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June 01, 2005

Why Nepal?

Why Nepal.

Nepal had been the final leg of my previous trip to Asia, an adventure of body and mind that had also led me to Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam over the course of six months. As hard as it is to pick a favorite anything, let alone country, Nepal topped my list due to its strikingly beautiful filthiness and greatest "otherness". I fell in love with its perfume of chaos.

My month in Nepal was spent entirely in the Kathmandu area doing the usual gawky touristy stuff but there was a particular period that stood out for its greatest "otherness" too.

That time was a ten day meditation course at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery called Kopan, situated in the foot hills overlooking the city.

Kopan had come recommended to me by a friend and in a spurt of spontaneity I decided to give it a whirl. By retreating to the hill top enclave I was more in search of a bit of peace and quiet than to study Buddhism. While being immersed in the basics of Buddhist philosophy, the most startling effect was how quickly and soundly I slept at night, a phenomena that had become more and more elusive as my travels progressed.

After the ten days were over I really wasn't too aware of exactly what it was that I had ingested but I knew I wanted more. It was similar to trying a new dish and even though you don't know exactly what it was you just ate, you still want a second helping.

An alluring after taste remained with me upon my return home, inspiring me to want to take part in Kopan's annual month long November course just as soon as I could get the money together to go back. So after a year and a half here I am for plate number two. And what a big plate it
is too.

Posted by DaveDTC at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)