Boudhanath Stupa

I visited India and Nepal for the first time on a Buddhist pilgrimage led by Shantum Seth in 2007. The following is from my 2008 trip to India, Nepal, and Tibet.

Smaller stupas at Boudhanath

In the morning Naresh and a driver first took me to the Boudhanath Stupa, which Samaya had told me is “full of spiritual energy.” I agree whole-heartedly. I truly enjoyed Boudhanath and sensed the energy that Samaya had mentioned, though I would have preferred live chanting instead of the recorded New Age-ish “Om mani padme hum” chant I could hear presumably coming from a merchant’s booth or shop.

After the Bluebird car stopped on the crowded street, we walked past many tall buildings and many people. We entered a colorful, elaborate gate reminiscent of the gate to a Shiva temple in India, or the Chinatown gate in San Francisco (or any city that features a Chinatown gate).

Returning to the gate from Boudhanath — and look at those tigers! Too bad I didn’t feel like shopping.

Straight ahead stood the Boudhanath Stupa.

After all that rain and grayness the previous day, the sky was blue at last and the sun was shining. That combined with the spiritual energy of the stupa lifted my spirits. Plus I no longer felt discombobulated — my virus might not be entirely gone, but I was getting better.