The events are still claiming lives and causing problems all over the country.
Many hundreds of thousands will still be without shelter for this monsoon season, and many have yet to receive food or supplies despite the best and valiant efforts of many from all over the world. Through the calamity and suffering I have seen hope shining through - be it on a child’s face or in the way a village can come back from the very brink of disaster, the people of Nepal are extremely resilient and strong, and I have witnessed this first hand. Though things may look dark, though we may not always see the solution right away, as we all come together we have been able to break new ground, bring hope and light to those who need it most, and help as many as we can along the way. On a day like today it is so important to remember, remember those we have lost and those who have lost so very much.
Here in Diwakar they have been holding puja for the deceased, a traditional Tibetan ceremony that is intended to help those who have passed away. The final day of the 49 since the first shakes is today and so the final Amithabha puja, a ceremony bringing all who reside here together to pray for those who have lost their lives. I was told that, being up here in the mountains the monks here still felt the earthquake quite strongly, rattling the buildings here with enough force to scare many into sleeping outside. We often forget that the quake was felt for thousands of kilometers, in every direction, that the families that were ripped apart come from all over the country and many of them have children in monasteries. I have heard plenty of saddening stories from monks who have lost family members, whose parents or uncles or sister were injured or killed by the earthquake, whose home villages are now either destroyed or badly damaged. The earthquake seems to have touched us all - and if not personally then friends and families of friends, and as I spend more and more time here I begin to see that some of the damage and loss can be hard to calculate until time passes on, and in these moments the pain and loss can multiply drastically. One might never know that some of those affected were sitting right next to me, pounding a drum or a horn, completing the practices, mudras and prayers here as the light pours in the open windows bringing mist like a gentle rain onto the benches of purple and gold. One might never know who has been affected as the fire is lit and the offerings made. One could never know just how much heart is needed, and how much they too have lost.
It is for this reason that the pujas being held here and in other monasteries around the world are so important. It gives the monks an ability to send all their prayers to those who have lost their lives, to take part in rebuilding their country piece by piece, to participate from afar in the aid of their brethren. It gives them the ability to use their skills and knowledge to offer the power of the Dharma to those in need, to those who truly need it, and for those who are already gone. These pujas are very powerful, the Buddha Dharma has such potential to help and to heal, to bring relief to those who need it, to help us all make it through these times of crisis. I am so thankful to these monks, to all our dharma family for all the work and support that has been sent to Nepal these past weeks. For those who could jump on a plane this is great, but for the large majority offering your hearts in prayer and practice has been an enormous effort and one that has not been unnoticed. You can feel it in the air, the people know that the world has their backs, that they don’t have to do this alone, that we all are willing to do what it takes to bring Nepal back from the brink. These amazing monks here are doing their part, their training and utter devotion so important in offering these prayers to those we have lost, to those in need, every day. All our Dharma family has come together in this, and we have all brought so much hope and light to the darkest of times for Nepal. Today marks 49 days from the first shake, 49 days from the beginning of this crisis and nightmare, and today we must remember and offer all our prayers to those we have lost.
Many hundreds of thousands will still be without shelter for this monsoon season, and many have yet to receive food or supplies despite the best and valiant efforts of many from all over the world. Through the calamity and suffering I have seen hope shining through - be it on a child’s face or in the way a village can come back from the very brink of disaster, the people of Nepal are extremely resilient and strong, and I have witnessed this first hand. Though things may look dark, though we may not always see the solution right away, as we all come together we have been able to break new ground, bring hope and light to those who need it most, and help as many as we can along the way. On a day like today it is so important to remember, remember those we have lost and those who have lost so very much.
Here in Diwakar they have been holding puja for the deceased, a traditional Tibetan ceremony that is intended to help those who have passed away. The final day of the 49 since the first shakes is today and so the final Amithabha puja, a ceremony bringing all who reside here together to pray for those who have lost their lives. I was told that, being up here in the mountains the monks here still felt the earthquake quite strongly, rattling the buildings here with enough force to scare many into sleeping outside. We often forget that the quake was felt for thousands of kilometers, in every direction, that the families that were ripped apart come from all over the country and many of them have children in monasteries. I have heard plenty of saddening stories from monks who have lost family members, whose parents or uncles or sister were injured or killed by the earthquake, whose home villages are now either destroyed or badly damaged. The earthquake seems to have touched us all - and if not personally then friends and families of friends, and as I spend more and more time here I begin to see that some of the damage and loss can be hard to calculate until time passes on, and in these moments the pain and loss can multiply drastically. One might never know that some of those affected were sitting right next to me, pounding a drum or a horn, completing the practices, mudras and prayers here as the light pours in the open windows bringing mist like a gentle rain onto the benches of purple and gold. One might never know who has been affected as the fire is lit and the offerings made. One could never know just how much heart is needed, and how much they too have lost.
It is for this reason that the pujas being held here and in other monasteries around the world are so important. It gives the monks an ability to send all their prayers to those who have lost their lives, to take part in rebuilding their country piece by piece, to participate from afar in the aid of their brethren. It gives them the ability to use their skills and knowledge to offer the power of the Dharma to those in need, to those who truly need it, and for those who are already gone. These pujas are very powerful, the Buddha Dharma has such potential to help and to heal, to bring relief to those who need it, to help us all make it through these times of crisis. I am so thankful to these monks, to all our dharma family for all the work and support that has been sent to Nepal these past weeks. For those who could jump on a plane this is great, but for the large majority offering your hearts in prayer and practice has been an enormous effort and one that has not been unnoticed. You can feel it in the air, the people know that the world has their backs, that they don’t have to do this alone, that we all are willing to do what it takes to bring Nepal back from the brink. These amazing monks here are doing their part, their training and utter devotion so important in offering these prayers to those we have lost, to those in need, every day. All our Dharma family has come together in this, and we have all brought so much hope and light to the darkest of times for Nepal. Today marks 49 days from the first shake, 49 days from the beginning of this crisis and nightmare, and today we must remember and offer all our prayers to those we have lost.
