NEPAL - KOPAN MONASTRY

NEPAL - KOPAN MONASTERY

I had heard about Kopan Monastery (http://www.kopan-monastry.com/monastry.com/) and the annual month long course they offer on Buddhism from the teachers at Tushita. To cut a long story short i managed to get a spot on the course which i felt very privileged and grateful for. I was not yet quite ready to come back and this final month would give me that time to mentally prepare. So, again no more sex, drugs, rock n roll, meat, alcohol and some periods of silence. 10 days in fact during the month long course. Missing all the above didn't bother me, i was getting used to even liking it.

Kopan monastery began its journey teaching western students about Buddhism in 1969 located high up on the same hill it is today, just outside the centre of Kathmandu. Back then there were tents and a large marquee for the teachings. Today there is a magnificent main Gompa (prayer/teaching hall) and two smaller Gompas with some 400 resident monks from Tibet, Nepal, India and Bhutan studying the traditional monastic education of philosophy, morality and the meaning of life. There is now even a school there offer local children a free education paid for by the teachings offered to westerners. (Picture is of Venerable Thubten Dondrup)

We were some 250 students enrolled in this course from all over the world such as Europe, the US, Australia, Israel and Asia. Our teacher was a middle aged Australian called Lama Lundrup. He was teaching a course that was an introduction to Buddhism similar to my 10-day retreat in Tushita but supposedly slightly more in-depth. Well that was what was sold to me. I was fortunate to be giving a small dorm with two other cool room mates, Simon from Denmark and Michael from Scotland (other dorms existed of some 20 beds). Each night the three of us would have lengthy discussions about what we had learned that day, however it soon became evident that none of us were impressed by the quality or level of teaching upon the subjects. We soon realised our teacher was teaching not from a position of realisation or knowing but of intellect. He had learnt the subject matter and then recited what he knew of the subject from limited perspectives. Rarely was there an inspirational lesson and to be honest i thought the teachings were quite poor. Although the teacher meant well and did have good intentions i felt he was not the right man for the job. I am sorry.

Aside the location itself, the fellow students, the facilities (library), the food, the staff were all great, but the key reason why people including myself had travelled for miles and days to come here was to be inspired further on a spiritual level by the teachings. It didn't happen with such depth which was a shame on the one hand however Kopan itself is an amazing location to be, to reflect on ones life's journey. Seperately i had a very good team discussion group and learnt a lot from these fellow students (see group pic).

On a personal note having that last month on the hilltop of Kopan before going home, that time at the end of my 18months gave me some quality time, some space to reflect upon my journey which i have written about in my last entry, about the next steps in my life. What direction i wish to consciously move life towards. I made some great friends with which we discussed several subjects, exchanged opinions and learnt from each other. I will stay in contact with these friends. I remember one night Matt from the US, Michael, Simon and I put the world to rights for some 2-3hrs. A great conversation, where some good ideas were aired and discussed. I feel that with these types of people in our generation together will make a positive difference in this dark age we live in, i hope a positive change now for our children to come.

I have written the title of a few books below if you are interested to read up on Buddhism. You might be pleasantly surprised! I also have some teachings on CD format if anyone would like a copy. I am now writing my final thoughts of my journey and will post them shortly. I will inform you all. Take care, Luke.

Some great books

Reflections on a Mountain Lake by Tenzin Palmo

What Makes you NOT a Buddhist by Jamyang Khyentse

The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama