walking – chanting

The Buddhists turn around the Stupas clockwise. The Muslims always turn against the clock. Where does it come from? Knowing that the earth turns east it seems, that the Moslems have the right direction. But this is a way of looking on or into it. Facing the planet from outside, from the univers, with the face looking at our globe as we see it in the map, then the planet turns to the right – means against the clock. But knowing there is no up and down…. we could also look from the univers, looking at our planet with the south ‚up‘, then the planet turns clockwise – to the ‚left’……… I am a bit confused imagening as a human being, looking as a human towards different directions from the univers. Sometimes I look standing on the planet facing north or south, on the northern or southern hemisphere…. imagining the sun circling that confuses me even more…. also two different circles….. hihihi

Before reaching Hemis monastery another huge stupa appears on the horizon. You can also walk on it, with lot of corners, but different to others in that way, that there is a room below, a big hall, and a small room on top with a sand mandala in the center. All the building is a great ’sand‘ mandala, but not flat as a sand mandala, kind of blown up with space inside, nearly like a globe. (If  that globe would be the earth, a walker on top of the stupa would/could be the a circling planet or sun. Knowing that the earth is in fact circling the walker could be, while walking the still standing sun, while the earth beyond him is turning….. (I hope I don’t confuse you… hihihi)). Anyway, here was held last year (2016) the Kump Mela, a Buddhist gathering to honour ‚Naropa‘ millennium. From now on it will held again every 12 years.
200 elevation meters higher the famous and rich Hemis monastery. If you talk with people about Hemis, the very first or second comment is, uuuuhhh, they have a lot of money. After lunch at a restaurant below I asked at the monastery, if I could stay as a peace pilgrim for two night for free, by invitation….. Actually I ended up at the ticket office with two young monks. First of all, if I want to enter a monastery I think of seeing and feeling the energy of a place, where people pray. Also I am happy to exchange my energy in that place. So it’s receiving, what’s already there and giving, what I can contribute. For that holy act I expect a free entrance. So I came again in conflict with the both young men, who are actually kind of misused to be cashier’s. I also asked them to call someone responsible for the request I had for the guest house. But they just turned there head back again to somehow a important conversation having with each other….. I did come not to the idea to make a sitting strike, waiting for them to be ready to have a mindful conversation, or forcing them to call someone else, to adress my request…..
So after some try’s I turned around. Outside in the mountains they build a beautiful golden Buddha. He is sitting under the fresh air surrounded only by the elements. Even seeing him from down is already so beautiful. Walking up I turned again around a stupa and later around the Buddha. There is a feeling in my belly from this conversation or non-conversation and I have to diguest it before I continue. So I sit down at the Buddha to understand what that all means…. For sure I will not sleep here and stay the day after here to see another monastery 300m further up….. I also feed the donation box here….. The feeling kind of gets diguested. …. I see some more Stupas little further away, get there, circle with ‚om mani padme om‘ and find nearly no end…. I see a smaller golden ‚Tara‘ sitting also outside on a rock, get closer, beautiful…… and then finally leave the area….. down to Karu. …. on the way again so many stupas and mani-walls (where people brought there in stone hammered om mani padme hum mantra) hundreds of meter and km long walls.

The house in Karu, which I choose is under full renovation, but the whole village again is a army base, so I ask at this ‚only‘? privat place which I can find very close to a small power station at the Indus. But it’s no problem to stay here. Some more workers build a green house. One side a stone wall, the side towards the sun will be covered with plastic. All houses in Ladakh have the ‚magic‘ „Zampa“. Zampa is done from barley. It is a fine wheat now, and roasted. With nearly every tea Zampa is consumed with it. A half full spone Zampa directly in the mouth or mixed in the tea. The tea is done from black tea with milk and salt. Often also with butter in it. It can happen often, that the butter got a bit old, but that makes the tea for the Tibetans of Ladakhies even more tasty, it seems. A variation is the butter tea with milk and sugar. I don’t like the butter tea, because I don’t like black tea at all and also I don’t eat sugar. So I always ask for hot water. But Zampa is really my thing. Because in most houses ‚muesli‘, a kind of porrage is not known, Zampa is a good alternate in the morning, mixed with what ever is avaible. Gunsang, the 20year old daughter of the house has a kilo of Zampa next morning ready for me, good food for the mountain areas with no houses.
My sandals make me another proplem. The shoemaker put two layers of rubber into the sandals under my hills, because I walked that area down and a plastic close to my angles started to hurt. But the rubber is not really to big and the sides of the rubber are kind of sharp. Gunsang brings me a knife, which I sharpen at the stone stairs to round the edges. I little operation, but successful.

I am busy with the happenings in all the monasteries and the non-exchanges with the monks. To build a stupa I can’t work with monks, who don’t want to communicate with ‚usual‘ people. There is a kind a hierarchy in the Buddhist system, what I never really liked. The monks and the nuns, the lay men and lay women. In some traditions the hierarchy is monks, then lay men, nuns and lay women….. I believe that the monks and nuns have to integrate and transfer the complete knowedge to the people. If there is a ritual, the monks and nuns have to prepare a space within the lay people can have the same full spiritual experiences than the „educated non-lays“. The monks and nuns have more time to study, that I know, but they have the duty to transmit the essence fully, who wants to recieve….. and there are lay people who have the full capacity to understand the full teachings and reach also enlightenment. If especially monks thinks or behave in a way, that there only know everything better, and the way of giving and receiving is only from monks to lay people, I can’t agree and can’t work with them together.
So I start to think of alternates. I know that we did a very good job, about 10 or 12 years ago, to initiate or re-initiate the light temple in Angeln close to Flensburg/Hamburg in north Germany with and by toning prayers. And I kind of know, everything worked very fine. So, can we build a stupa by our own?!? Can we initiate a multispiritual stupa even?!? ………..
Can we powerfully initiate a place of worship for peace?!!!? By the work of harmonic singers, sound healers and toning and sound prayers?!!!! I guess we can?!!!!

I am here and there stopped by some people who search for an Italian guy. He is missed since 3 to 4 days. A hiking group of 5 had a afternoon tea in the mountains while one of them just wanted to walk a bit around. But this guy, maybe a little bit older, did not come back. The 4 searched and searched but could not find no 5. Finally they went to Leh. Now a team of 21 tries to find no 5. The hope is still there, the last night’s have not been to cold. Injured, lost or worst???

In Muri my attention comes to a house, some busy people around. Two monks leaving the house when I come closer. The grandfather of the house died 4 days before and is still in one of the rooms. But again, whatever happens, the Ladakhies are happy to invite a stranger without hesitation. The house is busy with visitors  and preparations. 12 monks will come the next day to celebrate again. 500 candles need to be done and prepared for example. From wool the 500 wicks has to be rolled. Food need to be cocked…… The monks come all from Hemis monastery. And 4 days later the grandfather will be burned on the property.
Like this house, even while having a quite big house, has no own wash room. There is a outside toilett and washing is somehow also outside in the creek.