Slideshows for Taulihawa, where we visited friends and joined in
celebration of Tihar, and Lumbini, Kapilavastu and other Buddhist
sites are at:

Taulihawa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622519956599/show/

Lumbini
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622519998463/show/

Kapilavastu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622520033869/show/

Kusinagara
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622520043169/show/

Kapilavastu is a district in southwestern Nepal in which there was a
kingdom ruled by the Sakya dynasty during the 8th century BCE.
Kapilavastu gets its name from the sage Kapila whose hermitage was
here.

The Sakyas were a people who had settled in a forest of saka trees
south of Himalayas and between the Rohini and Rapti rivers. They grew
rice and raised cattle. The Sakya community consisted of stoneworkers,
iron smiths, woodworkers, weavers and potters. They built a city and
called it Kapilavastu.

In the early 7th century BCE, Kapilavastu was ruled by King
Suddhodana. A neighboring kingdom, Devadaha bordered Kapilavastu on
the east. Matrimonial relations developed between the Koliya royal
family in Devadaha and the Sakyas.

In 575 BCE, King Suddhodana married two sisters Mahadevi and Prajapati
from Devadaha.

Twelve years later a child was born who was to become the Buddha. His
name at birth was Siddhartha. Gautama was the name of his clan. He was
born on the full moon day of the month of Vaisakha in 563 BCE.

He lived in his father’s palace in Kapilavastu. According to legend,
his father went to great lengths to provide a pleasant home
environment for his son and went to great lengths to insulate him from
the misfortunes of life.

Archeological excavations at Tilaurakot, the site of Suddhodana’s
palace have unearthed hundreds of coins, pieces of pottery,
terra-cotta figurines, and stone and metal tools, beads and bangles.
Some of these objects have been dated from the 6th century BCE to the
2nd century CE.

At the age of 16, Siddhartha was married to Yasodhara of Devadaha.
After twelve years of marriage, the bore a son, Rahula.

At the age of 29, Siddhartha Gautama renounced his life as prince,
husband and father, and resolved to discover the key to freedom from
human suffering. He left the palace one night, shaved his head and
became an ascetic.

Six years later, after attaining enlightenment, he began his teaching
career of 45 years.

Soon after his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the Buddha, also known as
Sakyamuni returned briefly to Kapilavastu to see his father, his aunt
who had raised him, his wife, and his son.

A place called Kudan is where the Buddha first greeted his father. It
is about 4km south of Tilaurakot. At this time, the Buddha already had
a few hundred monks who accompanied him. To provide a place for them
to practice with their teacher, King Suddhodana built a monastery at
Kudan.

Today there are several mounds of bricks here, but their age is
uncertain. They may be ruins of temples or monasteries built later. In
1962, the site was partially excavated, but items found that could be
accurately dated were no older than the 9th century CE. Further
archaeological work will be required to ascertain the history of this
site.

In 483 BCE, at Kusinagar the Buddha passed away.

Within a couple hundred years of the Sakyamuni Buddha, the idea of
previous Buddha’s began to appear. By the time of king Asoka (3rd
century BCE), many believed that there had been other human Buddhas
before Sakyamuni.

According to both Hinayana and Mahayana teachings, Sakyamuni was
preceded by Krakuchhanda, Kanakamuni and Kasyapa. These are referred
to as Manusi (human) Buddhas. Interestingly, both Krakuchhanda and
Kanakamuni were born and attained enlightenment within 5 miles of
Tilaurakot.

The story of Krakuchhanda told by a renowned Buddhist scholar of
Srilanka, Malalasekera (1983) seems to me to be more apocryphal than
historical, telling that Krakuchhanda stood forty cubits tall, and
died at an age of forty thousand years. According to the story, he
practiced austerities for only eight months, and attained
enlightenment while sitting under a sirisa tree.

During his pilgrimage, King Asoka marked the site of Krakuchhanda’s
enlightenment by erecting a stone pillar at Gotihawa, just 3km west of
Kudan.

Scholar Malalasekera (1983) describes another Manusi Buddha,
Kanakamuni who ostensibly came after Krakuchhandu but before
Sakyamuni. The story tell us that he was 30 cubits tall and lived for
thirty thousand years. Apparently he attained enlightenment while
sitting under an Udumbara tree.

King Asoka identified a site where Kanakamuni attained enlightenment
at Niglihawa, about 5km northeast of Tilauakot. He erected a stone
pillar there and inscribed it in the Brahmi script and the Pali
language. Translated by V. Smith, the inscription says,

“His Majesty King Priyadarsina [Asoka]in the 14th year of this reign
enlarged for the second time the stupa of the Buddha Kanakamuni and in
the 20th year of his reign, having come in person, did reverence and
set up a stone pillar.”

Today the pillar is broken into pieces, two of which can be seen at
Niglihawa. The inscription is clearly visible.

In recent times, this pillar was discovered in 1893 by a Nepalese
officer on a hunting expedition.

Lumbini was identified in the late 1800’s as the birthplace of Buddha
and now there is strong archaeological evidence to support this. There
are also many nearby sites that are important to understanding the
life and teaching of Gautama Buddha. Most have not yet been
investigated by archaeologists.

The key points of interest at Lumbini are the Asoka pillar, the
Mayadevi Temple, the Sacred Pond and several Buddhist temples.

In the third century BCE, Emperor Asoka was a great and powerful king
who ruled all of north India. After a devastating battle at Kalinga,
he became a strong proponent of Buddhism and over the years, went on
several pilgrimages to visit Buddhist sacred sites. His patronage was
a strong stimulus to the spread of Buddhism.

In 269 BCE, he visited the birthplace of the Buddha and erected a
stone pillar to mark the site. He had the following words inscribed:

“King Piyadasi [Asoka] the beloved of Devas in the twentieth year of
the coronation himself made a royal visit; Buddha Sakyamuni having
been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar erected.
The Bhagavan having been born here, Lumbini Village was tax-reduced
and entitled to the eighth part only”.

The inscription was in the Brahmi language. For many years, the
commonly accepted translation of one phrase was “stone railing”, even
though there was no evidence of a railing. However, in 1996, after
careful excavation of the Mahadevi Temple, an important discovery was
made– a special marker stone was unearthed at the base of the temple
which marks the exact spot at which the Buddha was born. Now the
consensus seems to be that the phrase was actually referring to the
marker stone, not a railing.

The Mayadevi Temple also contains a stone Nativity Scene of Lord
Buddha’s birth. Exposed for hundreds of years, the Nativity Scene has
been worn smooth by being touched by innumerable pilgrims and
worshipers. Today the temple is surrounded by a new building that
protects the temple excavation and the nativity scene has been raised
up to be out of reach of passersby.. The recently discovered Marker
Stone is protected by a glass enclosure.

According to legend, the Sacred Pond is where Mayadevi took a bath
just before giving birth.

In 1978, a master plan was completed for the development of Lumbini.
It set aside areas for the construction of temples by governments and
Buddhist organizations. A few temples have been completed, but most
are still under construction or postponed. It appears that development
has been hampered by the lack of roads, bridges and other
infrastructure. There is potential for large and beautiful gardens
once construction is completed.

It had been fourteen years since we had visited Lumbini with our
children and we saw many changes. We were also struck by how much
additional work must be done to make this place attractive for
pilgrims.

Among the best sources of information are the two books written by the
archaeologist, Basanta Bidari: Lumbini: A haven of Sacred Refuge
(2002) and Kapilavastu: The World of Siddhartha (2007). Much of the
information in our blog posts about Lumbini and Kapilavastu come from
Mr. Bidari’s two books.

Encounters with people along the trail in Western Nepal

We come across a middle aged Nepali couple in the Humla District. The
woman has a large goiter on her neck. I wonder whether they were
heading down to Simikot to get some medical attention. I know that
goiters are due to an iodine deficiency. In my pack I have a bottle of
iodine tablets, as a backup for water purification, in case our
Steri-Pen stopped working. Should I offer this woman some iodine
tablets? I have no idea what the proper course of treatment is for
goiters– what form of iodine, what dosage, how frequently, for how
many months. Would it do more harm than good by giving her some iodine
tablets? I don’t know, so I do nothing and we continue on our way.

Another man stops to talk with our guide, Lal Bahadur. He describes an
ailment where some kind of black substance came up from his stomach.
He asks us whether we have any medicine for this. I have no idea what
this might be. I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything to help. We
continue on our way.

A man stops us, complaining of a headache. Do we have any medicine
that would help? I think Julian has some ibuprofin tucked away in his
medical kit. Maybe it would give the man some relief. Maybe not. We
keep walking.

We come across a group of about 20 people working on road
construction. One of them holds out his hand and asks for “money”.
Another chimes in, “money!” With extended hand. A group of three women
step in front of us, blocking our path. “Money!, money!” They shout.

I continue walking forward, between two of the women. One woman grabs
my walking stick and tries to wrest it from my hand. I hang onto it
more tightly and continue walking forward. I glance at one of the
other men in the group, who simply shakes his head, as if to say,
“Just ignore those women.” I continue walking, realizing that I have
become just a bit upset with this incident.

We arrive in Hilsa and wait at the police station for word about the
whereabouts of our passports. A man has been sorting beans on a flat
wicker basket. He picks out two beans, one white and one black and
comes over to talk with us. He indicates that one of his teeth is
black, like the black bean, and it hurts very much. Is there anything
we can do about it?

Probably an abscess; probably a tooth that needs to be extracted.
Julian points out that we have some dental floss with us– perhaps we
could tie it around his abscessed tooth and give it a good yank. Well,
it’s a nice idea, but we say there’s nothing we can do. Sorry.

Encounter with a family in Taulihawa

We’re visiting a family I have known for many years. The nephew of a
friend of mine, about 10 years old, has been complaining of a fever
and constant pain in one of his teeth. He opens his mouth to show me
the tooth, and sure enough it has a brownish color. Definitely
something that calls for a trip to the dentist.

The boy has been told that he will be taken to a dentist soon , but
the trip keeps getting postponed. We suspect that the delay is due to
financial reasons. After a few days, there is less pain and the tooth
seems to be getting better. Is it really healing on its own, or has
the decay advanced to the point where the nerve is dying. I suspect
the latter. Will he be taken to a dentist? I doubt it. The nearest
dentist is a day away.

The boy lives with his mother and grandfather; his father committed
suicide a few years back. The grandfather is financially well off, but
extremely tight with money. Also, he has a long history of being
abusive to his sons. After the death of his first son, the grandfather
built a wall to divide the house into two haves. His one surviving
son, the boy’s uncle and his family have been banished from the
grandfather’s side of the house and the grandfather hasn’t spoken
with them for years.

Obviously there is complicated set of relationships going on here.
Intervening on behalf of the nephew with the toothache could really
set off some sparks. But the fact remains that the boy really does
need to see a dentist.

Just before we leave, I put some cash in an envelope and give it to
the boy’s uncle, explaining that this is to pay for a trip to the
dentist. First, he is hesitant to take it, saying that the grandfather
has money and is able to pay. But after we discuss it a few minutes,
he agrees to take the money and see what can be done.

I have no idea whether this will actually benefit the nephew or not.
But it seems worth the risk.

It’s been 38 years since I first came to Taulihawa, assigned here as a
Peace Corps volunteer to teach science and math in the village school.

While there are more people and more buildings and the town has grown
in all directions, it feels not that different from when I first
arrived. The population has grown from about 4,000 to 20,000. I
recognize the main street intersections and temples that have been
here for ages.

As the bus from Lumbini entered town from the east, I spotted the
two-story building that I lived in during my third year here in
Taulihawa. I had two rooms — one I used as a kitchen and bedroom, the
other as a meditation room. The building is currently being used as a
gas station and it looks rather run down.

We hired a rickshaw to take us to the home of my friend Dinesh
Gyawali. The rickshaw driver recognized my friend’s name.

Dinesh, about 5 years younger than me, was a good friend, always
looking for interesting places to take me and people to meet. Now he
is married and has a son and two daughters. His eldest daughter,
Sumita was able to come to the US on a Diversity Visa two years ago.
When I mentioned to Sumita’s grandfather that Sumita was “just like a
daughter” to us, he corrected me, saying, “No, she IS your daughter.”
Sumita returned to Taulihawa for the holidays so the whole family was
together during our visit.

When Dinesh heard that we would be visiting, he decided it was time to
build a bathroom with a Western style toilet and a shower. So when we
arrived, workers were putting the finishing touches on a flush toilet,
a sink and a shower, (all outdoors) which required installation of a
water pump and a water storage tank.

The wiring definitely wouldn’t pass inspection in the U.S. — the
wires to the pump were connected to an extension cord with Scotch
tape, laid over the walkway and threaded through an open window to an
outlet. But it worked. Sort of.

The project was a wonderful gesture of hospitality. I’m just sorry
they had to cut down one of their two coffee bushes to make room for
the bathroom.

Dinesh’s wife Nirmada is a wonderful cook and prepared not only our
morning and evening meals, including different vegetables and chutneys
each meal, but various kinds of tasty snacks in between.

We celebrated the Festival of Lights which involves worshiping Laksmi,
the goddess of wealth and prosperity, setting up electric lights,
candles and butter lamps outside and throughout the house, and
watching groups of singing and dancing children who go door to door
offering blessings and collecting money.

We’ve been visiting lots of friends around town, having tea and snacks
at the homes of former teachers at Buddha Padma High School, and some
of my former students, most of whom have children of their own.

I thought I was going to wander about the market to take some pictures
one afternoon, but there are so many people here who remember me, and
want to visit, it became a sequence of invitations to come have tea in
people’s homes. We already have more invitations for dinner than we
will ever be able to accept.

Former students still remember some of the science demonstrations and
experiments we did in the classroom– the sodium metal in the pan of
water which sizzled and hissed as it skimmed across the surface,
vigorously producing hydrogen gas until the gas ignited with a loud
bang; the human skull we had found by the riverside– apparently it
still peers out of the display cabinet.

Today we have moved to the home of Gopal Bahadur Singh which is where
I lived during the first two years of my stint as a Peace Corps
volunteer. Back then the home was occupied by an extended family that
included Gopal and his wife, their five children, both parents, and
two or three other relatives. Now the children have their own families
and have moved away. The parents have passed away, so now only Gopal
and his wife live here, along with a servant woman and her son.

We continue joining in the holiday festivities by going to the home of
a family member and Bhai Tikka where everyone blesses everyone else by
putting a dab of red color on each person’s forehead.

We’ll leave for Delhi on Wednesday (10/21) and start planning the
remainder of our trip.

It felt like time to leave Kathmandu though it was sad to say farewell
to Deepak and his wonderful family. After a 2-hour wait, we caught our
flight to Bhairhawa, a very short 35-minute flight.

The taxi from the airport to Lumbini dropped us in a very dusty street
next to a “rustic”
Garden Hotel. The room had two single beds, each with a single sheet
and a mosquito coil. In its favor was an attached, though barely
functional bathroom with a non functional shower.

We visited the sacred sites of Lumbini in the afternoon. Much of it
was familiar from our previous visit and some was new. The grounds
were better maintained than I had recalled and it felt less forgotten
than it had on our previous trip.

The following afternoon, having explored the other temples and
monasteries in Lumbini, we climbed aboard a crowded bus to Taulihawa,
the village of David’s Peace Corps experience. At stops along the way,
a few people would get off, but many more would get on. The bus
conductors were hanging on the outside of the bus, making sure no
passengers fell out of the opened doors as we bounced along the narrow
rutted road.

I don’t know if it was our gray hair or our foreign appearance, but
the conductors insisted that David and I have seats. Once seated,
there was no wiggle room and it was necessary to hold ones feet on tip
toe or they were stood on by one of the standing passengers. I had fun
imagining the meaning of the conversations going on around
me. When we peeled out of the bus at our destination, we found a
rickshaw to take us to the home of David’s friend, Dinesh.

Our stay with Dinesh Gyawali’s family was delightful. We know Sumita,
the eldest daughter because she had lived with us for a few months
when she first arrived in the USA. Her younger brother and sister were
also there since it was holidays for them. It is obvious they are a
close knit family and there was a great deal of joy and celebration.
We were treated like treasured long lost family.

David is truly a celebrity here and everyone has their own stories of
experiences with him that they treasure. It was fun for me to sit back
and be the observer of such rejoicing. Our visit with Julian and
Allison of 14 years ago was recalled with great pleasure and they
wanted to know what each of the kids were doing now. We were shown
many pictures, some framed, taken with our family on that trip.

It has been humbling to spend time here with people living very simple
lives of necessity (and in some instances of choice) and yet
experience the generosity of spirit that expects nothing in return. I
am grateful to have returned here.

Wednesday, Sep 2
Weather in Simikot reported to be cloudy. Flight cancelled. Julian and I each went jogging. I met him on his way back from a run to a nearby army barracks and we returned to the hotel together. After a mid-day meal of dahlbhat, we went for a walk around town. Then slept for a few hours in the afternoon.

Thursday, Sep 3
Around 5:00 am I got up to shut off the noisy air conditioner I heard a dripping sound and figured it was condensation from the AC. It lasted several minutes. I remember thinking, “That AC unit sure draws out a lot of moisture from the air!” Then I realized, it wasn’t condensation from the AC; it was raining outside.

We learned at the desk that the rain in Nepalgunj and clouds in Simikot had caused flights to be cancelled a second day. No need to go to the airport.

Our guide, Lal Tharung, started discussing the possibility of returning to Kathmandu, then taking a Jeep to Mt Kailash, instead of trekking from Simikot. We discussed this with Deepak Mahat, owner of Thirdpole Treks.

We decided to wait one more day for the weather to clear. If the flight is cancelled a third time, we have the option of flying back to Kathmandu and executing Plan B. Julian is hoping to avoid the long drive from Kathmandu to Mt Kailash and back. So am I except it may be a better option than hanging out in Nepalgunj any longer (and losing any acclimitization I may have gained in Lhasa).

The rain gradually increased. Julian took this as a welcome respite from the heat — he went ahead jogging in the rain. After running with him to the end of the driveway, I turned around and returned to the hotel, where I dried out my clothes.

Another day of dahlbaht (rice, lentils and vegetables), an afternoon nap and some reading. Julian just finished the book, Three Cups of Tea and now I’m reading it — quite a well written, engaging book.

Friday, September 4
We met a couple from California, Vajra and Pema and their 14-month old son Mela. Vajra was getting just as impatient sitting in Nepalganj as we were. His contact in Simikot at the Sun Valley Resort, Sunny Travels suggested we drive to Surkhet and catch a helicopter to Simikot. We were told in Nepalgunj that planes could not fly to Simikot until the mud on the runway dried out. So we decided to go with Vajra and Pema, share a car to Surkhet and try to catch a helicopter.

We piled in the car and set out on a 3-hour journey to Surkhet. The road had many landslides partially covering the pavement, but enough rocks had been moved away that it was passable.

I had no idea how we were going to pay for a helicopter. Vajra thought the fare would be about $250 per person, but adding up all my travelers cheques, US bills, Nepali rupees, as well as Julian’s money would have barely covered it, but not if there were extra charges for baggage, which of course we had a lot of. I had no idea what we were going to do.

We arrived in Surkhet around 1:00 pm. First we were told that there was only room for the couple to fly. We found a hotel, the New Nepal Hotel and rented a room. We stayed Friday night.

I asked whether there were any banks in Surkhet and was told yes there were. We immediately tried to find one, it being mid-afternoon Friday. We were eventually guided to Nepal Investment Bank. I went in and asked whether they cashed Travelers Cheques. No they didn’t. I held up my debit card. How about this? Oh, yes, you must go downstairs to the ATM machine. Whoa! A stroke of luck.

Downstairs there is a dark narrow passage way with an electronics shop and next to it an ATM machine. I went in and inserted my debit card. The Withdrawal button was dead– it did nothing. But the Fast Cash button brought up a list of different amounts of Nepali rupees to choose from. The largest about was 10,000, or about $120. So I withdrew the full amount 6 times and Julian withdrew the full about 2 times. We left. But then after dinner, I had been worrying that this probably still was not enough, so we walked back to the ATM machine and withdrew another 20,000 rupees. Now we had 80,000 rupees and the helicopter fare for three people with all our gear came to 72,000 rupees.
Stayed at the New Nepal Hotel. The evening was blustery, with the wind blowing and the rain falling horizontally. Lightning and thunder.

Saturday, Sep 5
We woke up to rain on Saturday morning. All day the weather was bad and helicopter flights were postponed. The morning weather was still not suitable for flying, but we were told to wait in our hotel until we got a call from the helicopter company. Around 2:00 pm we got the call and went to the airport. At 3:00 we boarded a Russian built helicopter and took off for Simikot. Flight was relatively smooth. Some fantastic scenery of vertical cliffs– probably one of the most remote regions of the planet I have ever seen.