The wandering Huseng.
Re: The wandering Huseng.
If not mistaken, Mt Kailash is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Bonpas....
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Indeed. However, it is on the Chinese side of the border which means getting in is either difficult or expensive.plwk wrote:If not mistaken, Mt Kailash is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Bonpas....
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Hello everyone. I came to the bazaar today to buy some toilet paper, among other items necessary but unavailable on top of a mountain in the Himalayas, so I figured I'd check in after a month of being offline to say hello.
The air and food here in Leh is nourishing my mind and body. The allergies I was suffering in Tokyo are gone. I also just feel much more healthy and energetic. The locals here are also quite nice and honest. I don't get ripped off like elsewhere in India. I pay the same price in the bazaar as everyone else.
I rather like the Himalayas. I'm living at above 3500 meters above sea level ... I think the stupa is at 3800 meters. I had mild altitude sickness the first day, but recovered quickly.
The cold weather is starting to set in and fewer and fewer visitors are coming up the mountain to Shanti Stupa.
I spend most of my day doing meditation and reading extensively.
I'll probably be offline again for another month or more. I hope all my Dharma Wheel friends are healthy and doing well.
The air and food here in Leh is nourishing my mind and body. The allergies I was suffering in Tokyo are gone. I also just feel much more healthy and energetic. The locals here are also quite nice and honest. I don't get ripped off like elsewhere in India. I pay the same price in the bazaar as everyone else.
I rather like the Himalayas. I'm living at above 3500 meters above sea level ... I think the stupa is at 3800 meters. I had mild altitude sickness the first day, but recovered quickly.
The cold weather is starting to set in and fewer and fewer visitors are coming up the mountain to Shanti Stupa.
I spend most of my day doing meditation and reading extensively.
I'll probably be offline again for another month or more. I hope all my Dharma Wheel friends are healthy and doing well.
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Wonderful photos Huseng:
stay healthy and well It's fantastic to hear from you. Is the stupa a Nipponzan Myohoji one? What kind of meditation are you practicing?
rory
stay healthy and well It's fantastic to hear from you. Is the stupa a Nipponzan Myohoji one? What kind of meditation are you practicing?
rory
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
Chih-I:
The Tai-ching states "the women in the realms of Mara, Sakra and Brahma all neither abandoned ( their old) bodies nor received (new) bodies. They all received buddhahood with their current bodies (genshin)" Thus these verses state that the dharma nature is like a great ocean. No right or wrong is preached (within it) Ordinary people and sages are equal, without superiority or inferiority
Paul, Groner "The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture"eds. Tanabe p. 58
https://www.tendai-usa.org/
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Here is a photo from the puja we had celebrating the 20th anniversary of Shanti Stupa's inauguration here in Leh:
I'll be leaving Leh a few weeks ahead of my original schedule for Dharamsala.
Unfortunately, Leh is not suitable for meditation. I was told it was quiet. When I got here on August 31st the tourist season was in full swing and I was told come November the place would be silent, but this isn't the case at all. Almost no tourists now, but still during the day the army helicopters, planes, noise from the valley (drumming, renovations, parties, etc...) provide plenty of disturbing noise easily heard up on the mountain, and at night more often than not the hoards of dogs play capture the castle, sometimes with some dog barking right outside my window.
I'm disappointed, but what the hell, that's life. I was promised a silent place to meditate, but in reality the residential area in Tokyo I lived in was quieter.
I've managed to get a lot of readings done and had some insights as a result. I also have gotten -some- solid meditation done and progressed, but not to the extent I had hoped for.
So, December 7th I head for Dharamsala. I'll be there for maybe a month or so before going to Delhi to do some translation work at a temple there. If by chance anyone will be in Dharamsala, let's have Chai.
I'll be leaving Leh a few weeks ahead of my original schedule for Dharamsala.
Unfortunately, Leh is not suitable for meditation. I was told it was quiet. When I got here on August 31st the tourist season was in full swing and I was told come November the place would be silent, but this isn't the case at all. Almost no tourists now, but still during the day the army helicopters, planes, noise from the valley (drumming, renovations, parties, etc...) provide plenty of disturbing noise easily heard up on the mountain, and at night more often than not the hoards of dogs play capture the castle, sometimes with some dog barking right outside my window.
I'm disappointed, but what the hell, that's life. I was promised a silent place to meditate, but in reality the residential area in Tokyo I lived in was quieter.
I've managed to get a lot of readings done and had some insights as a result. I also have gotten -some- solid meditation done and progressed, but not to the extent I had hoped for.
So, December 7th I head for Dharamsala. I'll be there for maybe a month or so before going to Delhi to do some translation work at a temple there. If by chance anyone will be in Dharamsala, let's have Chai.
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Here are all the photos I uploaded if you want to see:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 65a348322b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 65a348322b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Nice pics Huseng!
- How foolish you are,
grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention!
- Vasubandhu
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Re: The wandering Huseng.
really interesting photos. I would love to visit India and the Himalayas myself one day... maybe when my family duties are done!
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Re: The wandering Huseng.
Thanks for sharing Huseng!
Re: The wandering Huseng.
So how much would renting a room and eating in Leh cost for a person who showed up not knowing anyone?
Kirt
Kirt
“Where do atomic bombs come from?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “That’s simple. Atomic bombs come from the mind that likes this and doesn’t like that.”
"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche
Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “That’s simple. Atomic bombs come from the mind that likes this and doesn’t like that.”
"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche
Re: The wandering Huseng.
To stay in a room at Shanti Stupa is 150 rupees, but the agreement includes that you're going to practice, not go sightseeing or smoke pot with your hippy friends playing guitar until all hours of the night (that used to happen apparently). There's no running water and you get an outhouse, but you'll have a room on the mountain.kirtu wrote:So how much would renting a room and eating in Leh cost for a person who showed up not knowing anyone?
Kirt
Guesthouses in town can run from 150 rupees for the cheapest room (you'll get a bucket of hot water for bathing) to much more expensive plush rooms in upscale joints. The tourist season is from spring until late September, when half of Leh looks like Thammel in Kathmandu. Many many options for rooms in guesthouses.
Leh is expensive because of its remoteness. A bowl of thukpa is anywhere between 50 to 80 rupees, with a plate of momos usually around 80 to 100 rupees.
The place is backpacker friendly, so coming on a tight budget is possible. I think with $10/day you could cover your room and board. There are buses to outlying areas like Chonglamsar (the Tibetan community, also where HHDL summer residence is located). Taxis are expensive. WiFi is available, and 70 rupees / hr on average. It is unreliable though.
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Re: The wandering Huseng.
What is the quietest place so far in India/Nepal where one could do retreat?
Nice pics btw. What are your new plans?
Nice pics btw. What are your new plans?
Re: The wandering Huseng.
If you want quiet, you need to get away from any roads or streets because on the subcontinent most automobiles and trucks are very loud and using the horn around ever corner and bend is considered polite.Clarence wrote:What is the quietest place so far in India/Nepal where one could do retreat?
Nice pics btw. What are your new plans?
I've come to the conclusion a cabin in the woods, anywhere in the world really, would be best.
Next year I might end up in Kathmandu with a teaching position at a Buddhist college. Failing that a PhD program in Shanghai.
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Re: The wandering Huseng.
Hi Venerable,
Congratulations on the ordination, nice haircut. Is there already a thread on your ordination? Since the search function is not working I can't find one. Do you have photos? Either way, congrats!
Congratulations on the ordination, nice haircut. Is there already a thread on your ordination? Since the search function is not working I can't find one. Do you have photos? Either way, congrats!
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Thanks.
Here's the other thread:
http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=12499
I have a few photos, but unfortunately they didn't turn out so well given the lighting inside the shrine room.
Here's the other thread:
http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=12499
I have a few photos, but unfortunately they didn't turn out so well given the lighting inside the shrine room.
Re: The wandering Huseng.
It's really good that this thread was bounced, I just discovered all your travel writing and the excellent pictures! Then I noticed these were all from 2011. Anyway it is very inspiring and I am full of admiration for your dedication.
'Only practice with no gaining idea' ~ Suzuki Roshi
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Fabulous, My last visit to India was in 2009. India is changing fast hurtling towards materialism.
Re: The wandering Huseng.
Yeah, it is. Especially in the big cities.greentara wrote:Fabulous, My last visit to India was in 2009. India is changing fast hurtling towards materialism.
Most young people I speak to (in English) just talk about economic development and money. I try to talk about history, art, religion or something else, and they have next to no interest.
Strangely a lot of people recognize this as problematic, but still carry on getting trained to become business experts or engineers with the hope of owning a home and car in the big city regardless of the effect it has on the environment. Fixing the environment is the government's responsibility, not that of the people.
Western consumer culture is new and appealing, perhaps even exotic to many people yet still possessing a degree of normalcy because of advertising and the media.
I think there will be a lot of disappointed people in the future nevertheless because technological and economic growth is coming to a halt and we can expect to see permanent recession as energy costs cripple economies.