Mero Dhangadhi

wnderlst:

Jomsom, Nepal

Tibetan Buddhism: Vajrayana Schools

lekpa asked:

“Hi Nepal ^_^ i would like to know if among Vajrayana school is more present Gelug,Kagyu,Sakya or Nyingma or are they equally distributed? Thanks”

Vajrayana, part of Tibetan Buddhism has four main schools:
 
-Nyingma: “The Ancient Ones”. Red Hat Sect. Oldest and the original order. Founded on the first translations of Buddhist scripts from Sanskrit into Tibetan.
-Kagyu: “Lineage of the Buddha’s Word”. Red Hat sect. Oral tradition mostly concerned with the dimensions of meditation.
-Sakya: “Pale Earth”. Red Hat Sect. Represents the Scholarly tradition.
-Gelug: “Way of Virtue”. Yellow Hat sect. Known for its emphasis on logic and debate. The first ever Dalai Lama is believed to have been part of the Gelug school.

Unfortunately, I did a lot of research on the popularity of each school but came up with nothing. Perhaps, you’d like to ask Sam. Sam is a Buddhist lay teacher in the New Kadampa school of Tibetan Buddhism. He will most likely be able to give you more info than what I have given you.

nepal:

Muktinath Temple, Nepal.

nickbrubakerphotography:

Porters in the Himalayas ~ Nepal

beccaleone:

Mountain Lodge, Nepal on We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/69627272/via/lisettebutler

nickbrubakerphotography:

Kathmandu ~ Nepal

Organized Chaos.

The Legend of Shambhala

guchiandra asked:

“I would like to know something about Shambhalla or Shangri-la, whatever you wanna call it. I would like to know what do you think about it’s existence :) A lot of people say it’s a legend, I’m really interested in it.”

Shangri-la is a fictional place described in the novel Last Horizon by James Hilton. However, many people believe that Shangri-La is Shambhala, a mythical hidden kingdom situated somewhere in the vicinity of the Himalayas/Central Asia. This mystical land is known for representing a Buddhist “Pure Land”, untouched by the west, preserving the innermost teachings of Buddhism, inhabited by semi-perfect human-beings guarding the evolution of humanity.

In Sanskrit, Shambhala means “peaceful place”. Shabhala has been mentioned in various Hindu and Buddhist texts. The Kalachakra tantra, relating to Tantric Buddhism, along with the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture mention Shambhala. In Hinduism, Shambhalla is often referred to as the birth place of Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of Vishnu. According to Hinduism, Kalki will appear at the end of the “Kaliyuga” (the present age of decline) to destroy the dark age that we currently live in. All three references to Shambhala connect in one way or another. When the world is torn apart by war and greed and the value of truth is lost, then the ruler of Shambhala will emerge to destroy all the forces of evil and bring in a new Golden Age.   

As for my opinion on the existence of Shambhala, I’m not going to completely rule out the possibility. However, I don’t have anything to prove its existence.

I shall leave you with an old Tibetan Story:
 
A young man once set off on the quest for Shambhala. After crossing many mountains, he came to the cave of an old hermit, who asked him, “Where are you going across these wastes of snow?”

“To find Shambhala,” the youth replied.

“Ah, well then, you need not travel far,” the hermit said. “The kingdom of Shambhala is in your own heart.”

nepal:

The Mt.Everest Skydiving program.
On my bucket list.