On to Page 4Kopan is a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery situated just outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. For nearly thirty years, Kopan has hosted a thirty-day course on Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Last November, John and Bill Wells attended the course and they share their stories with "Tara News" ...
Our first introduction to Kopan was a brief one. We had just returned to Kathmandu from a three-week trek, which had led us not only around the Annapurna range and through the lower region of Mustang, but back in time. To an era governed by religious devotion and acquaintance with the spirits of the land. This was the perfect preparation for Kopan.
After a day or two of adjustment back to city life, we hired a taxi to drive us to the Bodhnath stupa (the one often seen on postcards and in movies.) The Lonely Planet guidebook told us that Kopan was a 2-3 km walk from the stupa. So, we spent an hour or two shopping and meandering through the various shops that surround Bodhnath stupa, before making our way north out of Bodhnath. For those of you who have visited Asia, I need not explain the "rawness" of life one encounters there. And for those of you who have not: "Life in Asia is raw." People live in the day and for the day. They have neither the means nor the inclination to cover the truth of their existence with a synthetic one.
Kopan monastery sits above the majority of the Kathmandu valley, as it should. With a 360-degree view of raw Asian life, Bill and I spent 30 days learning the Mahayana angle of perception ... of the life that sprawled to the horizons. As most of you can imagine, it was a pivotal time. A time I will never forget. A time that I hope to continue building upon.
Although there were many moments of joy and elation, there is no getting around the fact that spiritual practice is hard work, and over the duration of the course both peaks and valleys played important roles in the learning process. The schedule was pretty intense.
Everyone got up at 5:30 for tea (5:00 if you wanted to do prostrations.) At 6:00, there was an hour-long guided meditation. Then we had breakfast from 7:00 to 8:00. From 8:00 until 11:30, we received teachings on lam rim (the gradual path.) Peter sat directly in front of me throughout the course and one day I noticed that he had neatly written "Buddhism 101" on the front of his notebook. I could not have given a better description of lam rim; it is the entire philosophy of Buddhism all wrapped-up into one neat package. However, as Peter's title seemed to suggest, one month was going to be only enough time for an introduction. (Upper level courses would have to wait.) After a delicious vegetarian lunch, we had until 2:00 to relax, read, or just sit and enjoy the beautiful weather. At 2:00, we met with our discussion group for an hour. During this time, everyone had an opportunity to share their ideas and opinions on the teachings and clarify difficult points. Then began another session on lam rim from 3:30 until 5:00.
From 5:00 to 6:00, everyone had tea. The breaks were wonderful opportunities to continue discussing the Dharma, or just talk about nothing much at all -- the latter was usually the most popular conversation of the day! At 6:00, we meditated for another hour. This was usually an analytical meditation on that day's teachings. After dinner, we then had another hour-long guided meditation before turning in at 9:00.
Each day before I awakened, the monks were already up chanting and saying prayers. At the end of the day, they could still be found debating in the courtyard, long after this lazy westerner was sound asleep. Seeing the dedication the monks have to the Dharma and constantly interacting with their smiling faces on a daily basis was a constant lift in and of itself. Along with the moments of inspiration and joy however, the most powerful moments were the most difficult. Given a full month to really mull over what you believe and logically support those beliefs is at times a maddening task. One evening, someone asked me why I believe in reincarnation and the "stock answer" that had always sufficed when someone had asked me that question no longer worked. My comfort zone was breaking down. I realized that I was pushing my understanding of my own beliefs to a new plane. No answer was the best answer. An old piece of the puzzle that had always fit in a certain place no longer did, the puzzle had been enlarged, and the entire thing needed reworking. This seemed to be the growth that I had come for, not answers to a puzzle -- but simply the discovery of a larger puzzle.
