Authentic Compassion in Nepal 

For my final reflection of our amazing trip to Nepal, I am choosing to focus on the meditation experiences and how they helped benefit me in developing authentic compassion for others on this trip. 

Everyday at meditation we got to recite these chants to prepare us for the day ahead. I found that as the trip went on, the meditation helped me center myself for the day and even made me value the experiences I would have that day. 

The chant “The Noble Wisdom at the Time of Death Sutra” says, “Cultivate the notion of  lack of existence…cultivate a mind free from reference point… and cultivate a mind free of attachment.” 

These phrases all contributed to the overall theme of attachment during our course. They set the stage for a travel experience that would be new and full of changes, but because we said this chant, it became easier to accept all the newness and changes as they came. 

The chant also made us feel more comfortable with the impermanence of all our interactions in Nepal. We met and said goodbye to so many wonderful people, and it was easier to do so because our hearts and minds felt prepared after the morning meditations. Personally, it really  allowed me to value the connections I made with all the students at the schools, even though we were there with them for a short time.

 Especially after talking to Phakchok Rinpoche, the concept of valuing the fleeting moments even more because they will be over soon helped me to appreciate the moments of laughing and playing with the kids. I was able to give them my all because I knew that we would not see each other again after a few weeks, and I believe this helped me foster a sense of authentic compassion with them. I knew our time together was going to come to an end, and because I learned the value of impermanence I was able to wholeheartedly give them all my love. 

I know that I used to feel like I would always be able to see my family or my friends, so sometimes I would be fake nice or just indifferent because I would assume I would see them later. 

Now, I know that I can put more value into the present moment if I am wholeheartedly compassionate to those I love because I know that everything is impermanent. 

Although it is daunting to consider that everything in our life may come to an end, I think that by evaluating the places in our life where we take people or thighs for granted, we are able to put more value into our moments with them. When we have these moments, they will cultivate authentic compassion because we are not always promised another day to try again to show the people we love how much they really mean to us.