A Place for Inspiration
“The happiest man is he who
learns from nature the lesson of worship”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Often,
when a person settles in a location, one eventually becomes accustomed to his
or her surroundings and can easily become complacent. I am grateful to reflect
that, after almost three years living in Nepal, I still carry the same sense of
awe that I had when I first arrived. On more than one occasion, I have walked
down any road in Boudha with a friend or a colleague and wondered how strange
and incredible it is that I (or we) landed here. This sense of awe is
especially apparent when I walk with somebody who has never seen Boudha or
Nepal before, for through fresh eyes can we revitalize our experience of the
world.
Life in Nepal provides a number of
opportunities for students, but the most promising of those opportunities are
the people we meet and the places we go to find inspiration. At RYI, we have a
supportive community, and have the opportunity to work closely with our
brilliant professors who push us to develop our skills. As a second-year MA
student currently working on his thesis, I also have the opportunity to travel
to an incredibly beautiful location to further my research and dive into the
mighty Himalaya that have inspired so many in the past. As the American
transcendentalists have expressed, to view nature with unbridled eyes is a form
of worship, and the landscape that one views is the temple. This is certainly
true within the Sacred Himalayan Landscape where stupas and gompas scattered
throughout the landscape remind us of the spirits who dwell deep within their
mountain abodes, or in the streams of fresh glacial water, or in an ancient
pipal tree. I am grateful that my work and research takes me to the temple I
cherish most. Above pictured is my place of inspiration: the Kyanjin Stupa sits
before Langtang Lirung, the mighty Dharma Protector of the Langtang Valley,
Rasuwa District, Nepal.
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