Monkey Temple Research Paper

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The milestone that marked the course of my life occurred in Kathmandu, Nepal. In Kathmandu there is a famous stupa. A stupa is a dome-shaped structure erected as a Buddhist shrine. My experience began one late afternoon while looking and contemplating the eyes of the Buddha painted on the four sides of the tower in the center of the stupa called the Swayambhunath Temple. This temple is known also as the “Monkey Temple” because hundreds of “sacred” monkeys swarm throughout the temple grounds day and night. The monkeys belong to the Rhesus Macaque family, which is one of the best-known species of the Old World monkeys. I was surrounded by Tibetan monks and “holy” monkeys. That mesmerizing experience continued through the evening and lasted until Uninterrupted, I felt like floating all night. Just before the light of the day presented itself, I was staring from the terrace of the plaza that housed the temple and its stupa at the visible dense fog below that was pierced by the sporadic lights of the village that was waking up. While the day made its timid, slow entrance, the dissipating fog revealed the roofs of the houses below and the chanting inhabitants, who were walking up the 365 steps. Their voices gradually grew louder step by step until it reached and permeated the square where I was temporarily residing. It was a ritual performed every day at dawn to honor and help the rising Sun. There was no other place on earth I wanted to be. (By the way, I was really happy when recently I saw that the dome and its stupa withstood the recent earthquake, majestically.) Reference: http://albinger.me/tag/swayambhu-before-and-after- earthquake Later in my voyage I had a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Higher Realm of Consciousness in Puri, Orissa, India. It was back in the year 1969 when my trip took

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