Thursday, June 6

Keychok is a monk at Sera Mey who plays a major role in the coordination of ETSI.  He is a pleasure to talk to, welcoming and open to questions and with very good English.  I showed him the picture above today, and he explained to me that this is a stupa.

Every time a lama (similar to a chief or high priest) passes away, a new stupa is built containing a piece of their hair, a piece of their fingernail, and perhaps some other body parts as well.  In addition, writings which were precious to the lama are included.  Many Tibetans believe that circumambulating a stupa (typically clockwise) generates good karma, which can have positive effects in the present life or in one’s subsequent reincarnations.  Though my further research did not corroborate this so I may have misunderstood, Keychok said that the construction of the stupa is also a representation of the mind and its constituent parts.  For example, perception may be symbolized in part through the eyes on the higher portion of the stupa, and speech is represented by the writing on the plaque at the stupa’s base.