The life of a monk
Like most people, I thought monks were those who only meditated high up in the mountains from within the walls of their monasteries. That changed when I met some of them in the monasteries dotting the Great Himalayan Trail. My search for the Sherpa culture had taken me to Junbesi, a Sherpa village in the Solukhumbu district. This is one of the oldest Sherpa villages in Nepal. There I met a group of monks from Serlo Gumba who invited me to visit their monastery. Little did I know how much this experience would affect me.
The next day I went to the monastery where I got to have lunch with the Rinpoche, Fengmo, and all the other monks there. Apparently the Rinpoche also liked photography, and so we got along well and had something in common to talk about. Fengmo was the high teacher there who helped me access information about Sherpa culture. Although uniquely knowledgeable, the men were down to earth and easy to approach.
So what’s it like to live in a monastery? What do the monks do there?
What I understood from the conversations with the monks is that living in a monastery is very much like living in school dorms. The young monks are there to study, and must undertake a rigorous course of Tibetan and ancient Tibetan scriptures. Their day typically starts with morning classes, breaking for lunch at 11am before heading back to study. Puja takes place every day at 5pm, before the students have dinner at 6pm. Every monk is assigned a broad array of activities: cooking, cleaning, chopping wood, taking care of the library, and even playing instruments during the puja.
To my surprise these monks were very much like those of us outside the monastery walls. They enjoyed playing football and other sports, they love art, and yes, they love social media too. The teachers didn’t have a similar opinion to social media, however. So disciples are allowed to use their phones only once a week. I was fortunate enough to be close to some monks during my time at the monastery, and yes, we are now ‘friends’ on social media.
What did I learn about the life of a monk in my short time at the monastery?
Well, the life of a monk consists of much more than meditation. They are just as human and multifaceted as everyone else. They love having fun, making new friends, and travelling to new places. Basically everything that you or I love doing! The only difference is that they do all of that, and strive to live a balanced and spiritual lifestyle. This is a key takeaway for me, and something I really needed to learn and apply in my own life.
Where spirits dwell
After trekking extensively through many of the recognized and ‘touristy’ paths in Nepal, I finally decided to take on the upper Great Himalayan Trail for the Manaslu section last season. Not because I had heard a lot about the area, quite the opposite actually. I had not and I wanted to see for myself what this trail had to offer. Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world, standing at an impressive 8,163 meters (26,781 ft) above sea level and located in the west-central part of Nepal. Its name, which means “mountain of the spirit”, comes from the Sanskrit word ‘manasa’, meaning “intellect” or “soul” and rightly so. For the Manaslu circuit trail is filled with mysterious lakes, ancient Tibetan culture and captivating monasteries.
Trying to describe this experience in words is a daunting task
Trying to describe this experience in words is a daunting task. I strongly feel it’s something you need to personally experience to fully appreciate the beauty and serenity that this trail has to offer. Every day of my trek was a gradual climb through forests, waterfalls and mountains.
The higher I went, the closer I felt to the mountains. For me, the highlight was reaching the ancient Tibetan settlements at Samagaon where everyone spoke only Tibetan language with the exception of a few youngsters. It sure was challenging to hold a conversation there.
Even though we didn’t speak the same language, the native Tibetan ladies still extended their hospitality and I was regularly invited to their homes for tea. Another highlight would have to be the Birendra Lake. As I was making my way towards the lake, I asked about it to a trekker returning from the lake. He simply replied, “It’s a place for the soul”, and I couldn’t agree more. I spent two hours at this lake, a place of peace and self-reflection, which had me returning as a much calmer version of myself.
Athough the trail is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in Nepal, not many people go here. This is mostly due to the fact that it has been designated a restricted area in order to preserve its natural state. But this also affects local economy. Because few people go here the hotels and local businesses don’t gain visitors and then even fewer people hear about it.
I fear that this will result in a slow death of local cultures and customs. As we see in other remote regions of Nepal, people invariably head to cities in search of opportunity and stability.
