Om Mani Padme Hung

Love from Nepal! Perhaps it is the cool temperature here or the views of the Himalayas and circling hawks or circling the Bodha stupa, but I am at home here.
I took the "tourist" bus full of other tourists, like myself, from Varanasi first to the border of India and Nepal, slept one night in the most basic (I am being quite kind in using the word basic) hotel and then took a different "tourist" bus to Kathmandu. I booked my travel through Paul's Travels, a company that has been in business for thirty years, and I as well as my fellow tourists expected a nice bus with air conditioning and re-clining seats. What we got was a bus that had slightly padded seats, fans instead of a/c and a blue, ceiling decorated with plastic flowers. This was by far the most uncomfortable transportation experience I have had on my travels. The roads are not maintained and there were long stretches of road where you just shook the entire time, or launched from you seat when going over a bump. I am not kidding. The "tourist" bus we caught in Nepal was by far the worst. It was really a local bus in disguise! Even smaller than our previous bus with a ceiling so low that you had to duck when walking through the isle. This bus also picked up other Nepalis along the way, who although did not have seats, sat either in the isle on wooden stools, on top of the bus with the luggage, or on each others' laps. As I write this, is is making me laugh! In retrospect, of course and one new friend from Scotland remarked that in time, we would be able to laugh about this. So, he,he. Oh, yeah, the bus was delayed about four hours the first day for repairs, and three hours the second day because there was a road-block.

So I arrived in Kathmandu five hours late on Monday night, but I am so happy to be here. Nepal is far more relaxed and cleaner than Varanasi. There is a sense of calm and a peace here that you can feel on every one's face; through their eyes and in their smiles. I just feel at ease here. I met a girl from Russia on the bus and it turns out she is attending the same re-inthrownment ceremony of Tulku Rinpoche and subsequent Dharma teachings at the Ka-Nyng Ling Shedrup Monastary that too am attending. The ceremony is tomorrow and the seminars are Nov. 24th through the 30th. I am fortunate to be able to attend such a ceremony. The ceremony marks the re-incarnation of Tulku Rinpoche.
I have spent the past two days practicing Cora (this is probably not spelled right), circling and praying at the main stupa in Bodha (Boudhanath). The stupa is incredible! It is white and adorned with Tibetan prayer flags, brass prayer wheels statues of the Buddha. You can make offerings of saffron, and incense and pray your intentions as you walk clockwise around the stups, spinning the prayer wheels. There are many Buddhists and tourists here because of the re-inthrownment ceremony and at all times of the day, many are circling and praying. I went to an early morning yoga class today and practiced my own Cora. This place is so blessed; both with its natural beauty and with the power of spiritual practice. Syncronicities are taking care of me; this is a magical place, and I am meeting those that continue to assist me on my spiritual path.
On Friday, I am going to go to Thamel in Kathmandu to live and study at a nunnery. I am very much looking forward to this. My friend is a Buddhist Monk and he arranged this opportunity for me. I will teach them English in exchange for studying Buddhism and living with them. Yeah!