We'll move to the high desert and brave the heat, winds, sun, floods, drought, and rodents.
Having secured the land for cheap, trekking into the wilderness to find a rural spot, it is time to build a structure on the real estate. Of course, what could be better than a yurt if living in the cold Stans? A vegan yurt, no wool, could really be something if it remained dry and kept snakes and rodents out. But someone or something might cut a hole to get in. Something better than cob and haybales is needed. What could be better than modular building blocks? It's a Lego house that's easy to expand, sturdy, solid, permanent, earthquake proof. What if all the blocks come tumbling down in a 9.0 apocalyptic tremor? There's a solution for that:
A kuti [\coo-tee\] is a "meditation hut," and that's what's needed more than a place to stretch or sleep. A quiet place, a place apart, a room with a view...a hearth with a chimney stack and solar panels for a fan. This structure is actually portable if one breaks it down and sets it up somewhere else. But it will stay in place, even in the wind, and be a forever home, a meditation lodge with many happy visitors.
TikTok solves everything; Team Tiny House (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Where did Silk RoadBuddhism come from? Gandhara or what is now Afghanistan (the home of the Buddha and his extended family, the Indo-Sakas/Scythians known as the Shakyas) or proto-India (Bihar and Magadha, before the formation of modern "India" under Emperor Ashoka, or China, after Buddhism traveled from there and spread out from there?
Dr. Ranajit Pal (ranajitpal.com) would agree that while Buddhism began in what is now India, it co-arose in the Buddha's homeland, what we could call "Shakya Land," around the three seasonal capitals of Kapilavastu (Kabul/Kapil), Bamiyan, and Mes Aynak, all in modern Afghanistan, Central Asia.
Afghanistan, after all, has the largest and some of the oldest Buddhist statues in the world, and the Buddha visited it seven years after his great awakening, returning to his people, many of whom then ordained and either followed him back East or stayed and formed large monastic communities for nuns and monks, practicing in accordance with the Doctrine the Buddha was establishing all around the Gangetic plain and foothills of the Himalayas.
He was not from Nepal, not a Hindu, not a member of the formal caste system but a "warrior" and therefore labelled a kshatriya in accordance with the Brahmin priests and their Vedas ("Knowledge Books") and view of the four varnas or categories of social obligations (duty, dharma) one is necessarily born into, with the Brahmins placing themselves on top.
But the administrators, the warrior-nobles or Aryans reckoned themselves in accordance with this imposed system, in the vicinity of the remains of the once great Indus Valley Civilization. Gandhara in Indo-Pakistan (with Taxila or Takkasila as its capital) is ancient even by that time, according to Buddhist sources (Jāt. 96).
Tash Rabat is a well-preserved 15th century stone caravanserai in At Bashy District, Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan. It is located at an altitude of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet).
Research:
As early as 1888, Russian traveler Dr. Nicolay Lvovich Zeland suggested that it was originally a Nestorian or Buddhist monastery.
Research undertaken at the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s by the Institute of History of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences [mistakenly*] concluded that Tash Rabat was originally built as a Nestorian monastery in the 10th century, although no Christian artifacts were ever found during excavations. More
*Later it was determined to be a Buddhist monastery as all inscriptions, artifacts, and references were found to be Buddhist in nature.
This was further supported by the fact that its inhabitants were Buddhist during the period of its construction (Khudyakov, Ju. (2009). Таш Рабат - Караван-сарай или замок [Tash Rabat - caravanserai or temple]. Priroda (in Russian). Russian Academy of Sciences (6): 55. Retrieved 2 May 2014).
[Its hollowed stupa and Mongolian-style compound, with yurts to weather the Central Asian snow and grassland, certainly appears more Buddhist than later Christian traditions influenced by Buddhist monasticism. It might have been both, built up for both purposes, as Russian Christian Nicolas Notovitch found at Hemis Gompa in his travels through Buddhist Tibet/India, Ladakh, where Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth had stayed and trained. See more at Jesus in India and in particular the works of Holger Kersten.]
Living Big In A Tiny House, 9/19; CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Amazing modern yurt is a design marvel
This incredible home is a completely contemporary take on the traditional yurt (from formerly-Buddhist Central Asia and Mongolia). With a diameter of 30 feet (9 meters), this beautiful home has it all and is packed full of wonderful design features. Yurts are easy to set up, cozy, and functional homes. And this modern take on the traditional home is a real architectural design treasure. Enjoy the full tour of this tiny house. Enjoy the video? Consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/livingbig.
This do-it-yurtself small home was constructed by Zach and Nicole. Its modern design is spatially efficient and beautiful. The entire project was built as a DIY project. To learn more about how Zach and Nicole were able to build this yurt, visit their free online build guide: Do It Yurtself (doityurtself.com). Follow Zach at instagram.com/zachboth.
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