Swayambhunath

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. This excerpt is about Kathmandu, Nepal.

Swayambhunath has SO MANY MONKEYS! Do not smile at ninja attack monkeys. Oh, yeah, it also has countless little reliquary stupas. And many merchants, but I still didn’t feel like shopping.

The Swayambhunath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, is up on a hill or small mountain. When Naresh the travel agent and I reached the top of the steps, guards in uniforms stood under a dark red archway reminiscent of the archways to Hindu temples in India.

After Naresh and I passed through the archway, straight in front of me was a round artificial pool, currently empty of water, above the center of which stood a gold Buddha statue on a gold lotus throne. I turned to the right, approaching the temple itself, which is extremely elaborate.

Swayambhunath has, if possible, more little reliquary stupas than the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. The small stupas are mostly dark stone in rows, some with red coloring (probably the kind of powder paint used for the third eye chakra or for throwing during the Hindu festival of Holi), and some with flower offerings. Here and there beyond these small stupas stand medium-sized whitewashed stupas, such as those at Boudhanath.