By Lhundup Gyalpo
Buddha Purnima, the full moon day of the 4th month of the lunar Calendar, is celebrated as the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Lord Buddha. Of the many celebratory events that mark the day, one, in particular, is peculiar to Ladakh; the procession of Buddha’s scriptures. People carry thick and heavy volumes, usually wrapped in saffron cloth, over their heads and shoulders and tread across the rugged expanse of Leh town for almost a whole day!
Read moreBy Lhundup Gyalpo
A bunch of yellow and listless leaves rustled in a small eddy by the closed door. The wind blew in a melancholic whirl, whistling in a doleful hum. Nine thirty-two in the morning, the house was still dimly lit, bereft of light; a thick overcast kept the sun away in its sombre folds.
Read moreBy Priya Srivastava
Read moreBy Gauri Sharma
Read moreWritten by Divya Sharma
Read moreBy Shreyansh Pradhan
Written by Rinchen Angmo
Rainbow body. What could it possibly mean? I had often come across this term, without being able to fathom how one could logistically turn into a rainbow body. I’m no closer than I was, but I suppose I have given it some thought. After all, if we look close enough, we’re bound to notice the creation of rainbows in our everyday experience of the light and sound show called life.
Different schools of Tibetan Buddhism have their own terminology to express the Buddhist notion of emptiness. From what I understand, the Nyingma school expresses it in the form of a rainbow body.
Read moreWritten by Lungmying Lepcha
A brief analysis of the appearance of the Tibetan national flag in the song “Sadda Haq”.
Rockstar by Imtiaz Ali still remains a classic amongst all the cinephiles. We declare it the Indian or rather better version of Romeo and Juliet .
Read moreA poem written by Lungmying Lepcha
I am because
we are
(A quote inspired by Cholhamu Lepcha )
It’s within me “deep inside “
We are not known by our surname
but by our anum Chu (mountains) ,
anom and anum
Aungkyongsong (rivers)
our mother Rungyu and father Rungeet
our eldest brother Anum Kongchen (Mt Kanchenjunga) and
to all the clans connected
within us .
-Written by Rinchen Angmo
It’s been two years since my visit to Tashiding in Sikkim. Everytime I look back to that day, I feel grateful. And every now and then it’s important to reflect on all that one is grateful for.
Tashiding hill was visited and blessed by Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century A.D. The monastery itself was built on the site around the 17th century A.D. according to a few sources. Perched on a hilltop, Tashiding monastery is a blessed treasure. The road goes upto a certain extent, after which one has to walk on a beautiful stepped path leading to the monastery. On the day I visited, the sky was clear and beautiful. We made our prayers at the various lakhangs. Then, one of the monks conducted prayers for us and then we made kora (circumambulations) around the monastery premises. We also paid our respects to the rock where Yeshe Tsogyal, one of Guru Rinpoche’s primary students, had meditated.
Read moreWritten and photographed by Karma Negi.
Losar is the new year celebration in most parts of Kinnaur and Himalayan regions where there is an influence of Himalayan Buddhism. Losar breaks up into two words ‘Lo’ (Year) and ‘Sar’ (New). Every year it is celebrated according to the Tibetan calendar so it doesn’t fall on the 1st of January. The dates vary even amongst the regions that celebrate Losar.
In Kinnaur region, the Losar of Lippa is the most famous one; this year their losar was celebrated from 24th to 26th December. People from nearby places come to enjoy the three-day grand celebrations. Lippa is one of the biggest villages of Kinnaur. While travelling, we have to take a diversion from Akpa or Kiran Nallah on the National Highway 505. The village is a bit remote and reaching there is a task. The whole village is situated on a steep mountain, with a river flowing right below the village.
Written and photographed by Sonam Chhomo
When I first reached Srinagar, I did not expect my relatives to suggest a visit to a monastery. Most historical narratives do not talk about Buddhist archaelogical sites in Kashmir. As part of the itinerary for the first day, we decided to see the Harwan garden and Harwan monastery. Harwan is a village near Srinagar, about 21 kms away from the city. Harwan garden is quite similar to other gardens, the dam stretching towards Dachigam. On our way back, we began our journey to the monastery.
The journey to the monastery was difficult to navigate; we had to keep an eye on a small green-colored signboard that indicated the direction to the monastery. We parked our vehicle inside a narrow pathway which led to residences and shops in the area. The monastery, as I came to know later, was up on a mountain hidden like a gem. What we saw was not just a monastery or the ruins of the monastery as I would later know but ruins of a chaitya, a structure that we deemed as a residence, and a stupa like structure. In order to reach the first part of the site i.e. the ruins of chaitya, residence, and stupa like structure, we had to climb some 200 steps/stairs. While climbing the stairs and then turning my back to look at the majestic mountains, we could clearly understand why the monks had chosen the place as their abode of living and enlightenment. We could hear the birds chirping, the wind gushing, and the chinar leaves holding their spirit still as the leaves rustled. What a perfect place to meditate! What an immense pleasure it was to revel in that silence!
Written by Nawang Chhoetso
A folktale from Spiti.
As I recall, it’s a story of five birds. But a friend of mine insisted that there were more than five birds, however even she wasn’t clear about the details. So this story will be about the tale of 5 birds.
Like all other folktales from Spiti, this too starts with the sentence ” yoyo metuk”- I don’t know what this means but every folktale starts with this sentence followed by “yul jaga chenmo na” -( in a big village). And then the story follows.
Read more