My summer plans have finally been confirmed... In just six weeks I'm moving to Nepal to live in a Buddhist monastery and teach English to the monks for three months!
Pema
Chuling Monastery is
one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the Khumbu region. The
monastery is situated on a hill, about 20-30 minutes from Jorsale,
which lies on the main trekking route to Namche Bazaar and Everest
Base Camp. The monastery is situated at an altitude of 2900
meters (10,000 feet).
From
the monastery, you can see spectacular views of Thamserku and
Kusum Khangare Himalayas. If you hike 2 hours straight uphill from
the monastery, you can enjoy spectacular views of all the
Himalayas, including Mount Everest.
The
monastery belongs to Nyimgpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism and
considers Guru Rinpoche as its patron saint. The young monks
mostly come from Sherpa communities, while there are few from
Tibetan families also. There are at present 25 monks from 20 to 25
years of age, and 20 young ones from 7 to 12 years of age.
A
resident Lopon (teacher) is called Lopon la Ngawayng Ladup.
Volunteers must address him as Lopon la; la is paying respect to a
teacher who has deep knowledge of philosophy and practice of
Buddhism. Lopon la also conducts classes and will help volunteers
during the class as he can speak English, Nepali and Sherpa
languages.
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