Namche monastery

Returning from the lookout over """""Namche""""", we visited the local monastery. It overlooks the small plain on which Namche is built, not that it is built on a plane as such more like a series of terraces. The plane is so tiny that the town sprawls right up the hillside. The streets snake in between tiny tiny squares. Much of these streets are really lanes and are lined by shops that display their wares. The atmosphere in this cacophony of colour, sound amid of the snow capped mountains is just breathtaking. Frequently I have to stop to take it all in. The monastery clings to a hillside laced with Rhododendron trees awash with bright pink blooms. It is a beautiful terrased building with a traditional courtyard. These are used to perform public ceremonies. There is a small stage like space for the monks and town people. Inside, the monastery the space is lined in Tankas which depict various Buddhist themes. As the monks frequently travel on retreats the Tankas form a big part of their portable temple. They just roll them out and hang them and presto all the prayers and mantras are set to empower their meditations and rituals. The room also has offerings to the Buddhas and ofcourse the Buddha statues and paintings. Ram passionately displays the Tanka depicting the five Buddhas. It is so intricate that each inch is full of details of their lives and truths and infact contains a lesson. There is enough lessons there to keep me stumped deep in thought for a lifetime and then some.