We visit Bylakuppe


Bylakuppe is a beautiful place to visit if you want to soak in culture. Namdroling Monastery is a place I have wanted to visit for sometime, having heard and read that it is largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet....

The drive was long and we were looking for the Golden Temple...and did we find it...

The timing was perfect, the nuns and monks streaming into the Temple for their mid day Prayers....the sound of the chant...echoing around...an elaborate mantra... .tea served between prayers...

a world so beguiling and different...

This particular Fresco caught my eyes...surely there is a story here...I thought...

Surely enough...it is a Jataka Tale, and apparently this Tibetan Motif is seen in most cultures that follow the Buddhist way of life..

The story itself talks about Cooperation and Harmonious friendship...but the prelude to the story makes it more interesting...In some stories the Buddha wanting to show his disciples that there is no hierarchy in friendship shares this tale with all...while in other versions the story shares the conflict between four animals and the resolution reached when they all decide to cooperate and help each other.

(You can read the stories by clicking on the blue highlighted words)

I carry this story with me and will tell when the need arises...till then...enjoy some wonderful images from Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppe, Karnataka...
( It is the second largest monastery for novitiate nuns and monks)...

Beautiful Frescos...




Prayer Time...



Door tapestry: showing motifs that symbolize hope and good will...


.


Scaled down version of the Palyul Monastery in Tibet...




The Tibetan tradition to have the Dharma wheel flanked by the deers on the roof...



I remember reading about Lama Mani books on Saffron Tree, another reason why I wanted to visit Bylakuppe...




Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 3, 2012 at 1:58 AM

    Visited this place about 5 yrs back, on our way to Coorg.. It felt like we were transported to a different world:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anuradha ShankarApril 7, 2012 at 8:38 PM

    been wanting to go there for a long time... coorg beckons all the time, and i have booked twice, but there seems to be a jinx since everyt time, my trip has been cancelled!! wonder when i will get to go... meanwhile, enjoyed seeing the pics.. and reading the story

    ReplyDelete

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