Boudha with friends

Left to right:Tashi, Soru, Doma and I

Reverence,
clockwise rotation of devotees,
pulls in the energy of the universe.
A whirlpool of blessings
radiating out towards the world.
The center,
a spire towards the heavens.

Illuminated by the collective prayer
lit from without as well as within.
Eyes look inwards towards the soul.

Old men move mountains in their bones,
arising and settling of Dharma.
Juniper colors the air pungently,
inviting the spirits to dance,
awakening the Buddha within.

Boudhanath, another amazing part of this trip. Tomorrow will begin a new chapter. I leave tomorrow morning for Jiri to meet my friend Subodh. We met at the Chandanbari cheese factory when I worked there. His is one of the managers there and he was visiting on school vacation. He goes to school in Kathmandu but he lives in Jiri. His school doesn't start for a week or so and he's invited me to come and stay with him.
It's hard for me to find like minded youth in Nepal and India. Almost all the young people I talk with in Nepal have one idea in their mind. Go abroad and make money. Subodh and I connected amazingly quickly after only three days. I'm excited to see him and a new place that I was just told, is the "Switzerland of Nepal." This was a one minute decision. I'm having a hard time finding volunteer work at the moment, I've run into more than one dead end. I gave him a call yesterday to see if he was in Kathmandu yet, and he invited me to his house!
The past six days here have been healing and fun. I didn't go into the extent of my injuries, but somehow my immune system took a dive. Probably because for the month that I was in the mountains my diet was basic. Every cut that I got was getting infected and wasn't healing, it was scary. I counted 9 different cuts/scrapes that were getting worse rather than better. I took anti-fungal medication but it didn't seem to be doing the trick although things were looking better. I have been eating as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible. So, I dropped the antibiotic bomb for the sixth time since i started my trip. I feel like it's hitting the restart button for my whole body. but sometimes it's what I've gotta do. All my cuts are healing quickly now, my energy and diet is high and I'm full with Boudha's energy.
Every morning and evening all the people who live within walking distance circle the stupa in prayer. The most devote, are almost always the elderly, hunched, clutching their mala beads they recite "Om mani padme hum" while slowly circling the stupa. All along the periphery are prayer wheels with the same mantra written on them. Inside the stupa wall are grounds where people can fully prostrate themselves in prayer, people also circle the stupa laying flat each time that they pray. The devotion is powerful. Beggars come and stand on the outside to receive alms from all the devotees. It is a wonderful practice to participate in, circling this beautiful stupa repeating the mantra that the Dalai Lama says: "Thus the six syllables, OM MANI PADME HUM, mean that by the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha."
When I arrived at Boudha i was looking for a place to stay, and striking out at many expensive guest houses. A man came up to me and said, I've got a room for you! Yay, what a wonderful meeting that led to three new friends. Tashi, doma and Soru have been so kind to me. Tashi is the owner of Bun Bun's sandwich shop, Doma, his Second cousin and her friend Soru work there. Doma and Soru are amazing friends, it's been so much fun to just hang out with them. Sit in the deli, laugh, joke and eat the first pizza and hamburgers I've had since I left the U.S. Doma lived in the U.S. for 7 years and went to Culinary school in Florida. Her and Tashi opened an American style Deli that serves, Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Pizza. It's only been open for a month and a half but the locals seem to be catching on to American flavors. Tuesday, Soru and Doma's day off I made a massive fruit salad for breakfast. Then it was off to Soru's house with a pit stop for a snack. Soru made an amazing lunch of Dal Bhat and Chilly Chicken, I watched her carefully when she made it. After lunch we went shopping for one of Soruu's friends and finally went to Doma's mothers house for Dinner! Youu can tell these are my kind of people right? Haha, Doma's younger brother and his wife made a tasty dinner that included marinated and friend fish. I ate my way through the day! It was a fun and very relaxing. In fact my whole experience in Boudha could fall into that category.
Except for last night, when I crammed myself into a "micro" (small vans, emphasis on small, their like the size of a 4 seater car in the states) at 7:30 PM to get back to Boudha from Kathmandu. I went USB and backpack shopping, after trading my backpack and carrying a pack-basket across mountains, I can assure you backpacks are an improvement. I now have a Nepali made backpack, quality isn't great but the price is right. Public transportation in Nepal wins for having the smallest vehicles and packing the most people into them. I'm not looking forward to the 9 hour bus ride to Jiri, my knee caps are going to fall off from being smooshed into the seat in front. Unless I ride on top :D
I've made great friends and shared good memories in one of the most amazing places. Once again I'm feeling blessed and overflowing with love. I am continuously helped along, I just want to say thank you to everyone, this adventure is teaching me so much and everyone has had a hand in shaping me into who I am today. I'm sending my love and blessings from Boudha, they're circling the stupa, rising into the sky and with the united strength of everyone they're spreading across the world. Love and Blessings.

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