A Walk to Serenity

Date: June 9th, 2008
Participants: DhilungK, GauravJ, AbhishekPC, BiswaS, PawanP, PradeepG, IshworM, DijupT, SureshT, AshishS, BabinsS, PragyaR, ManishS, RajK, SushmitaP, ManikM, RaviS and AbhishekS
Hiking Route: Naagdhunga – Dahachowk – Dharmaraj Foundation Monastery– Ramkot – Amitabh Monastery
Total Distance covered: 16 kms (approx)
Duration: 8 hours
Theme: A Walk to Serenity
Report By: Pragya/Manish
Caption: Bishwa/Gaurav
Photos: Dhilung/Pradeep/Ishwar/Bishwa/Dijup/Manik
Creative Support: Dijup/Dhilung/Pallavi/Pragya

Front row:[IshworM, DijupT, BabinsS, ManikM]
Middle row:[PradeepG, ManishS, PragyaR, GauravJ, SushmitaP, AbhishekPC, BishwaS]
Last Row:[SureshT, RajK, DhilungK, PawanP, RaviS, AbhishekS]

Finally, it was our turn. After hearing all the hiking stories from our intern friends, Manish and I couldn’t resist giving our names for the next hiking. Among the team of 17, five of us were giving our first shot at D2 hiking with a lot of excitement and curiosity. Sushmita and I were the only female hikers in the team ready for the unlimited adventure that the hiking sessions were reputed for. We set out at around 7:30 am to our hiking route from Nagdhunga to Sitapaila. The cool and refreshing weather was enhanced by some real good numbers played by DJ Ravi and AbhisekhS on the way.

When we reached our destination, we were literally amazed at the beauty of the place. The view of the hills, forest along with the fresh air recharged our souls. As truly said that Nepal is full of natural beauty, you only need to go out and explore. Climbing through the steep hills was the hardest part of the trip for Dijup and me. Dijup kept saying ‘Bhagwan mujhe uthaale’ when he felt hopeless during accent and I felt the same at times. But with the help and support of the team members we somehow made it to the top. On the way, some of the team members (Manik, Abhishek, and Dijup) chose to donate blood to the leeches though I didn’t get that opportunity. That was the first time I saw the leeches alive.

Gaurav, Dhilung, Pradeep, Suresh, Manik, Bishwa and Ishwor captured some truly incredible shots. Their amazing photography deserves an award. The day was cloudy since morning and it rained at regular intervals all day. Despite the rain, we managed to keep walking. Babins had come with the full preparation along with his raincoat, towels and extra clothes although that was his first hiking in D2.

Not a single moment was boring, thanks to such a wonderful team. We kept cracking jokes and making fun of each other throughout the journey. Abhishek PC’s constant concern throughout the hiking was encouraging. The amazing and spectacular view of mountains, hills, forests and a pleasant stroll through Amitabha Monastery at the end was the perfect reward for all the efforts we made. Seeing the rainbow was magnificent and the sound of wind chimes and the spiritual environment of the Monastery stimulated a feeling of positivity and serenity in all of us, and for a moment made us forget about the tiring feet and hungry stomach.

Finally, after a peaceful and relaxing time in the monastery, we made our way back and headed downhill through an easy walk to Sitapaila drenched in rain. We were then picked up by the office van at around 6:30pm which took us for the final meal of the evening. It was a wonderful end to a brilliant day - the whole team was together for dinner, except Raj who had to part from us at Sitapaila.

Nothing could summarize this hike better than this poem by Bishwa:
“a walk to serenity”

a walk to serenity
through the plains and hills,
through the shades of the pine trees
away from this feverish place
to a place where we can rest

a walk to serenity
where we discard our beast
where silence tortures us the least
where the sound of the chimes
soothes our mind
where the dark clouds pour rain
instead of just a gloomy day
where the eyes of the enlightened
watches us with respect
for we are at peace
with the nature,
with the world around us
with the creatures, that surround us

a walk to serenity
a moment of peace
a touch of the infinity
a moment of bliss

we walked the road
we kissed the reason
we met the non-existent
beyond the horizon!

Start Slide Show
Please click on the image to see its large version.

02 Start

03 A Smiling Welcome

04 Muddy,damp,fresh and fine

05 It looks great from up here

06 Three Stooges

07 Through the small village

08 Rainwave

09 Bud in the rain

10 A friendly chat with Ms Subedi

11 The Path To Serenity

12 The Serenity Gang

13 Visited Nepal -98

14 And That-s the consolation prize

15 Innocence

16 We Care

17 Manure for paddy fields

18 Rookies at Dahachowk Gate

19 The First Stop

20 Bhuddha inside the perspectives

21 Dharmaraja foundation at balambu

22 Colorful and peaceful

23 This monastry is under construction

24 What are they called

25 Freshness - Redefined

26 Lost and lonely

27 Cloud calling

28 Manik - Damn…You told me we would only be snapping pics at Gumbas

29 Open Space at the top

30 Love lies bleeding….

31 The Destination

32 The wait

33 The Descent I

34 The Descent II

35 You SUCK

36 Serpentine path

37 Pawan - I’m sure we go this way…

38 Pawan - D’oh

39 Lunch at farm

40 Through the fields

41 Mini Scarecrow

42 Through the jungle

43 Wild beauty

44 Tall and together

45 Ravi takes the hard route

46 Over the hills

47 Red Snow

48 Finally, Amitabh monastery welcomes us

49 Walk to Amitava

50 The architecture is magnificient

51 A nice side view

52 Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche

THE FIRST KYABJE THUKSEY RINPOCHE<br> (1916-1983)</p> <p>His Eminence the first Thuksey Rinpoche Ngawang Gyurmed Palsang(1916-1983) was the son of the Tenth Gyalwang Drukpa and the grandson of Drubwant Shakya Shri.Under the guidance of many great masters of his time,Thuksey Rinpoche attained profound realization and became a well-known master of the tantric and the common vehicles.</p> <p>After coming into exile following the political upheaval in Tibet in 1959, Thuksey Rinpoche worked extremely hard to re-establish the Drukpa Lineage in India. He was instrumental in searching for and enthroning His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, and he became one of His Holiness' most important gurus. He even built a second Sangling Monastery for His Holiness in Darjeeling, and established a solid foundation to restore the teachings of the Drukpa Lineage.</p> <p>Thuksey Rinpoche always had a wish to build a spiritual community near the holy Swayambhunath Stupa, because his own grandfather had sent all his sons to restore the three holy stupas in Kathmandu. In an effort to fulfill his guru's wishes, His Holiness gradually developed the Druk Amitabha Mountain here, just next to the holy Swayambhunath Stupa. And for the same reason, Drubpon Ngawang Tenzin Palsang Yongdu and his group commissioned this statue of the late Thuksey Rinpoche, as a tribute to him and the Drukpa Lineage. This statue was completed and installed on 25th September 2007<br>

53 Script for you

THE FIRST KYABJE THUKSEY RINPOCHE(1916-1983)His Eminence the first Thuksey Rinpoche Ngawang Gyurmed Palsang(1916-1983) was the son of the Tenth Gyalwang Drukpa and the grandson of Drubwant Shakya Shri.Under the guidance of many great masters of his time,Thuksey Rinpoche attained profound realization and became a well-known master of the tantric and the common vehicles.

After coming into exile following the political upheaval in Tibet in 1959, Thuksey Rinpoche worked extremely hard to re-establish the Drukpa Lineage in India. He was instrumental in searching for and enthroning His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, and he became one of His Holiness’ most important gurus. He even built a second Sangling Monastery for His Holiness in Darjeeling, and established a solid foundation to restore the teachings of the Drukpa Lineage.

Thuksey Rinpoche always had a wish to build a spiritual community near the holy Swayambhunath Stupa, because his own grandfather had sent all his sons to restore the three holy stupas in Kathmandu. In an effort to fulfill his guru’s wishes, His Holiness gradually developed the Druk Amitabha Mountain here, just next to the holy Swayambhunath Stupa. And for the same reason, Drubpon Ngawang Tenzin Palsang Yongdu and his group commissioned this statue of the late Thuksey Rinpoche, as a tribute to him and the Drukpa Lineage. This statue was completed and installed on 25th September 2007

54 The buddhists - they work,learn,practice,live

55 Perspective

56 Kathmandu - looks so far away

57 Serenity at last

58 Resting

59 The Sky The Limit

60 Two of the 5 Buddhas

61 Smiles and laughter

62 This is how we meditate(kind of)

63 Twins

64 The twins- shot

65 The hikers at Amitabh Monastery

66 Work hard

67 Looking back once again

68 Photography at its best

69 Shine On You Crazy Rainbow

70 The Third and final rainfall of the day

71 The rain stopped us once again

72 Codi March

73 Eating at Eden

Start Slide Show
Please click on the image to see its large version.

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Posted by Administrator in Featured, Photo Blog on June 12th, 2008 | 1,455 Views Share This

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77 Responses to “A Walk to Serenity”

dtuladhar

Says:
June 12th, 2008 at 8:03 am

cool trip…………………………..

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