RYI STUDENT BLOG

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. ...

Every time a semester ends at RYI, I feel especially joyous. One reason  is that I have a sense of strength in my abilities to survive one more semester  with its exams and to learn many profound key points of Buddhist philosophy  and practice. Another reason is that I get to reward myself with some free time  to spend either in Nagi Gompa or Asura hermitage. These two holy places have  become my prominent get away from hussle-bustle of the city. Having these two  getaways has been a key part of my experience in Nepal the last six years. The first time I came up to Nagi Gompa to attend Chokyi Nyima  Rinpoche’s retreat I completely fell in love with the beautiful scenery, warm  atmosphere and of course the amazing nuns. Above Nagi Gompa is Shivapuri  peak, an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists, because Kashyapa the  previous Buddha visited the high top of the mountain where he cut his hair as a  sign of renouncing t...

Every year, starting on the 8 th day of the 12 th lunar month in the Tibetan calendar—which usually falls in late January or early February—a nine-day ‘drubchen’ is performed at Nagi Gompa according to the Ngakso (Ocean of Amrita) sadhana belonging to the Chökling Tersar collection. These are the new terma texts discovered by the tertön, or "treasure revealer", Terchen Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, a great Nyingma master of the 19th century. Some blog-readers may wonder: “What is Nagi Gompa? What is a drubchen?” Nagi Gompa is a beautiful nunnery located high above Kathmandu, lying in the midst of the jungles of the Shivapuri National Park.   Nagi is an hour’s drive by taxi or about three hours by foot from Boudhanath. To reach the nunnery, one can climb the pleasant path of the natural reserve or, if you prefer, taxi up on the bumpy unpaved road. If one decides to take a taxi up to the nunnery, one must officially enter the park by way of the big front gate, sign in ...

Upper Temple Hall, Nagi Gompa I first encountered Nagi Gompa, a nunnery in the Shivapuri National Park at the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley, three years ago, during Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s seminar.  It was love at first sight, and since then, an unending affair.  This is so for many reasons: the kindness and holiness of the nuns; the spectacular views of the valley; the clean air, and the great trekking trails to the top of Shivapuri and down to Boudha.  In the long run, this place is one of the most important reasons for me to stay in Nepal. Nagi Gompa was the seat of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, a renowned Dzogchen master who passed away in 1996.  He was the father of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche.  Many of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s foreign students continually came to visit him and stay for some time.  This why now there are rooms available for the steady flow of foreigners coming here.  Other of his students built their own retreat places. ...