Blog Entries November 5 and 26
Blessed News Upon our Humble Village November 5
Impossibly, the good fortune of our village has increased once more as news just arrived that a previously uncharted and restricted area in the Mustang region is now accessible. I suppose the events of the recent hailstorm that shook our village created at least one positive outcome. I am thrilled to announce that I along with some of the other villagers have banded together to form an Expedition crew to venture into the now accessible caves that are said to have been sealed from the world for over 2000 years! I cannot believe our luck that such a momentous event would happen in my lifetime in relative proximity to our humble settlement.
The Mustang region in the Himalayan mountains is famous for its beautifully carved cliffs and it is believed that there are many ancient and sacred areas that have been untouched by humanity for so long. While some have been accessible over the generations; many have been looted or converted into habitable spaces or monasteries. I cannot imagine what we will find in the caves that have only just uncovered but I sincerely hope that our journey will not leave us empty handed for there is a strong possibility that we may not be able to access certain areas once inside. I look forward to the possibility of gaining new insight of our way of life that our ancestors preserved for us to find. Not only to I hope to find sacred teachings and texts but also paintings, sculptures , or anything that can help me to progress my path as an artist.
While this journey will be an incredible experience, I am no fool and am well aware of the dangers and obstacles that we will face. Those who are venturing with me have discussed their research on the terrain especially the high magnitude at which the caves are situated. While we do have some climbing experts , we may invite some shurpas from the neighboring village that we helped with the naga illness to help those who are not adept and will require assistance. I have the ability to climb however I fear that I will be unfit to climb on my own so in the new few weeks I plan to seek out the aid of the adepts and the shurpas so that I am not too much of a hindrance during the expedition. My mother is confident in me as she said that my youth and health will give me great advantage but I know that she holds an underlying uncertainty for my quest into the unknown. It will be difficult leaving her for such a long time as we do not know how long or how far this journey will take us but I know that this is something that I must do for not only my village but also my personal spiritual journey.
In my youth , my father would entertain me with tales of the nine mysterious and sacred temples and how most were impossible to venture to . He always pondered at the reasoning of those who came before who would create such places in remote locations for none to explore for thousands of years. Was that there plan all along for the path to only become accessible at this time . Even now, I question the significance of the timing of such an incredible uncovering of our ancient past. The possibility of new knowledge and insight is very attractive as it has the potential to reaffirm our traditions but can also lead us to question everything that we have ever known. Regardless of what we find , I cannot wait to experience the work of the ancients especially if it can bring us even closer to achieving the Eight fold Path.
I have heard of other successful expeditions of the past to the accessible caves and was in awe when beautifully detailed murals were found adorning the ancient walls of the cave or the expertly crafted sculptures and countless offerings. However, due to exposure, vandalism, and looting ; the integrity of such priceless pieces were severely damage and so I look forward to the potentiality of untouched paintings, and undamaged sacred texts and offerings that are only now available to us.
No doubt it will be a trying journey for all of us as we have consulted with maps of the region to not only become familiar with the terrain but also estimate our travel time. We have established that it will be a seven day journey but who knows how long we will be on site especially when there is the probability to find and explore so much. I hypothesize that this will not be our only trip to the cave as others will wish to visit such sacred grounds once they hear of our success. There are quite a few of us, twelve in total with a variety of useful skill sets which have no doubt eased my trepidation as we seem to be quite equipped and able. We have all agreed to map out, record the happenings of our travels, and also catalog the contents of the cave to make things smoother for future trips.
While I am but a humble artist, I will make use of my limited ritual skills to offer protection to our group as well as my knowledge of Buddhist art practices especially when we ( hopefully) uncover ancient art and artifacts. Many have been gracious to provide resources of thick winter clothing as much of the journey will be in colder terrain , medicine, amulets, climbing tools. I have donated food resources and some gold to aid in the expenses of the expedition. It will definitely be a challenge travelling on foot as I have heard that the level of snow can become quite tumultuous so we must always proceed with caution and stay together at all times as we journey into the unknown.
Needless to say, I will be anxiously awaiting the day in which we take our leave of our humble and safe village into the mysterious depths of the Mustang region.
November 26
It was the break of dawn as I opened my eyes, eager with anticipation. The day had finally arrived! After weeks of preparation and culminating a multitude of essential resources ; we were ready to begin our journey to the mysteries of the Mustang region. Equipped with prayer flags and prayer offerings from Simay that promote prosperity ,goodwill and safety , we left our village into the unknown. Everyone came forward with the tools and supplies essential to ensuring a safe journey including maps with description of the terrain from Ashwin, medicine and protective amulets from our doctor Chodak, and iron tools for safe climbing and travel especially in colder climates from Gibran.
My arrival to the congregation of fellow explorers was met with the contented sounds of our Yaks enjoying their meal of barley and buckwheat while the shurpas were helping them into the constraints that would enable them to pull our carts of supplies safety. Before long, everything was in order and we departed but not without receiving our protective amulets from Chodak who led the mantra that would enable the protection from the demonic snake Klu, “protect the body, speech and mind, these three, of the one who wears this against all harms caused by snakes. Soon we were enveloped in the thick incense of juniper that is said to protect us from evil spirits and encourage positivity.
Our group was in good spirits on the first day as we were making good time and the weather was very pleasant with the suns rays warming us as we ventured into a thick and vibrant forest. Shortly after we left, we met a friendly hunter named Shodak who gracelessly offered his knowledge on the geography of the area and another member was added to our group. I listened as he told Stephen of the ones who came before, 18, 000 years ago to be exact . It is believed that the Bon people took refuge in the multitude of caves found in the Mustang region to protect themselves from hostile neighboring groups. Such ideas were reinforced when modern excavations discovered skeletal remains that carbon dated over 2000 years! To get a glimpse of their culture from the interior of the caves would be incredible!
Our spirits dampened considerably on the fourth day as we began our difficult task of scaling the cliff side to access the caves that rested at the top. The sherpas went ahead to ensure that conditions were stable to proceed and also to create anchors for the harnesses to support everyone, especially those less adept at climbing. We congregated one last time before commencing as Rory offered a protective prayer for all of us and we also set the Prayer flags to ensure our continued safety. Another ritualist stayed behind to maintain the important smoke ritual of good will. As we approached the cliff , I prayed that I would be strong enough to succeed and not become a hindrance to my fellow explorers. I also hoped that my rather rushed lessons on how to climb effectively did not go to waste. The temperature continued to drop the further we climbed and soon enough we had to break for the night at a plateau. We were halfway there and I was utterly exhausted as I am sure everyone else was but I knew that there was a great purpose behind us and our efforts would not be in vain. Dawn soon came and by the end of the next day we reached the top of the mountain but not without difficulty as the bitter cold and wind wore us down ; never had I ever been so chilled to the bone! I had just climbed to the top of the cliff when I heard a blood curdling scream; Shelby had fallen to the last plateau downwards quite a ways! Chodak quickly went to her side along with some sherpas and they stabilized her condition. She was carried to our camp on a stretcher of sorts that could be folded up when it was not in use. She has not yet woken and he has not left her side since and chose to remain at camp to watch over her and treat her as soon as she awakes. Despite our protests to halt our expedition , Chodak insisted that we being our exploration and that Shelby would be alright.
Our excitement was dampened not only by circumstance but also the late hour at it was well past midnight when we entered the cave. Our first priority was to set up camp and build a fire which would be used as light to explore. My fellow artists and I were in search of art and our efforts were not in vain as we all screamed in delight when Pasang when ahead and encountered a room filled to its limits with ancient Buddhist texts and paintings. I took off into the room and found an intricately detailed wooden containers that an immeasurable amount of dust settled about it . The box was barely holding itself together and I prayed that the integrity of the art inside would not be too Beverley damaged; nevertheless I prepared myself for the worst. I carefully lifted the lid and was overcome with dust but was momentarily rewarded when I uncovered the most incredible paintings that depicted various Buddhist symbols and the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the first Buddha. Never had I ever seen such a different technique and endlessly pondered how such paintings were created.
We rested for the night and the light of day uncovered even more treasure especially the colorful murals that adorned the walls. While some were preserved quite well , others were lost to time and erosion. I was saddened by the fact that such priceless knowledge of the past will be lost to us forever but was also grateful for the murals that still remained . It is believed that these paintings were created during the 13th to 14th centuries.
Today, we held a general meeting of sorts to discuss our findings and our plans moving forward. It has been established that we will be on site indefinitely as their is such a vast amount of material to sort through and catalog. Through conversations with our hunter friend, it has been established that the cave was first in use around 3000 years ago by Bon practitioners and was used as recently as 600 years ago as a Buddhist storage facility . It will be important in the coming weeks to determine what artifacts were from which era. Also, we have found a very special text that stood out from all the others; it will take quite a long time to decipher it and understand its significance but we believe it to be the lost scriptures called the Terma. We have all hypothesized what new ways of thinking can be gained and whether it will revolutionize our reaffirm our tradition. Definitive answers will not come about until we bring the ancient text for further analysis at the Monestary back home.
I look forward to writing again with even more accounts of our findings. We will be here a while yet.
