Namdroling Monastery near Mysore

Namdrolling is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. It is located in Bylakuppe, part of the Mysuru district of the state of Karnataka. The sangha community lives in this monastry - more than five thousand monks and nuns and qualified teachers, a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a Buddhist philosophy college or shedra for both monks and nuns, a home for the elderly, and a hospital.Here are some of the pictures of the main temple:

How difficult is it to climb Tiger's Nest in Bhutan?

Before I ventured to climb to the Tiger's Nest Monastery in Bhutan, I searched the internet to find the level of difficulty. All that I got was subjective information like if you are an experienced trekker then it is not so bad, or if you are a novice, it's very hard and so on. There were no photographs actually depicting the climb. In fact I got some erroneous information that the steps to the temple had no railings, and I almost gave up the idea of the climb.

Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, our guide assured us that there were railings and told us that these railings had not existed some years earlier.

When I climbed to the Tiger's Nest temple, I took photos for the explicit purpose of providing the right information to those who want to do this climb. 

This what the monastery looks like from the bottom, before you start the climb. The small white building at the top half of the photograph is the actual temple.
There are two mountains to climb. You have to go up one mountain (the base from which I took this photo) and then climb down again. Then you have to climb up an actual cliff to the temple, but from here on there are steps, and this makes it easier.

The way up the first mountain is steep. Take a trekking pole or stick which is available at a small price at the bottom of the mountain. The stick is a must and preferably if you can, take two sticks.

Loose rocks large boulders and sudden elevations are hard to do. It took me, an inexperienced trekker, a little more than 3 hours. It's said that the track is slippery in the rainy season so if you are serious about making this climb, do not go in the rainy season.

At the half-way point there is a cafe where one can have a cup of tea. Only tea and biscuits available here. Best not to stop here as the monastery is shut for lunch from 1-2 pm and we wanted to reach before 1 pm. Please take a bunch of fruits and nuts (and of course water too) because there is no food available at the monastery.

It is possible to take a pony up to the half way point. The ponies always walk on the edge so it is scary but if it is dry then it is fairly safe if you are comfortable riding. Avoid ponies if the track is wet. Also avoid ponies if you really want to get the satisfaction of the climb. I preferred to walk.

After the cafe comes the second leg of the journey. It's similar to the one in the photograph above, with even more very very steep parts. This second leg of the climb can take half an hour at least.

Then you come to the third leg of the climb, and from here you go down. There are steps which take you down the mountain you just climbed. Some parts are very steep. Already tired with the exhausting two hour climb, these can be a relief, if your knees are good! Without good knees you can take the help of two sticks or a least one.

There are good sturdy railings so do not worry on this score. However, best not to lean on them.

A view of the tigers nest monastery as you come near the bottom of the first mountain.

After you reach down, you reach the area inbetween the two mountains. The photo below depicts what it looks like between the two mountains or cliffs. And no, that little bit of white you see is not the actual temple. There is still a very steep way to go!

Still a long way to go! But there are steps to go up so it is okay. Steps with railings.

Almost there.

For a novice like me it took about about 3 hours to reach right up to the temple, from the start to the finish, with short stops to take my breath! It can also take three and a half hours, depending on whether you stop at the half way point. My recommendation is not to stop here more than a few minutes, as you are likely to be so tired, that you could be tempted to give up!

The way back from the temple takes about 4 hours, with a longish half hour break at the cafe. It's easier on the way down, at least easier on one's heart. But not on one's knees. Carrying two sticks on the way down helped me as my knees are not that great. Luckily our guide found another stick in the forest.

Take plenty of water and high protein snacks like cheese and nuts. There is no lunch available there. Use caps to protect your head as the sun is strong. Do this trek after a few days in the high altitude area. We did it at the tail end of our trip, after about 8 days. This way you are used to the altitude.

If you are reasonably healthy you can do it. Take your time if you are not used to climbing. It's okay to take even 4 hours to climb. The main thing is to do it!

Also, if your companions are athletic and go up faster than you (it is possible to climb in 2 hours if you are athletic), then you could be tempted to give up. If your companions are less motivated than you, and decide not to go up to the top, then too you could give up. So be prepared to go it alone. Take a guide with you.

The main thing is that if you make this wonderful journey you will never regret it. The experience is almost spiritual. It will stay with you all your life.

Buddhist Monks in Cambodia

Modern Buddhist monks as tourists, with cameras and cell phones. Outside a temple in Cambodia.

A monk tying a holy thread on a worshipper.

Related Images: Small Buddhist shrines or Sayings from the Buddha Pagoda or Global Pagoda in Maharashtra or Golden Buddha Statue in China
If you are looking for more images of Buddha try these posts: Sketches and drawings of Buddha or check out all photos on Buddhism, which includes temples and artifacts from all over the world.

You might also like Indian priests from Kerala, India or Hindu Priest performing a Pooja

Hindu Religious symbols

There are many things which are held sacred by the Hindus and these symbols are usually either found near the dieties or used in religious rituals.


This is an image of a copper vessel and a coconut standing in it. Used as an offering to the Gods. The Swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol is also seen in the image.

Each arm of the Swastika as per archaeological evidence represents "the processional equinox and solstice around the pole start". Other old civilizations around the world like Turkic, Iranian, Armenian, Nepalese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and European have also been associated with this symbol. It is still commonly used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It signifies wealth, prosperity and auspiciousness.

Flowers are commonly used for worship in all religions but Hinduism favours certain flowers. The 

The Chapha or Plumeria in English is used frequently for the worship of Hindu Gods. Here it is seen decorating a Trishul, another sacred Hindu symbol. 

The Trishula considered a sacred symbol for Buddhists as well as Hindus. The Hindu God Shiva uses this three pronged weapon as seen here in this picture. So does the Goddess Durga and also some other Hindu dieties.  The three points of the Trishul are supposed to represent the trinities of  creation, maintenance and destruction - The Past, the Present and the Future.

In the human body, the trishula is also meant to signify the place where the three main nadis, or energy channels (ida, pingala and shushmana) meet at the brow. 

And don't miss the Om symbol on Lord Shiva's palm. Written as ॐ in Devanagari, the Om is a type of mantra and mystical Sanskrit sound of Hindu origin. It is used for chanting during Yogic exercises. It is important in various religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sanatana Dharma and Jainism. 

Orange Marigold flowers are usually used in religious rituals and have now taken on a religious tone. They are hung in doorways and used in puja or Hindu religious rituals not just on festivals, but on any auspicious occasion.

A small temple in Thailand where orange marigold flowers are used for worship. Incense is also seen here. Again frequently used for the worship of God in most religions, including Christianity in India.

The Areca Nut is believed to be an auspicious ingredient and used in religious ceremonies in Hinduism and also in some schools of Buddhism. Here in this picture it is seen placed carefully on a mound of rice and used in a religious ceremony.

The Rudraksha is a necklace made of the beads from the seeds of the Rudraksha or Rudraksh tree, which is a large evergreen broad-leaved tree. These beads are used prayers and rituals in Hinduism and are also made into jewellery. Many fake ones are also available. The ones on the extreme right of the photograph are the rudraksha bead necklaces, the dark brown ones. These are usually available outside some temples or religious places.

For other religious symbols from Hinduism: Swastika graphics from India or Paduka or Guru's feet or or Shiva Pindi or Lingam or Significance of Nandi in Hinduism or or Diya graphics and illustrations and Sketch or  Significance of Animals and other life in Hinduism

Or check out all the photographs filed under Hinduism, Ellora, Art, Culture or Religion or Temples
More Related Images: Indian cities lit up at night with Diwali lights or  Priest performing a Pooja or Hanuman Temple

Sayings from the Buddha Pagoda

These are quotes and spiritual sayings of Dhamma, which have been put up on the Buddha Pagoda at Manori, near Mumbai. A pity that the English translation is poor.
There are least a hundred such sayings put up all around the Pagoda. Framed in large gold decorated frames, these sayings are in three languages - in Marathi, the regional language of Maharashtra, Hindi, the regional language of a few states in North India, and English, the working language of India. They have apparently been translated into English by someone poor in English because the translations are not proper.

This board says "Deeper the craving, deeper the aversion, deeper the aversion, deeper the affliction".
The Marathi/ Hindi ones make more sense. The Hindi one means "Deeper the anger, deeper the hate, deeper the hate, greater the misery"
Either the words have been lost in translation from Hindi to English, or the translation is very wrong and cannot be understood unless you know Marathi or Hindi.

This one says in English: Good to have mastery over speech, good to have physical mastery, but one who is the master of his mind is the warrior of courage.
The last bit which says "warrior of courage" makes no sense. A person who does not understand Hindi or Marathi will not understand the English words.
The Hindi and Marathi words actually mean that the person who is the master of his mind is a true warrior.

For our own actions, we ourselves are the authors. For our happiness or suffering, we alone are responsible. These words are a better translation because they make sense, but the translation is a poor one. In the first sentence the word "actions" does not match with "authors.' However we do get the meaning.

Transform your deeds of body, transform your deeds of speech, transform your mental deeds, this is the essence of Dhamma. Here the word "transform" is an incorrect translation of "Sudhar" which means improvement. Change is a better word than transform, but even the word change is not the correct one. Improve is the correct translation.

Gandhian principles explained by the Wheel of Life or read Mahatma Gandhi's famous sayings which have been framed and put up at Gandhidham: Mahatma Gandhi quotes

Global Pagoda in Maharashtra

The Global Vipassana Pagoda near Manori and Gorai is being built in the same architectural style as the Buddhist Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma. It contains some relics of the Buddha. This structure, on the coastline of Maharashtra, near Manori and Gorai, is still being built. It is a few minutes walk from Essel World. The entry is free, although some people give donations.

This is the photograph of the entrance to the Pagoda. The white dome in the background is the main prayer and meditation hall. The pillars of the Pagoda are painted with gold and red and two fearsome looking animal statues with gold seals on their chests guard the entrance. The dome has gold coloured carvings.

Here is a closer look at the prayer hall, housed in the white domed structure. A small shrine is near the steps leading to the hall.

The pagoda is huge and this photograph was taken while walking around the great white dome. As you can see here there are gold coloured carvings all over the pagoda. There are huge wooden carved doors leading the mediation halls (not in the picture).

One of the statues of animals at the Buddhist Pagoda.

A small golden dome like structure at the side of the main dome with a Buddha statue in a meditation pose.

This poster sums up what is being planned for the under construction global pagoda. "Right at the top is an umbrella shaped canopy. It is taller than 40 feet high and decorated with more than 400 bells, each about 12 inches in height. The umbrella weighs more than 110 kg. The flag, Dhamma Dhaja, is a valuable golden ornament, studded with genuine diamonds and rubies. At the top of the canopy is a crystal of about 3 feet high, which signs by sunlight during the day and by artificial light via optic fibre during the night."

You might also like to see all the images related to Buddhism where you will find statues and paintings of Buddha from different parts of the world.

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Inside the Ajanta Temples

The centuries old Ajanta Caves on the outskirts of Aurangabad are some of the most well maintained ancient archaeological world heritage sites in India. These 30 rock-cut caves are quite magnificent from the inside although the sculptures have chipped away and colours faded. The fact that they have been preserved since the fifth century B.C. is a miracle. One of the reasons could be that they are inside a horseshoe shaped gorge. The caves mainly represent Buddhism and are a great example of ancient Buddhist architecture. These images present a glimpse as to what the interiors are like and are just a sample. In actuality there are more than just 30 temples, because the temples often consist of several shrines and can be double storeyed.

In this picture you can see the large stone hall inside the temple. The pillars and ceiling is intricately decorated with sculptures. The Buddha can be seen inside the main shrine.

Here is another temple hall which appears plain by contrast. However most of the artwork has simply been eroded away by time. On the pillars you can see the remnants of the coloured paintings. One can only imagine how spectacular the temple must have looked when it was just made.

The inside of one of the main caves at Ajanta. The ceilings, walls and pillars are all elaborately sculptured and painted.

A look at the inner sanctum where the figure of Buddha is kept.

A passageway or corridor with Buddha sculptures at the side of the main hall.

You might also like View from Ajanta - scenery of rocks, caves and hills which is a panoramic view of the hills surrounding Ajanta caves. Or you can check out Ajanta Caves exterior images which reveal the horseshoe shaped gorge and the temples carved into it.
Or see all the carvings, sculptures and paintings at Ajanta or Ellora, where you will find photographs of both the Ajanta and Ellora caves and the art or try any of the labels below this post which will take you to art from all over the world.

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Ajanta Caves exterior images

This is what the Ajanta Caves look like from the outside. These 30 rock-cut caves are buried deep inside a horseshoe shaped gorge of the Waghora river. They represent the two distinct phases of Buddhism - the Hinayana phase from the second century BC to the first century AD and the second Mahayana phase from the fifth century AD to 6th century AD. They are a prime example of early Buddhist architecture and art. These caves remained safe from Mughal invaders as the caves were hidden deep in the rocks inside the jungles outside Aurangabad.

The caves stretch out into a long distance and Aurangabad is hot, so it is a long hot walk on concrete and stone. The caves are often double storeyed, if not higher, and that means climbing up and down for hours. Plus, the caves are huge inside with various halls and rooms and thus exploring some of the big caves can take over an hour. Chalk out a whole day for this adventure if you are serious about seeing this ancient art!

A closer view of the rock caves at Ajanta, on the outskirts of Aurangabad.

This is the view when the camera was turned in the opposite direction.

Another view of the Ajanta caves. The road to walk on is hard concrete and heats up. Decent and accessible toilet facilities were not available, at least not when we went. The toilet was locked!

You might also like View from Ajanta - scenery of rocks, caves and hills which is a panoramic view of the hills surrounding Ajanta caves, through the mouth of the horseshoe.
Or check out all the carvings, sculptures and paintings at Ajanta or Ellora, where you will find photographs of both the Ajanta and Ellora caves and the art.


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The Image of different Religions

Various surveys measure the image of different religions, and I did an image search on Google on different religions to see what would come up! These images are screenshots from the 11th December 2012, and might have already changed - keeping with the thought that images of religions is a fluid thing.

The followers of religions such as words like "Christians" or "Jews" were googled.  The first dozen or so images which appear in response to the search query captures the "image" of the religious followers in people's minds currently.

It's hardly two days old, but the google search results for "Christians" has changed dramatically! A lot of news regarding Christians in the world! The first is an image of the Lord Jesus, something about powerful Christians in Hollywoood, worshippers, the cover of a religious book, Christians in Syria, Egyptian Christians protesting,  Christians in Palestine, some anti-Christian views of Jews, an image of Jesus Christ, Muslims and Christians together protesting attack on church in Egypt, more protesters. There are pictures of the Jesus, but mostly the search results are about protests.

Here is what searching for "Hindus" on Google Search gets you:

Swastika, an ancient symbol representing Hindusim, women praying probably near the holy river Ganga, the religious dancers, another sacred ancient Hindu symbol, the Om, dancers, Pakistani Hindus not wanting to return to Pakistan, the Lord Shiva, worshippers, and again a picture of Pakistani Hindus not wanting to return to Pakistan and more worshippers. The search results are mostly about worshippers and symbols of Hinduism and about Pakistani Hindus not wanting to go back to Pakistan.

Googling "Jains" brought forth pictures of worshippers, maps and religious symbols.

Googling "Jews" brought forth a wiki page, images of worshippers, pretty girls, Israel history, early American Jews, protest regarding attitude of liberal American Jews. Interestingly no photographs of violence, not on this day.

When it comes to the word "Muslims", the photos that came up were of women in Burkhas, children praying, women praying, men praying, protesters, a mosque, more protesters, about attitudes to terrorism, about the hatred of Americans towards Muslims, statistics, protest in Britain by Muslims, worshippers, about the negative image of Muslims and more worshippers. If I were a Muslim I would be worried because the way the women dress has become symbolic of the negativity surrounding Muslims. Not to mention the hatred of violence in the name of religion.

I googled the word "pagans" as well because there are some major religions of the world which think that worshippers of all other religions are "pagans" and the word has a negative connotation. Even though the meaning of pagan means someone who has a mythology associated with their religion, the word has been associated with non-believer by arrogant religions. And what I got when I googled the word "pagans" was pictures of weird symbols, strange ancient rituals, pagan communities, and ineffectual definitions of paganism.

A pity that Scientology is associated with the famous people who are scientologists. That's what the image is!

Shintos are Japanese and here I got peaceful images of Shinto shrines, worshippers, and Shinto symbols.

By googling the word Sikhs one saw images of pain and suffering, and also of worshippers and religious symbols.

Buddhists praying, a photo of the Pope and Buddhists about religious dialogue, images of Buddhist worshippers and of Buddha, the Dharma wheel, more worshippers, and a meeting to discuss attacks on Buddhist places of worship. The search results are mostly about the Buddhist worshippers, and symbols of Buddhist. Also one picture of inter-religious dialogue and another discussing attacks on Buddhist shrines. Interesting that there are no photos of violent protests, just peaceful meetings.

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