Pilgrimage in Nepal - 2005

A Devotee of Shangpa Rinpoche reflects on her Pilgrimage to Nepal.

It was with great joy that I embarked on the trip to Nepal again in December 2005, after the pilgrimage to Nepal and India the year before. I was able to see Rinpoche again after quite a long while, so many friends from the previous trip were journeying together with me and there were also many new kindly faces. The trip allowed all of us the potential to gain great merit and do our part in promoting peace in the world through our full prostrations round the Boudhanath stupa, recitation of the King of Aspiration Prayers and making the genuine and sincere wish during the light up at the Boudhanath stupa that peace would reign in the world in front of this great wish-fulfilling gem.

Amelia prostrating around
the Stupa

In addition, we were able to re-visit some of the holy places such as the cave Guru Rinpoche meditated in at Pharping and Swoyambur stupa as well as a new one, Nagarjuna Hill. We had the great fortune to visit the site where Manjushri split the hill to form a valley where the river now flows through, which was very scenic. This time round, we were also exposed to the Hindu religion and culture and visited the Hindu temple at the river banks and much later on, we journeyed to Patan, an ancient city of Nepal which has many Hindu temples with magnificent architecture, still being preserved. It is wonderful to see that Buddhism and Hinduism can co-exist in Nepal so harmoniously.

To let us have a better view of the Himalayas, we were arranged to stay at various hill resorts in Dhulikhel where we could catch a spectacular sunrise. At the Kirtipur Institute of Buddhist Studies, we celebrated the first year anniversary of the Institute where the teachers were given tokens of appreciation for their hard work and Rinpoche bestowed on us the longevity empowerment. One year apart, the Institute still looked as grand as ever, as it fondly is in our memories.

Celebrating Birthdays

An extremely memorable event was a planned surprise birthday party for December babies before one of the dinners. My birthday was the last day of the year, but it never came across my mind that the surprise birthday party was the reason why some of us were called on stage. I thought at first that it was to give a speech of sorts or to do some performance and was truly quite nervous. When they finally told us that they were celebrating our birthdays, everyone on stage was very happy and excited and we went around shaking hands and wishing each other happy birthday. A huge cake was prepared for us to cut and we all took a photograph together. It was so touching to know that they took the pains to go through our records to find out which of us was born in December so as to give us such a lovely surprise.

The main event was the planned prostrations round the Boudhanath Stupa and also the light-up afterwards. With the sincerest of hearts to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and give up attachment to the ego, many of us undertook the activity of doing full prostrations three rounds around the Stupa. The ground may have been dusty, splattered with bird droppings and at some parts even wet, but it did not stop our determination to complete the prostrations. It felt excellent completing what we had set out to do and being able to show our great devotion towards our religion. We must have purified quite a lot of bad karma with this. In the afternoon, we had a chance to taste the sacred water from the spring at the Stupa. This opportunity only arises once in 12 years. We did many rounds of the King of Aspiration prayer before everyone proceeded to light up the thousands of candles placed on the different levels of the Stupa. The final effect was extremely beautiful.

One of the most heartwarming activities was the visit to charity homes for children. We were split into two groups, one to visit an orphanage and another to a home for the mentally disabled. I visited the home for the mentally disabled and it was sad to see that some of them did not even know how to take the wrapper off before eating the sweets we distributed and one or two did not even know they had received food that can be eaten. We could tell however that they were very happy to see us and receive the gifts of food and stationary, which we went round distributing. This was very gratifying. Our group also presented them a washing machine that they were most in need of. The lovely children presented items of song and dance for us and there was much fun and laughter. I was surprised with a bear-hug by one of the children when it was time for them to return to their building and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was heart-warming to know that there are such kind-hearted people around who love these children as their own and take care of them so well. They are truly bodhisattvas.

The Anis accompanied us for the most part of the trip and they were the best of company. Despite their toil in helping out with logistics and preparations for the various events during the trip, they were always caring for the elderly and friendly to everyone. They were bubbly and gregarious after the ice is broken and we felt much affection towards them. There were also many people who toiled silently in the background to make our trip comfortable and to make sure the events ran smoothly. These are the lamas such as Lama Kendrup, Lama Sotop and Lama Rapten, the student volunteers from the Kirtipur Institute of Buddhist Studies, the dharma brothers and sisters from Singapore who volunteered to help out, the people from the tour agency and of course Shangpa Rinpoche, Dupsing Rinpoche and Vicky from Green Tara who spent so much time planning and organizing this trip. Without them, this trip could not have taken place. I always thought it the best to travel with so many dharma brothers and sisters as there is nary any quarrels, jostling in the crowds, jumping of queues and all the unpleasant situations that could arise when people care more for their themselves than others. In fact it is completely the other way around. There are so many kind-hearted souls who are generous, caring and self-sacrificing.

It had been a wonderful trip that everyone enjoyed tremendously. May all our greatest aspirations before the great wish-fulfilling gem, the Boudhanath Stupa be swiftly fulfilled!

Amelia Choon

Email : Shangpa Rinpoche

Devotees

Pilgrimage in Nepal - 2005