Ancient Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries are a wonder to behold in real life, and as I wrote last week, there are a number of them to see in Ladakh, India.
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Giant 40 foot Buddha sculpture at Thiksey monastery, Ladakh, India
So You Want to Visit A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery? Part 1
If there's one thing Ladakh is famous for, it’s ancient Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
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Emerging from a Trance: The Oracles of Matho Monastery in Ladakh
I'm squished shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of native Tibetan Ladakhi people, packed neatly next to fellow onlookers. We are all patiently waiting to hear a mystical proclamation about the future. Today, of all days, two oracles—Tibetan monks who have been meditating in an isolated trance for the past year—will emerge from their stillness in order to predict the future of the village.
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Holy men sitting by the Ganges river in Varanasi
How to find something to believe in: the search for a guru in India
Searching for a guru is trendy in India, especially if you're a Westerner. I've begun to theorize that this eternal quest is driven by what is lacking back home in the West––a culture with belief in something more meaningful than the self.
India is the perfect place to visit, then, because spirituality is so omnipresent in a non-preachy sort of way. I should have known of its importance months prior to arrival, simply from the visa application. Halfway down the form I was required to check a box indicating my religious affiliation. For the record, agnostic and atheist weren't even listed as options.
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