Nagajuna Konda

This monastery on an island in the middle of a large lake was built under the direction of Nagajuna, who is also known as the second Buddha. He taught some of the most insightful works on Buddhist philosophy. The monastery dates from 200AD although there are remains on the island from neolithic times.

On the road in India

Laundry, originally uploaded by wavesofbliss.

Kalachakra

We visited the place where it is said the Buddha taught the Kalachakra (wheel of time) Tantra. A new Buddha statue is being built close to where the old stupa is.

Celebrations

Above we are feasting with the Tibetan family who took us in during some of the Dalai Lama's teachings. Next we celebrate New Year's Eve with our friends Darcy and Jason.

Teachings with the Dalai Lama

We have been fortunate enough to attend many weeks of the Dalai Lama's teachings. Above we are pictured in his room at Sera Me. I did not blink whilst the photo was taken, but was actually in deep meditation :) !!!!

Tara Puja

Geshela sponsored a Tara Puja for all the monks where he used to live at Sera Je. We were able to participate in the Puja and offering. The pics are of Geshela and Allie handing out money to the monks.

River Swim

This is a river near Sera monastery where we went for a swim. With us is Geshela's friend Tenzin, who is offering us a place to stay when we arrive in Dharamasala.

Monastery Visits

We visited many monasteries. The one above with Geshela, his dad and us is the famous Sera Je monastic university. This is Geshela's home university. The one with the rainbow at the top is Namdroling also known as the golden temple. This is a famous Nyingma monastery where our friend Tulku Loday took us to meet Penor Rinpoche for a blessing. Penor Rinpoche is the previous head of the Nyingma lineage. Tulku Loday is a high lama himself being the seventh incarnation of the religious head of the kingdom of Sikkim.