Phakchok Rinpoche, Nunnery, and 'Monkey Temple'
By Richard Trinh and Soren Peterson
January 19th, Outings from Kathmandu
See to it that in emptiness is form as every day is, as if a hand with open palms, ready to grasp. Our second day back in Kathmandu is busy: a schedule that from 9am discloses no signs of ceasing till 7pm, so says Larry as we begin our bus-ride. From 7am, Christian and I, Richard here, rope Johnathan and Jane into Himalayan Java Cafe for a quick and large boost for our day.
These days in Kathmandu have me rounding out and reminiscing on my own beliefs. Proper body, speech, and mind, understood as the three vajras or gates, are a constant in everyday living that one can cultivate over their entire lifetime. What matters most is holding to practice in the subsequent moments of phenomena that are like impermanent streams; be not lost in streams as practice and the accumulation of merit unifies the rapids.
The bus arrives at 9am, and at 8:45am we make a mad dash returning to Shechen Monastery’s courtyard. Many of our class were dining in the guesthouse restaurant with eggs and masala tea. Many of us take to different side-quests, as Christian has been affectionately calling non-class experiences, so I enjoy others regaling their tales. All good, all bad, all is worthy of a sympathetic ear.
Onward, the overpacked bus takes us to Tsoknyi Gechak Ling Nunnery on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Little could have prepared us for the ascension. Escaping Kathmandu meant the air density and pollution would dissipate. The sights and view brought so much beauty to that dusty city.
Tsoknyi Gechak Ling Nunnery is not opulent or ornate in the common sense. Up on the hill, the nunnery is an unassuming, tight-knit community. Its main temple wears desaturated colors and minimalist architecture that only are appearances. Inside, the large Buddha with two other statutes fill the front of the shrine, with a thousand holes in the walls with tinier Buddhas. The only other structure is a mandala for Guru Rinpoche, i.e., Padmasambhava, a central figure in the transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet.
Rooftop of the Temple
Photo by: Richard Trinh
Interior of the Temple
Photo by: Richard Trinh
Rashmi KC, the principal of Tsoknyi Gechak Ling Nunnery’s school, greets us after Professors Kramer and Mermelstein and all of us enter the nunnery’s office. A Tibetan welcome: biscuits and butter tea were served. Two individuals were in the room other than us and the nuns: Adam Kane and Brady Hogan, who are students of Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Adam and Larry immediately were talking; Adam is a translator of Tibetan oral teachings and texts, so fellow translators they were. Brady is a volunteer at the school and is as knowledgeable as Rashmi when it comes to the history of Tsoknyi, down to the peculiarities of it being a sister school with another nunnery.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche himself was an interesting figure who became the spiritual leader of the nuns at both sites after he was sought out for his lineage.
For a tour, Rashmi opens the temple for viewing, walks us through the inner courtyard, introduces us to the younger students, and leads us to the cafeteria for lunch. We split up to chat with a couple of classes. The young nuns are more talkative than the young monks we visited in schools on previous days. Some of our SMC classmates mentioned that the nuns seemed more serious about taking full-on vows after their education. We asked numerous questions about their lives at the nunnery, what their studies were, why they are attending the nunnery, what villages they are from, etc.
There are, at the moment, 198 students in school, which is similar to a K-12 school in the U.S.A., and 58-60 students in the shedra, i.e., Buddhist university for monks or nuns.
Lunch brings the sudden realization that we needed to be on the road to do everything we planned for the day. Quickly, we finish lunch, make a small donation to the nunnery, and pack ourselves back into the van.
We are enroute to Asura Cave in Pharping. Asura Cave contains special spiritual significance because Padmasambhava had meditated there. Monks and nuns go on three-year retreats in the area; apparently, Buddhist practice in one week by Asura Cave is comparable to one year anywhere else.
Asura Cave is not my main focus. To reach Asura Cave requires multiple staircases, and the staircases did not end at Asura Cave. The irresistible desire to surmount even the highest of staircases, apparently, compels me, Lily, Avery, Jonathan, Christian, and Ana. Our endeavor was not in vain.
Prayer flags decorate the sky, litter the ground, and carry those who walk amongst them. All call us to go further through the clouds to stand at whatever is at the apex.
Only in retrospect did we learn what we stumbled upon: the Old Dakshinkali Temple. The site is now abandoned, moved to another location. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kali; numerous figural carvings adorn the inner courtyard.
Khenpo Kyunkyab eventually hikes up the hill to regather everyone back into the van. Embarking to our next destination is paramount as the day begins to set.
This was the showstopper of the day: Swayambhunath, a Buddhist pilgrimage site also known as the “Monkey Temple.” With only an hour to spare, we pay the fare and enter. There is not much information on Swayambhunath at hand, so exploration pushes me to find out as much as I can about the temple. In some retrospective research, I learn that it is one of Nepal’s oldest religious sites and has one large, main stupa, along with other smaller stupas and pagodas.
Vendors here are very friendly, overwhelmingly so; it is the tourist off-season, so they are doing the most to get a sale. Picture taking is the main attraction at Swayambhu. Most of our group members are seeking pictures together with the monkeys, which turn out mostly well (at least no one’s phone or camera is nabbed).
Photo by: Richard Trinh
The last stop of our day is a meeting with Anupama Dahal, a dance teacher who performs in a Buddhist practice style. We meet her at the Malla Hotel in Thamel at the same time for dinner. Between us students and her, conversation occurs here and there, but fatigue looms over us as we await dinner.
Bits and pieces of her life and practice come through as she shows us videos of her dancing. At 17 years old, she was already married and then became a far more devout Buddhist than her husband. She has studied in major cities, like London and Dubai, while also raising two sons.
As an odd connection, one of her sons is friends with Phakchok Rinpoche’s son, and she was a student of Phakchok Rinpoche’s grandfather.
A cosmopolitan woman we discovered her to be.
The day ends with a short tour of her beauty parlor, which entices Jane and also is enticing to me as a good use of a free day.
We hop back onto the bus to Shechen, and upon arrival I immediately dissolve in bed. The next day will be more strenuous than the last.
Saturday, January 20th, our third full day back in Kathmandu, we took a big adventure to Nagi Gompa, which is a Nunnery about 45 minutes outside of Kathmandu if you're taking a car (Make sure your vehicle is a 4x4!) If not, the hike takes around an hour from the start of the trail head - among us, the group that hiked crushed it!
We traveled to the nunnery for a couple of different reasons. First, was to witness a special ceremony called “Drupchen,” which translates to “great accomplishment.” It is an intensive, multiple-day group practice that involves the depth, power, and precision of the Vajrayana practice. Second, was to hopefully meet and talk to Phakchok Rinpoche.
Because of the Drupchen, Phakchok Rinpoche was present and we had the wonderful opportunity to meet him, but more on that later.
Phakchok is a teacher in the Nyingma lineage and lineage holder of the Taklung Kagyu lineage. He is a prominent and important figure in Tibetan Buddhism; in fact, he is the author of our main course text!
After we arrived at Nagi Gompa, we had the wonderful opportunity to see and spend time in the room where Phakchok Rinpoche's grandfather, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, meditated and stayed for quite some time and ultimately ended up passing away. It was a room filled with a special aura: there was an energy in the air that felt heavy and cool, yet very powerful. We had the chance to spend however long we wanted in the room and practice meditation or whatever we desired. It was a special opportunity for us to see and experience, to be in a room where such a prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism spent many hours.
After our time in Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche’s room, we had the main event, the big reason we came to Nagi Gompa, which was to meet and talk with Phakchok Rinpoche. It was a huge honor that we were able to meet him.
We did not waste any minute of our short and precious time with him. After a brief introduction of us and our why, he opened the room up to us to ask him whatever questions we wanted. We all asked very insightful questions, some stemming from his book (our course text) and some other general questions that we felt we needed answers to.
Alyssa asked a very insightful question related to impermanence and valuing life: since everything is impermanent, why would we take the time to care about and love the people and things in our life? Rinpoche answered, “It’s very simple, when we understand that life and everything about life is impermanent, we need to flip our mindset and realize that we need to value everything more -- once we realize it will all come to end. It’s a chance for us to be fully compassionate and love ourselves and others when we realize everything is impermanent.”
This unlocked a part of most of our brains that he did not know was there; it was a puzzle piece falling into place. We have been learning and discussing impermanence and its relationship to our life, compassion, and death, and his words helped us get closer to finishing the puzzle.
We finished our time with him by taking a group picture and some individual ones as well. He was a very patient and understanding man, who cared about us coming to see him and asking him meaningful questions.
Our time with Rinpoche was extremely helpful, insightful, and special for all of us.
