Twitter
Yesterday I woke up to the sound of a photography crew doing a shoot in the midst of the new riad I’m staying at. The owner, Hassan Hajjaj, is a Moroccan artist and photographer living in London most of his time. He was making foto’s with Hindi Zahra, a Paris based Moroccan singer who just signed up with the Blue Note label.
Just listened to Hindi’s music, it’s great - check out http://www.myspace.com/zahrahindi
When I was in my twenties I backpacked a lot - through Asia and Latin America. Pokhara is a real backpackers haven in the middle of Nepal - and a set-off point for trekking the popular Anapurna trail. At first sight, not much has changed in the scene of long-term tourists on a budget. Except that many of the new generation of twenty-somethings are here to work, combining their holidays with idealistic purposes. There are thousands of volunteer jobs in the world that attract young people to invest part of their free time in doing something for others.
Yvonne (29) from Switzerland, whom I met at Kopan, invited me to stay with her a couple of days in Pokhara. She works here at a street kids project as a volunteer.
Lodru Palmo was born and raised in Sweden. She was extremely shy. She decided to become a filmmaker and observe others, but that didn’t really work out for her. At 28, she was introduced to the lifestyle of yoga and meditation: -’I discovered another world, an inspiration inside. Going into secluded and silent retreats became my life – for over 30 years.’
On her last night at Kopan monastery, our meditation teacher Lodru Palmo tells our group her life story: ‘I could have never imagined speaking about my life like this before, but now I feel strong and very happy to be able to. I have overcome my shyness.’
(more…)
After 10 long days of monastery life and Buddhist teachings at Kopan, I was pretty curious about the hundreds of monks that spend most their lives here studying. Fortunately, I found Thubten Jinpa (29) willing to tell me about his studies and becoming a monk.
His father brought Jinpa to Kopan when he was 10 years old. Buddhist families try to put up one or two of their children in a monastery, as they then earn them merits, for better karma. And, more importantly, it offers children a chance of education at a very high level.
(more…)
Just a few minutes ago Corinne called me. She told me she had expected to have more time left in Nepal to post the portraits of the people she met during her retreat. However, due to unexpected travelling in order to catch a flight and some problems having internet access (the electricity in the local internet café broke down), she is not able to post new stories.
At least… not yet. In a few days, she will arrive on her new (Dis)location: Hong Kong. As soon as Corinne has checked in to her ‘wired’ hotel room in Hong Kong, she will post the stories and pictures of the people she met in the Tibetan Monastery.
Any recommendations for Hong Kong? Please post your tips in a comment below.
In the meanwhile, have a look at her Flickr site for pictures she made so far.
‘Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news’ – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
In Buddhism there is a big emphasis on being in ‘the now’. What happened yesterday didn’t happen in ‘the past’ but in the ‘now’ of yesterday. So why let yourself be dragged by thoughts, like a bull being pulled by a nose ring? When taken to extremes, thinking of a past you cannot change or planning for a future that you may not be able to realise, becomes compulsive behaviour. Especially for a busy westerner like me!
Photo: attending a puja ceremony in the main temple at Kopan. Here, the monks gather to chant and pray together.
Recent Comments