Yesterday I crossed the border to Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. The place is old as sin. There were tons of monastery ruins dating back to B.C.E. and thousands of tattered prayer flags. Apparently the Buddha knew that after his death people would want to make pilgrimages to his birthplace (below) and somehow it was arranged for there to be a marker stone on the exact spot he was born.
I stayed for free at the Korean Monastery on the recommendation of a South Korean girl named Ashok who I shared a taxi with. It was one of many truly stunning Buddhist temples identified by the nationality of its builders, just like in Kusinagar. Unfortunately, though, I didn’t wake up in time for morning meditation (4am) or even breakfast (5am) with the monks.
2 comments:
That's really nice of the Korean monks to put people up for free. What was the place like?
Very spacious, actually, but with spartan accommodations. They had cold water bucket showers and roll out mats with no sheets. The place was immaculately clean though. Interestingly, they had a no drinking, drugs, card playing, singing, or dancing sign on the door.
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