jazzfest these days!

Although my experience of parades and religious processions of various sorts in Nepal cannot compare to what I've witnessed (and done) on the streets of New Orleans during the magnificent celebration of the pre-Lent carnival anticipating Mardi Gras, two parades last week reminded me of the fun of getting out in the street, maybe a little drunk, to beat some drums and yell and throw things at God for whatever reason, in whatever form, may it be Bacchus or Rato Macchendranath or the Buddha.


MERIT BUILDING PROCESSION BY THE BARAGAON VILLAGERS:

Shot taken from my balcony looking north towards the Kathmandu Valley. A line of about five hundred Newari villagers from nearby Baregaon coming to make offerings to the images of the Buddha in our monastery. The villagers have recently erected a new stupa (reliquary mound built as a basis for worship for future practitioners), and to commemorate the great even they walked on an all-day long procession to all of the surrounding villages to have darshan (holy vision) of the images of the Buddhas and other dieties and to make offerings to gain merit.

The local lovelies: Newar women wearing their traditional black saris.

Beat them drums! The wicker tray on the ground is the pile of offered rice, coins, food, candy, candles, incense, etc. given by the villagers in circuit.


THE FESTIVAL OF THE BODHISATVA KARUNAMAYA/ RATO MACCHENDRANATH:

The chariot of the red Karunamaya (popularly known as Rato Macchendranath).

The wheels of the chariot go round and round... slowly, some days not at all. When Karunamaya comes to your neighborhood, it is important for your family to provide a feast for all visitors (friends and relatives from other places), and to generally party. I dropped by the large family of some Newar Dharma friends of mine, and was forced to eat a plate of 6 kinds of blessed food from a ritual and then a 10 course feast tray. If I hadn't been vegetarian, it would have been a 14 course meal!

Ganesh, the obstacle clearer, is probably the most ubiquitous deity dwelling in the Kathmandu Valley, and here he is (as is common) enshrined on the streetside in the form of a rock that resembles an elephant head.

A local village low-caste girl (who I mistook as a boy at first) waiting by the pile of offered food as the offering procession goes by. She patiently sat there until the monks gave her some of the food, and she happily skipped away. A beautiful but hardened face for the young age.

Here the great chariot has run amok into the neighborhood homes, and a crane is pulling it loose from the roof. The locals won't fix the chariot until it falls completely over (which is as dangerous as it sounds, people die in this festival all the time), so it is still marooned in Jyatha Bahal as far as I know, inching along as the locals heave on the massive ropes, taking windows and watertanks with it.

A lovely stupa in pastel colors, near the Sundhara (Golden Waterspout) in Jyatha Bahal, Patan.

Every festival has its vendor of gaudy Chinese toys! This guy is probably wearing all white as he is in mourning for one of his parents.


CUTE MONKS PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:

Living in the monastery has truly tested my personal boundaries. I thought living with my brothers in a New Orleans Mid-city shotgun house was bad. I no longer have any privacy at all. The little monks come in my room whenever they like (I can't lock it as they have to come through to gain access to the roof). They take small things as they like (vitamins, incense, lighters, matches, water bottles, candles, clippers, razors, etc., which can be aggravating at times. I can't blame them, though. They share everything and don't realize that everyone doesn't always share everything. Anyway, a few of the monks found my camera and had some fun, about which I didn't discover until uploading the photos on the computer. Luckily for us, they took a couple of good ones, including this glamour photo of Rabjam, age 14.

The monk Ratna Mangalam, one of my best English students, teaching one of the new monks from Ilam, Nepal, how to read the Tibetan script.