The relations between Buddhism, Hinduism and Champa

I have just arrived in Vietnam, I took a yak-drawn cart and then walked with a few other travelling monks and merchants along the way. They have been very helpful guiding me in my direction. I stayed at one of the traveller’s huts, his name…

Death in the Village

This week has been very sad for our village as an elder has died. A man I always knew as Crazy Uncle was found dead by…

Approaching Death

RLG206: Journal Entry #3

Rebecca Vinci

March 16th, 2015

Life has been excellent since Losar, indeed we have been reaping the benefits of what our good merit has brought us, and have not taken a single moment for granted…

Death of a Hermit

A local hermit who lives in a nearby cave passed away last night. We all called him Crazy Uncle. He was quiet and kept to himself mostly. Nobody really knows what he has been doing in his cave for the past few decades, but some speculate that he practised Tantra. As a community, we must decide…

March 18 Blog

Following the New Year Festival, I decided that there was still so much for me to experience in Lhasa separate from the grand celebrations. I wish to immerse myself even further into the daily life of this incredible capital. I look forward to not only marveling at the inspiring murals of the multiple temples…

A Moment of Silence for Crazy Uncle…

After a week full of New Year celebrations, we were all back to our regular schedules of the nunnery. It was a typical morning with meditation classes and then followed by lessons from Dharma. We were learning about the eight auspicious symbols for our next craft class, when we got the…

Chodrak Dawa: Thoughts on the Death of Crazy Uncle

Hello again,

I am so glad to have received your letter. I was in a meditation session when a kind traveler delivered it to me. The news you revealed to me was so surprising! I never had the chance to encounter him personally, but I have heard some…

Within a ball’s distance

I was in the midst of pouring the po cha that I had made for Pala and myself into the ceramic cups that one of our neighbours had gifted us for Losar when I heard a noise that made me drop the saucepan I was holding. Pala got up too, and not just because I had spilled boiling butter…

New Years Celebrations Chodrak Dawa

Greetings to all,

I apologize for the lack of communication on my part lately. It has proven to be more difficult than anticipated to get my letters to you, as I have not been in a single place for more than a day at a time. As I mentioned…

The Arrival of the New Year!

The time has finally crept up on us, where one bids farewell to the past year, and welcomes the arrival of a new one! One can sense the anticipation and excitement amongst the townspeople during this time of the year. Although the arrival of the new year can be seen as a form of…

Disposition 10

Written in the letter was a description of how my parents were and how my aunty was excited that I was coming over to Thailand to…

New Year, new me ?

New Year is almost here!

To those who don’t know what Tibetan New Year, Losar, is I want to begin by explaining some of the basic outlines of the celebration before I get into how myself and the rest of the village prepared for the welcoming of a new year. Losar, is…

RIP Uncle Crazy

I feel very saddened to hear about the death of our fellow villager- the hermit most of us knew as our ‘crazy uncle’. Many years ago, I did know this man. He was one of the most fascinating people I have ever known. He taught so much without ever being my formal teacher. It was as though his…

My letter back to village about Crazy Uncle’s death