KATHMANDU: WAKING UP THE DIVINE WITHIN

January 17, 2024

After making our way across the border from India to Nepal, riding elephants & sleeping in a hut on an icy mountainside, we arrived in Kathmandu.

Prayer flag strand framed by pink bougainvillea blossoms with Kathmandu's mountains beyond.

Lisa had an old friend who owned a beautiful hotel, and because many of us were sick and having coughing fits, it was a good landing place for the first two days.

We were cold and tired from being on the road.

First priority: Hot showers – something that would be rare to come by, for a long time after that.

Silhouetted prayer flags on poles against a golden sky over the Kathmandu valley.

The following day, we went straight to the monastery where Lisa had worked for her Abbot friend years ago.

Sunrise light over a pagoda-roofed temple in Kathmandu, hazy mountains silhouetted beyond.

Lisa smiling as she hands a small item to Lama Kalsang, seated in his Kathmandu monastery room.

Lama Kalsang is a gentle giant, with a pure heart & radiant aura.

Lama Kalsang, in orange robes, examining a small item while a visitor sits across from him in a thangka-hung room.

We were so happy to finally meet him! His gracious attendants poured us some hot tea.

Lama Kalsang smiling, seated among red-and-gold Tibetan brocade wall hangings in his Kathmandu monastery room.

Monkey climbing overhead wires above a Kathmandu building strung with prayer flags

Afterward, we set out for the Swayambhu Stupa, a short walk from the monastery under the monkeys.

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu, its golden spire draped in prayer flags atop a green hillside.

Stupas are architectural structures that symbolize the pure nature of our heart.

Golden spire of Swayambhu Stupa in Kathmandu, painted with Buddha's eyes, prayer flags fanned out against blue sky.

They contain relics and are power places of positive benefit and merit. It’s where people come to make wishes & prayers – and do practices like meditation, calming the mind or becoming aware of the breath.

Woman with eyes closed sitting quietly, framed by bare tree branches in warm light.

At Swayambhu, you can see Buddhists, Hindus and people of other spiritual traditions spending time around this magical place.

Stone pathway lined with prayer wheels and colorful flags leading past white stupas at Swayambhu, Kathmandu.

There’s a long pathway around the Stupa. You can walk along it and make offerings, spin the prayer wheels or sit in contemplation. On the long pathway, it takes about an hour to walk around it.

At each turn, there is something new to discover.

Prayer flags fluttering ripples of positivity out into the air currents.

Women on the sidewalk selling garlands of fresh flowers.

Woman kneeling on a mat arranging orange marigold garlands for sale on a Kathmandu street

Colorful hand-carved stones with prayers.

I was especially in awe of the giant statues.

Golden bodhisattva statue in a jeweled crown, hands folded in prayer at Kathmandu's Swayambhu Stupa

And the huge incense burners with billowing, fragrant smoke. I bought Juniper, Cedar and Spikenard from a store with massive piles of aromatic herbal powders.

Person in a green jacket placing stones at the base of an ornately carved and painted shrine, a colorful temple building behind.

We dipped our hands into the bags of herbs and scooped out handfuls of powder to place into the incense burners.

Smoke rising from an ornate incense burner on a staircase, a colorful temple structure behind it.

I visualized the smoke going to all beings across space, bringing a sense of peace.

Three travelers smiling together before the golden Swayambhu Stupa dome and prayer wheels in Kathmandu

Wherever else we felt inspired, we made offerings of flowers. We sat in wonderment. We people-watched. We skipped along the path and spun the prayer wheels.

Two women reaching to spin large prayer wheels along a temple walkway in Kathmandu.

It struck me that this was missing in the West. A place to devote yourself to the purity of your own heart.

A place where anyone of any spiritual tradition could come and make offerings, or sit in silence, or acknowledge the sacredness of life. Or simply wish for – or reconnect to – the goodness in the world.

Though simple, these practices give such depth to the present moment. It allows us to sense how we can impact the world in ways that cannot be seen, only felt.

Painted Buddha wisdom eyes mural on a weathered wall, with orange marigold petals scattered on the ledge below.

If you feel moved to, make some kind of offering today.

Light a candle. Put a flower in a vase or bowl. Pour water on the Earth. Burn some herbs or incense. Dedicate it to awakening your own pure heart and rippling that out to all the beings you’re connected to.

Bowl of orange marigold offerings with a robed figure bowing in the background at Swayambhu Stupa