Pilgrimage to India and Nepal December 2019-January 2020
We dedicate this 11th pilgrimage to Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe, our teacher, in commemoration of the four major holy sites we visited, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar and Lumbini, and the minor sites of Vulture Peak, Shravasti and the holy places in Kathmandu. The pilgrimage went from 28 December 2019 to 18 January 2020.
mahabodhi Temple, bodhgaya
We were so fortunate to have Khenpo la guide us on this 2019-2020 pilgrimage to India and Nepal. There was a memorable and dramatic start to our pilgrimage with eight days in Bodhgaya, not only because Bodhgaya was the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, but because it was here we learned of the extent of the devastation by fires back in Australia.
We all chanted and meditated under the Bodhi Tree praying to Guru Rinpoche to dispel natural disaster for friends and family at home. Khenpo la's equanimity and composure steadied us, even though Kamalashila itself was in danger. We were also fortunate to have the prayers and blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Eminence Luding Khen Rinpoche, and Jetsun Kushok Chimey Luding, to alleviate the fires.
Around 589 BCE Siddhartha Gautama saw the nature of suffering and wanted to end it. He reached the forested banks of the Phalgu River near the city of Gaya and meditated under a bodhi tree. After three days and three nights Siddhartha attained enlightenment. The emperor Ashoka built the Mahabodhi Temple or Great Awakening Temple around 260 BCE in honour of that enlightenment. He built a diamond throne at the foot of the bodhi tree at the very spot where the Buddha reached enlightenment.
We were moved by the scene at the Mahabodhi Temple where monks, nuns and lay people - Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Bhutanese, Indian - prostrated, chanted and meditated. We saw the rise and fall of the monks, nuns and lay people on boards, and of others, with barely enough clothes to protect them from the foggy, cold 6 degrees C. On several sides of the compound were groups of Vajrayana monks chanting the sutras in unison, or making their practices in rituals with bells and chanting.
During our eight days in Bodhgaya we were blessed to have teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 37 factors of enlightenment, the Avalokiteshvara empowerment and the Manjushri cycle of teachings. We were blessed later again with Khenpo's re-teaching of the 37 factors. The 37 factors exhorted us to study, reflect and meditate tirelessly, to renounce life's concerns and live an ethical life and to engage in bodhicitta. Such pith instructions were better than any new year resolutions we could ever dream of.
We all chanted and meditated under the Bodhi Tree praying to Guru Rinpoche to dispel natural disaster for friends and family at home. Khenpo la's equanimity and composure steadied us, even though Kamalashila itself was in danger. We were also fortunate to have the prayers and blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, His Eminence Luding Khen Rinpoche, and Jetsun Kushok Chimey Luding, to alleviate the fires.
Around 589 BCE Siddhartha Gautama saw the nature of suffering and wanted to end it. He reached the forested banks of the Phalgu River near the city of Gaya and meditated under a bodhi tree. After three days and three nights Siddhartha attained enlightenment. The emperor Ashoka built the Mahabodhi Temple or Great Awakening Temple around 260 BCE in honour of that enlightenment. He built a diamond throne at the foot of the bodhi tree at the very spot where the Buddha reached enlightenment.
We were moved by the scene at the Mahabodhi Temple where monks, nuns and lay people - Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Bhutanese, Indian - prostrated, chanted and meditated. We saw the rise and fall of the monks, nuns and lay people on boards, and of others, with barely enough clothes to protect them from the foggy, cold 6 degrees C. On several sides of the compound were groups of Vajrayana monks chanting the sutras in unison, or making their practices in rituals with bells and chanting.
During our eight days in Bodhgaya we were blessed to have teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 37 factors of enlightenment, the Avalokiteshvara empowerment and the Manjushri cycle of teachings. We were blessed later again with Khenpo's re-teaching of the 37 factors. The 37 factors exhorted us to study, reflect and meditate tirelessly, to renounce life's concerns and live an ethical life and to engage in bodhicitta. Such pith instructions were better than any new year resolutions we could ever dream of.
Vulture peak, Rajgir
We chanted the Heart Sutra at Vulture Peak in Rajgir. With the mountain in mist, our only reference points were this discourse on emptiness, the Triple Gem and Khenpo la, our teacher. Huddled together with our teacher and the close sangha, we experienced great warmth and protection from the cold.
Vulture Peak is explicitly mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's pure land:
When the living witness the end of an aeon,
When everything is consumed in a great fire,
This land of mine remains safe and tranquil,
Always filled with human and heavenly beings.
Vulture Peak is explicitly mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's pure land:
When the living witness the end of an aeon,
When everything is consumed in a great fire,
This land of mine remains safe and tranquil,
Always filled with human and heavenly beings.
Nalanda monastary excavation, Rajgir
Khenpo la arranged a tour of the site of the ancient Nalanda University. This ancient site of learning and home to many bodhisattvas flourished under the Guptas from the 5th to 9th centuries, attracting great bodhisattvas of the stature of Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dignaga, Dharmakirti, Chandrakirti, Kamalashila and Shantideva. The famous libraries at Nalanda were so voluminous that the legend goes that when Nalanda was sacked by a Muslim army, the library burned for six months.
Chaukhandi Stupa and Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath
Sarnath was the site where the Buddha gave the first teaching on the Four Noble Truths. It was here, next to the main mound, 40 metres high and 28 metres in diameter, that Khenpo la continued the great dharmic tradition by teaching us the Four Noble Truths, stressing the method of bodhicitta as the path to enlightenment. Sitting cross-legged around Khenpo la and facing the stupa, we closed our eyes to open them again to see the great stupa. The stupa became embedded in our minds as an emblem of spacious love, stretching down through the ages from the Lord Buddha himself.
Ramabhar Stupa, Kushinagar
From Sarnath we went to the grove in Kushinagar where the Buddha was cremated. There were beautiful peaceful grounds of red brick stupa ruins.
Kushinagar temple and excavation
We visited the site where the Buddha is thought to have died and found a beautiful golden Buddha encased in a little temple. We circumambulated and chanted and began to glimpse what it would be like to be enlightened, to be free to die again and again, and to accept the impermanence of life and death. You could feel the Lord Buddha's presence.
Later we visited a reclining golden Buddha, six metres long, it is said to be showing the Buddha a few moments before his death. When the Buddha was old, he travelled with Ananda to Kushinigar. He lay down on his right side with his head to the north. He spoke to Ananda about the dharma and the vinaya to be followed by the monks and he gave instructions about the disposal of his body.
Later we visited a reclining golden Buddha, six metres long, it is said to be showing the Buddha a few moments before his death. When the Buddha was old, he travelled with Ananda to Kushinigar. He lay down on his right side with his head to the north. He spoke to Ananda about the dharma and the vinaya to be followed by the monks and he gave instructions about the disposal of his body.
Kacchi kuti (Stupa of Sudatta) excavation, Sravasti
Khenpo la took us to Kacchi Kuti, the stupa commemorating Angulimala, who killed 999 people and collected the fingers of those he killed and turned them into a necklace. Although he was a ruthless brigand, he converted to Buddhism and ultimately redeemed himself. Khenpo la told us the story that Angulimala tried to capture the Buddha as well, but as close as he came to the Buddha, the farther away the Buddha seemed to be. When Angulimala asked the Buddha why this was so, the Buddha replied that it was all in his mind. Angulimala changed dramatically when he came into contact with the Buddha, ultimately becoming a great bodhisattva. Buddhists see the Angulimala story as a lesson that anyone can change their life for the better, even the least likely people. Khenpo la stressed that the killings possibly created karmic linkages which helped those who were killed. Angulimala became a boddhisatva as a result. Human and karmic law are very different!
Sahet (Jetavana) excavation, Sravasti
In Sravasti, the ancient Indian city, where the Buddha spent every rainy season for 25 years establishing the Vinaya, the code of ethics. It is the place where the Buddha lived the longest amount of time and where he gave the largest amount of discourses. Despite the 2500 years that have passed, we could almost feel the Buddha's robes brushing past us, or see his form off in the distance, teaching. Khenpo la told us some places were so special that the Buddha had chosen to come to them and will continue to come to them, to teach in them and to die in them. It was clear that Sravasti was one of those places.
Vihara's monastery complex and sacred gardens, Lumbini
At Lumbini we entered the whitewashed building housing the excavated ruins of the shrine of the Buddha's birthplace. Once again, Khenpo brought the scene alive for us as we chanted and meditated. It was special to know that here the Lord Buddha had come into the world to spread the dharma. We peered down to the oval stone slab where it is said that the Buddha was born, and later we circumambulated, chanting the Shakyamuni mantra. Outside, we meditated near Ashoka's ancient pillar, commemorating the Buddha's birthplace.
stupas and temples around Thamel, KATHMANDU
In Kathmandu, we were so fortunate that Khenpo la showed us Buddhist temples that were hidden away in the back streets of Thamel. The district of Thamel dates back 1000 years to when it was a Buddhist district known as Tabetha. We saw Tara Dholma Temple, Jana Balal Temple and Saraswatidevi Temple. Khenpo la taught us and we practised the chants of Vajrapani, Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara, so beautifully depicted in the stonework around the temples.
VajraYogini temple
The Vajrayogini, or Bijishwori Temple is located on a hill on the way to Swayambunath Temple. The temple stands on the west bank of the Bishnumati River, next to the ancient religious site of the Ramadoli cremation ground and is on the main path to Swayambunath stupa to the west of Kathmandu. Inside the temple, the main image was of the yogini flying through the sky, her right leg bent up at the knee behind her, and her left leg pulled up against her chest with her left arm. Her right arm held a vajra above the sole of her right foot. In the crook of her right arm she held a khatvanga staff. Outside were amazing stupas with carved buddhas.
Swayambhunath Temple complex, Kathmandu
We visited the Swayambhunath Temple with Khenpo la, where we climbed 320 steps to the sacred dome structure worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus. Built in the fifth century CE, the large dome of the temple symbolises the entire world and the eyes depicted on the dome represent wisdom and compassion. It felt so special to be standing at the top of the hill overlooking the city, the great eyes peering out over the monkeys and the many statues of Buddha and one white Tara. Khenpo la told us that much had been damaged during the 2015 earthquake, but the great mound of the stupa remained untouched.
Boudhanath, Kathmandu
The pilgrimage group went by 25-minute taxi ride to Boudhanath Stupa. The stupa, at 38 metres high, is one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was on the ancient trade route from Tibet. Fifty gonpas are around the site. The stupa is said to entomb the remains of Kassapa Buddha. Khenpo la gave wise advice, inviting us to keep our eyes to the right focused on the stupa as we circumambulated, and to keep the left trained with the right, because the circularity of the stupa positioned the walker in view of the hawkers' shops selling Buddhist statues and nicknacks. Khenpo la told us the story of the origin of the stupa.
International Buddhist Academy, Kathmandu
From the Boudhinath Stupa, Khenpo la took us on a 20-minute walk to the International Buddhist Academy to pay respect to his main teacher, the Venerable Khenchen Appey Rinpoche, who established IBA in 2001 for the preservation, translation and transmission of the dharma. Khenpo la said that his precious teachings all came from the Venerable Khenchen Appey Rinpoche. It was obvious that Khenpo la held Rinpoche in his heart with great love, respect and devotion. We prostrated and placed katas at the stupa which houses Rinpoche's relics. We also visited his gonpa and teaching room. Later we were blessed to have tea with Khenpo Ngawang Jordan, the director of IBA. It was a truly special day, making the connection to our teacher's teacher, and to the other respected teachers at the IBA. May we always have connection to the true scholars of the Sakya lineage.
Pharping temples and caves
We went to Pharping, a small town lying above the Bagamati River on the southern edge of the Kathmandu valley, about 23 km from the capital. Here we visited Yanglesho Cave, where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated on the tantra of Yangdruk Heruka and realised the siddhi of mahamudra. Then we visited a temple dedicated to Vajrayogini, located on the side of the hill between Yanglesho Cave and the town of Pharping. It is one of the main Vajrayogini temples and Khenpo la said it was established by the Phamting brothers, two important disciples of mahasiddhis Naropa and Maitreya. Later we circumambulated by taxi the Swayambunath Temple as an auspicious way to end our pilgrimage.
Farewell dinner
.On our final night we dined as a pilgrimage group at a special restaurant chosen by Khenpo la near our hotel. Khenpo la was extremely generous, giving small presents to commemorate the pilgrimage. Some of us had Tibetan dresses made for us to pay respect. We thanked Khenpo la for his wonderful guidance and mentorship, as well as for being a superlative nurse to those who were sick on the journey. We also acknowledged that he had been the most outstanding tour guide we had ever encountered! The group in response gave Khenpo la a present. We also thanked Sonam, Khenpo la's trusty assistant, for his patience, kindness and constant assistance and Khenpo la's brother Tshering, who also assisted the group when we reached Kathmandu.
