RYI STUDENT BLOG

Budhanilkantha Temple lies on the northern side of Kathmandu valley, just below the Shivapuri hill. The temple is associated with the Hindu god, Bishnu. A Bishnu statue of about 3m height in a sleeping position is the main attraction for people. The statue is wholly made out of stone and depicts the god, Bishnu with his four arms sleeping on the serpent-couch. The origin of the temple is yet unknown and unclear. But a famous myth tells that the present day temple was actually a field owned by a old guy named Nilkantha. While plouging the field, the second finger of the right feet of the statue was cut and blood started seeping out. After digging deep, the statue was excavated. The name Budhanilkantha was kept in accordance to the guy who found the statue. The temple houses a gurukul where the students are taught Sanskrit. The daily aarati of the statue that takes place two times a day, in the morning and evening is done by the young student of the gurukul. It seems th...

Living in Boudha, the Tibetan neighborhood of Kathmandu, and studying at RYI, a very international community, one can sometimes become a little disconnected from the greater context of this unique country of Nepal. Kathmandu is a big city that attracts people from everywhere who want and need to make a fortune, people live in big houses in small expensive apartments, just like in all the big cities around the world. And of course there is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I feel like I am living in some kind of parallel society, a bubble of RYI students from around the world, including Nepal, and some loose contacts to the shop keepers, restaurant owners, monks and beggars with whom I’ve been sharing the neighborhood for the last couple of years. That’s why I like to spend at least my reading weeks (a one week holiday that we get once every semester) in the countryside. Be it trekking in one of the many valleys in the region, or be it just hanging out in one of the little towns ...

A F ulfilling Experience It is said that the Stupa at Boudhanath, Kathmandu, has the power of fulfilling all the wishes and aspirations one makes in front of it. However, for me the mere fact of living here, next to the stupa, somehow represents already an accomplishment of my wishes of having a meaningful life. Here, the environment is pervaded by the spiritual life of the people, with their gestures and expressions. For instance, every single day there are hundreds of people circumambulating the stupa. People from all over the world join together in venerating this holy place. Some of them come from foreign countries excited about seeing this monument for the first time; some others arrive walking from the Himalayas, after a long pilgrimage, just to see the Stupa once in their lives; others spend the whole day doing prostrations in front or around the Stupa; and even others just want to live nearby to be blessed every day. Not only that, but also the whole area has pl...

The Lonely Mango or ‘How to share a terrace with three dogs, cockroaches, ants and other little critters and experience Boudha with eyes and ear, nose and mind.’ August 2014. Close to Boudha, on a roof, a 5th floor, between monasteries, views, a panoramic view, the Kathmandu valley view. Green hills, grey sky, green-grey, lead-grey, silver-grey, black-grey, dark  blue-grey. Light blue holes within the clouds allow a moment to realize infinity. It is the rainy season. The scent of sandalwood, cinnamon, patchouli, cloves and undefined herbs, drifting smoke, deep-fried  pastries, vegetable fried rice mixed with the odour of urine and burning trash are passing my sense of  smell. Peals of bells, garlings, couch shell trumpets and drumming noises swirl through the air, adding to the chanting of  monks and nuns. Birds are screaming, babies crying, dogs barking. One neighbour’s water pipe is  running and running and running....The bladder is calling. ...

For those readers who have never been here, Boudhanath (or Boudha) is hosting one of the world's biggest stupa, an amazing monument; blinding white, compact, it contains Buddhist relics and it takes 5 minutes to circumambulate it ("making kora") — as most local devotees (a mixed crowed of Nepali, Tibetans and even Westerners) use to do daily. It lies about 11 km from the center of Kathmandu.  The neighborhood grew exponentially in the past 30 years so that what used to be a remote place lost in the fields is now a part of Kathmandu city. But even so, I have this strange impression to travel back in time everyday, during my 10 minutes walk to school. I find myself in a medieval Asian village.  I once had a book of drawings depicting ancient times Japanese craftsmen, sitting on the floor, busy with their task, their body folded in a very peculiar pose. In Boudha, as in the whole Kathmandu valley, they still make metal sculpture with a traditional method called ...

We had been studying over a semester at RYI when we received an unexpected proposition: to acquire a Salsa dance voucher, an opportunity to take regular lessons for one month in a Latin American dance studio, here in Kathmandu.  We agreed and very soon, we were in possession of a creased piece of paper, which had obviously gone through many hesitant hands before coming to ours. Perhaps Buddhist students were not up to such kind of distraction?  Along with that, our benefactor gave us thorough instructions about how to reach the studio by public transport. The white bus to Krishna cinema, cross the bridge, then the yellow bus, pass the American, Russian and Chinese embassy, step off at the European Bakery, buy delicious cream roll, walk 10 minutes and here you are. I was a bit anxious: how would the rather small Nepali react to this six feet tall giant Swiss girl? Wouldn't it be embarrassing if my dance partner had to face my cleavage or break his neck to look into...

You have probably noticed that living in Nepal is somewhat different from living somewhere in the civilized world.  Aside from the usual things you need to take care of – such as finding dwelling of suitable size and cost, in Nepal you need to solve many other issues.  For example, over half of the year, electricity comes and goes, though it mostly goes.  Therefore, you have no light, no internet, and no electric devices for up to 16 hours a day.  Studying with a candle light is inconvenient and unhealthy for one’s eyes.  Second, it is not easy to find rent of the quality and size that suits a family of 2 people. For our first year in Boudha we found an amazing acclimatization solution.  The Rokpa Guesthouse had just opened in Boudha, offering very attractive introduction rates for studio apartments.  There was electricity backup, internet and they took care of evacuation of the garbage and of ordering gas and water.  It was so convenient...

As most people know the temperature in Kathmandu can be a bit chilly during the months of December and January.  Although it is mostly warm and sunny during the day, the temperature during the night can approach the freezing point.  The houses have no insulation and most of the windows are well suited for the rapid exchange of air between inside and outside. I can say that I have been enjoying a rather cool climate in my room over the last weeks, which benefited me in many ways.  Although I don’t have a fridge I was able to keep cheese and other types of perishable food without any problems at all.  I furthermore found out that the mind is very clear at lower temperatures and my studies processed unusually well.  Many Tibetan words that I have not managed to memorize for quite some time all of a sudden stayed in my mind as if it were too cold for them to remain outside. Needless to say, a cold room can sometimes also be annoying.  I would there...

The months of March/April are a really nice time to be in Nepal. The temperature in the last weeks has been on average 27 degrees Celsius throughout the day and thus the field trip organized by the shedra was a very much welcomed change of the schedule. The main destination of the two busses filled with students that left Boudha at 8:00 in the morning, was Namo Buddha.  This very important Buddhist pilgrimage site is related to one of the marvelous deeds performed by Buddha Shakyamuni in the lifetime directly preceding his enlightenment. It is said that the Buddha, at that time a young prince, after having seen a starving tigress that was unable to provide its cubs enough food, out of pure empathy and altruism, created a wound in his arm from which the tiger could drink to recoup her strength and then gave his entire body to the tigress, and was devoured. On the way to Namo Buddha one passes the actual campus of the Kathmandu University (KU) in Dulikhel and we used that oc...