Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Monkey Temple, Swayambhunath, sight seeing part two

Above, the reason they call it the Monkey Temple.

Monkeys are all over this area.

Look at my story, The One-Eyed Monkey of Swayambhu,

for the history of the Monkey Temple.





Prayer Wheels inscribed with 'Om ma ni pad me hum,' which means

'a jewel in a lotus.'

It is the prayer for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

Buddhists are praying for our enlightenment constantly.

These wheels are filled with scrolls of prayers

which repeat the mantra thousands of times.


Guruda (looks like a bird)

Nag Kanya (snake women with snakes on her head)

Buddhas of compassion, medicine and meditation.

These are a few of the aspects of Buddha.

Tourists and worshipers circumambulate the stupa

praying and rotating prayer wheels.

The wheels rotate clockwise,

the pedestrians circle clockwise,

a conch shell spirals in on itself clockwise;

it is the divine direction

and symbolizes the blessedness of turning to the right.

Do the right thing!

The stupa at the top of Swayambhunath is having a face lift.



These are the compassionate eyes of Buddha. In a moment of triumph you might take your prayer flags to a high and holy place and share prayers for peace and enlightenment with the world.

10 comments:

  1. my dad loved kathmandu but found the aging hippy relics (as he called them) a distraction. he couldn't put together what they were waiting for. i'm so grateful for these pics that open out the city a little more for me in my own imagining! steven

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  2. I am fascinated with prayer wheels.

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  3. Sitting here working at my computer, it is a wonderful experience to be transported for a few moments to a different and exotic place by your photos, and to ponder my possibilities to visit there one day.

    I need more lives!

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  4. I'm so glad that you are experiencing this with me. It is exactly what I was hoping for. If you would like to go with me in person, send me an email. I don't expect to go again for about a year. If you are going over on your own, let me know if I can send some books with you.

    I just reposted because blogger kept cutting the words off. Don't forget to click on the photos for more details. The right hand side of the photos seems to be missing.

    Peace!

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  5. I agree with Miss Footloose...it's an amazing journey to take from my desk! I'm amazed by all the ornate detail everywhere. It is absolutely beautiful!

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  6. I also agree with Miss Footloose - it is so uplifting to take a spiritual visit to a place so far away. I love the prayer flags.
    Take a look at my Blog today for another interesting historical journey.
    Blessings, Star

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  7. More people on this side of the planet need to pray for enlightenment. Too many are worshiping the HiDef Big Screen One-Eyed Monster that lives in their house. Too many more are making decisions on how to spend a lot of money that isn't theirs. ENLIGHTENMENT please.

    Love the pictures and the info on that beautiful, fragile place.

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  8. I am enjoying these posts so much. And these photos, the monkey and the prayer wheels, beautiful. I am envisioning myself there with you. I'm going to keep that up. I've already started saving.

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  9. I love these pots, I'm falling in love with Nepal. Butternut, you may have a second career here. Leading your blog followers on a trip to Nepal!

    An interesting word verification here: ofered - offered?!

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  10. Just realized the pics of these prayer wheels are identical to the earrings you sell!

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