Nepal Part three

This is the third and final part of my series on Nepal as I wrote it in 2009. I loved my six weeks there. The culture, the people and everything I experienced then will stay with me for a lifetime. It truly is a very special place on the planet and I hold it in my heart always.

I just completed a ten-day Vipassana meditation course in the hills above the Kathmandu Valley. I’m still vibrating from the intense work and integrating everything I learned into my daily life. The experience was incredible, exhausting and cathartic. This is by far the most liberating work I’ve ever accomplished and I will do it again in the near future. Buddha practiced Vipassana 2500 years ago to reach enlightenment. “The Art of Living,” by William Hart explains the fascinating process.

During the course, our morning bell rang at 4am to begin the seventeen-hour day of which, ten hours were in seated meditation. We couldn’t speak other than ask specific questions to our teachers or direct housekeeping inquiries to a volunteer. The food was daal bhat (of course) and we ate only breakfast and lunch, while dinner was simply fruit.

Men and women were segregated for obvious reasons, but we also had our own dining halls and even our own entrances to the prayer halls. I found a great preference for this and when I did see a man (likely from the kitchen) I momentarily resented the unwelcome intruder. I became rather territorial about our sacred feminine space.

I slept in a dormitory, and fortunately had my own cubical, so I was allotted a bit of privacy. Outdoor communal showers devoid of hot water were nearby and a washing area with an abundance of plastic tubs to do our laundry was available.

A sisterhood developed as we were all squatted over our tubs, scrubbing our clothes. Even without verbal communication, we were connecting, each doing our own washing next to our sisters doing theirs. Bright colored saris were strewn on the clothesline next to my mundane black/white/grey garments. Connecting with my girlfriends over coffee at the café was a vague memory. Now I develop friendships over daily household chores.

Our nightly ritual, along with brushing our teeth, was searching our bedding for the numerous bedbugs that had taken up residence during the day. I do not know how one goes about creating bedbug karma, but clearly I had it.

Any number of insects found their way into my blankets, which I never understood because there were at least ten empty beds in the dormitory. They could have enjoyed hours of peaceful slumber, completely undisturbed had they chosen to snuggle in those beds. As it was, at 9:30 every evening, the little creatures were abruptly catapulted into a dark and frequently rainy night. I often wondered if somehow, they were the same bedbugs that found their way back to my bed and were the identical creatures I routinely hurled out into the darkness.

Nobel silence proved to be a wise precept here and I was grateful not to speak to anyone or have anyone speak with me. I was too exhausted to utter more than a whimper the first day. The next few days, I’m certain my conversations would have been drowning in negativity had I been given the opportunity to verbalize my thoughts. Nobel silence eliminated any gossip, misinformation or complaints and kept me focused inward. I quickly understood that the less outside distractions, the better internal work. We were able to speak on the tenth day, however and the energy completely changed. We were clearly not as focused when “noble silence” became “noble chattering.”

Integration of this practice is my focus now and although I’ve done many workshops, seminars and courses in my life, I find Vipassana the most profound. While everything else I’ve done seems to be a way to manage the chaos, Vipassana seems to eradicate it. I’m meditating twice daily and there is more a calm and balanced feeling now that was not present before in me.

I spent last night at the monastery. I wanted to see the boys again and give them books I’d purchased. They were all happy to see me and grateful for any gift. I know that my contributions were few: 3 weeks of my life teaching English, a small donated sum that purchased a ping pong table, English books and a donation for the cook who is the sole support of his parents and 2 nieces. I was very sad to leave “my home” this time. The Rinpoche told me that I would always be welcome there, but as I drove off I had the profound realization I would likely never return to Manjushri Buddhist Center. As for my volunteer experience, I truly feel that I received infinitely more than I gave. I believe this is how the science of being of service works. When giving, receiving is always present. I loved my life with the monks and living at the monastery. They were extraordinary to me and I will forever cherish my memories there.

As I reflect on my six wonderful weeks in Nepal, I am struck by the magnitude of change and the diversity of opportunities I have experienced here. This country never appeared on any of my itineraries, yet I’ve accomplished a lot in my life here. I swam with the elephants, toured the jungle, survived a death-defying early morning motorcycle ride, lived with and taught Tibetan Buddhist monks at a monastery, and completed Vipassana meditation course. Every moment was a blessing. Since volunteering, my approach to travel has changed. I’m no longer interested in travel for just sightseeing, but prefer to experience a country, culture and…well, LIFE intimately.

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