Meditate in Kathmandu in 360 degrees

Meditate with Buddhist monks (lamas) in Katmandu (360)

Kumari (Reisbegeleider Hans)

(Fitness Discovered) What is it like to meditate with Himalayan Buddhist lamas in a lamasery? Find out in this 360-degree virtual reality puja (devotional service) meditation for 15 minutes. Put on a headset and enjoy this rare experience with the monks from Nepal's Khawalung Tashi Choeling Monastery (KM). #Travel #VR #Meditation

• Nepal - Kathmandu - Kumari Ghar - The Temple of the Living Goddess or Kumari Devi Flickr

Yongey Mingyur Rimpoche, Tergar, + Matthew "Happiest Man in the World" Ricard in Nepal

Shoestring travel from India to Nepal

Indian PM Modi at the Mahaparinirvana Temple with reclining Buddha on Abhidhamma Day

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Kumari Devi: The Living Goddess of Nepal

We visited Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India, where the Buddha chose to pass into final nirvana (parinibbana) between twin sal trees. It was hot, too hot. Arrive in season or pay the price. (The price is much higher in season, but the weather is terrible, so the price of convenience and no crowds is all the reasons the crowds are choosing to wait before visiting). On Lonely Planet's map, holy Nepal was walking distance. It's not, but it is only a short bus ride away on a very bouncy bus that will bust a butt and give one a condition usually reserved for men who sit too long on the porcelain throne straining, so bring a pillow.

• Pashupatinath Temple Nepal – Untold Mysteries || Kathmandu Tourist Places, Nepal

Pilgrimage sites should include Afghanistan

We made it across the international line and found out that an extraordinary thing about the tiny Buddhist (officially the only "Hindu nation" in the world, due to the pressure big neighbor India inducing it to) nation of Nepal is that it has all of the terrains from swampy lowlands to frigid alpine zones in a very short span. There is another place in the Americas that also shares this unusual trait, but a bus up the Himalayan foothills is dizzying for all the changes one sees along the river of melting snow.

(Marco Pino) Buddhist monks chant inside Tharlam Monastery, Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal

Inside Maha Parinirvana Temple, Kushinagar

Entering "Katmandu" (Kathmandu), which is in a valley, listening to Bob Seger, imagining ourselves on the HIPPIE TRAIL alongside the members of Pink Floyd ("Astronomy Domine") and Led Zeppelin ("Kashmir"). The bus kept going up and further up: The capital has always been safe from invasion because it was just too much trouble for any invading army to reach, so it survived as a nation (with internal strife from corrupt governments and Maoists taking matters into their own hands and trying to make things better). Behold, Durbar Square, Kathmandu!

Kumari Devi: The Living Goddess (Reisbegeleider Hans)

It's a nice place to shop for clothes and patches

Everyone points us to Freak Street because, of course, where else would Westerners be looking for? We were actually looking for the virgin Living Goddess to feel her shakti ("divine energy"). Boudhanath has the wisdom eyes of the Buddha, which would make a great color tattoo. After seeing the stupa, we realized there were other monasteries around the capital. Visiting the exterior for their grand views is compelling, but I couldn't help but go in to see the chanting and tantric meditation by butter lamps, just like the view above.

• Fitness Discovered, May 25, 2017; Text: Dhr. Seven and Kelly Ani (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly