Swayambhunath

Today was a super busy day for health education posters! We were running all over the place in trying to find more posters and also running from the rainfall haha. The whole entire day we were pretty much just looking up at the sky, to see which areas were raining. One of the hospitals were really close to the Swayabhunath Stupa, so we just took this chance to briefly look around the site!

Swayambhunath is an ancient religious complex, one of the oldest religious sites in Nepal, at the top of a hill in the Kathmandu Valley. The Tibetan name for the site means "Sublime Trees" for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. For the Buddhist Newars, Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudhanath. 

According to folktales, the entire valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a lotus flower. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning "Self-Created." The name comes from an eternal self-existent flame over which a stupa was later built. 

"May Peace prevail on Earth!" 

"The Gates to Heaven"

Prayer Wheels! Om Mani Padme Hum!!!! May the power of prayer relieve all sufferings in the world. From the bottom of my heart to each of yours! Let us all pray with sincere hearts and purified minds. I truly believe that all the dark corners of the world can be lit up by true compassion! 

The Swayambhunath complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi period. A Tibetan monastery, museum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two access points: a long stairway with 365 steps, leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the southwest entrance. The first sight on reaching the top of the stairway is the Vajra (used symbolically by the dharma traditions of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, often to represent firmness of spirit and spiritual power) 

There are carvings of the Panch Buddhas (five Buddhas) on each of the four sides of stupa. There are also statues of the Buddhas at the base of the stupas. Panch Buddhas are Buddha in metaphorical sense in Tantrayana. 

1. Vairochana - occupies the center and is the master of the temple 

2. Akshobhya - faces the east and represents the cosmic element of consciousness

3. Ratna Sambhava - faces the south and represents the cosmic element of sensation

4. Amitabha - represents cosmic element of Sanjna and always faces the West

5. Amoghsiddhi - represents the cosmic element of conformation and faces the north

The view a top of Swayambhunath, over looking all of Kathmandu Valley! What a grand sight!

Manjusri had a vision of the lotus at Swayambhu and traveled there to worship it. Seeing that the valley can be good settlement and to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, he cut a gorge at Chovar. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower became the Swayambhunath stupa.

The dome at the base represents the entire world. When a person awakes (represented by eyes of wisdom and compassion) from the bonds of the world, the person reaches the state of enlightenment. The thirteen pinnacles on the top symbolize that sentient beings have to go through the thirteen stages of spiritual realizations to reach enlightenment or Buddhahood.

There is a large pair of eyes on each of the four sides of the main stupa which represent Wisdom and Compassion. Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye. It is said that when Buddha preaches, cosmic rays emanate from the third eye which act as messages to heavenly beings, so that those interested can come down to earth to listen to the Buddha. The hellish beings and beings below the human realm cannot come to earth to listen to the Buddha's teaching, however, the cosmic rays relieve their suffering when Buddha preaches. 

Although the site is considered Buddhist, the place is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. Numerous Hindu monarch followers are known to have paid their homage to the temple, including Pratap Malla, the powerful king of Kathmandu, who is responsible for the construction of the eastern stairway in the 17th century. 

Each morning before dawn, hundreds of Buddhist (Vajrayana) and Hindu pilgrims ascend the 365 steps from eastern side that lead up the hill, passing the gilded Vajra (Tibetan: Dorje) and two lions guarding the entrance, and begin a series of clockwise circumambulations of the stupa. 

Golden Praying Wheels!!!!! 

It is also known as the Monkey Temple by foreigners, due to the fact that there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are considered holy due to the folktale where Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the Swayambhunath Temple stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys. 

There are Prayer Flags all over Nepal and without exception, they are abondant here in Swayambhunath. A prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along mountain ridges and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags use primary-colored plain flags in healing ceremonies in Nepal and they are covered with different sections of various sutras. 

I love these colorful flags!!! They give off such an amazing and positive energy. You just have to be there to experience that energy. There is just this aura about it! The whole place has an unspoken positive energy about it! I definitely feel super blessed every single second when I am on the Nepali  soil! 

"The Perfect Buddhas are born from the intention to benefit others"

Large Prayer Wheel! It was on a giant spinning contraption! What a work out!!!

 Entrance to the "Buddha Park"

Praying for no more sufferings! Praying for no more disasters in the world! Praying for all minds to be purified! Praying super hard for all Humanity! Let us all work together as one! 

When I first stepped into the vicinity of the Swayambhunath stupa, this overwhelming feeling of serenity and calm came over me. And it was so strange....it was like in the movies. Where everything and everyone was moving around me, but there was absolute silence. It was as if I was in my own vortex and own space of serenity! That feeling was so precious.....I guess it was like a meditative state of mind....no worries, no stress, just absolute peace of mind while I was there. 

I am so grateful for this short detour to Swayambhunath. I feel so blessed that I can be here in Nepal to take my small part in helping humanity to relieve from suffering! This is such an unforgettable experience and feeling. Overwhelmed with emotions at the moment! 

I am forever changed spiritually!