Yesterday we flew into Pokhara and it is absolutely stunning. In a small valley, surrounded by mountains, every direction shows us beautiful green hills and the lake reflects this beauty threefold. Nature stretches and flexes and lets her magic course through this place. We spent the first day here just becoming acclimated. Simply laying and sitting around in cafes reading and looking out over the view. A sort of lethargy settles upon us. In these places of intense natural beauty and power, the magic in the air seems to interfere with normal thought patterns, and it takes some time to adjust. And that doesn’t even take into account that after months of working nonstop, we finally have a moment to breathe. And in that moment, stillness and inaction rule. Tomorrow we can pursue action. Tomorrow we can continue our journey.
The next day begins our exploration. We’re looking for places of special power . We’re looking for magical experiences. There are multiple notable geological sites here in Pokhara and we decide to go visit them. Following google maps leads us unexpectedly through farmland, through an even quieter area than the main town of Pokhara. The sun beats down on us in this open field, and by the time we reach our first destination, we’re already exhausted.
Paying a small fee, we enter Devi’s Falls. The story behind these waterfalls, and the reason they’re gated up and fenced off, is that a Swiss woman named Davi, swimming in the river near the falls, got caught in the current and drowned. The falls crash dangerously down into a cave and become an underground river. Cliffs hang over both sides of the waterfall; once you fall down there, there’s no way back up. With all the spirits and creatures I’ve been seeing and reading about, this is a sobering reminder of the power of nature itself.
The second site we visit is actually just across the street from the falls. There is a temple built around an entrance to the cave system into which the falls crash. I am once again reminded of how much closer to nature the religion and spirituality of these people lies as compared to the west. It seems that nowadays we in the west want to completely separate nature and man. And in the west, this makes sense. Man has wrought such destruction on the earth that it often seems best to force him apart from it. But here, the temple is built into the natural entrance to the cave. And it doesn’t destroy the cave, but instead augments it. It uses the cave as a structure around which to place artistic images and create meaning.
After a delicious, but ultimately ill-advised lunch, we decide to set out for the World Peace Pagoda. At the top of one of the hills looking over the valley is an enormous Buddhist Pagoda. Many people ride taxis up there, but we decide to hike it. Our maps told us that it would only take around an hour to get up there, so how bad could it be? Ha. The heat bore down on us the whole way. Within 10 minutes I was entirely drenched in sweat, and our umbrella did little to shield us from the sun. Imps hiding in the bushes and kobolds hiding in the rocks on the side of the road snickered at us from their places of shade. I wonder how many travelers they see making this mistake?
But for me, the exertion proves ultimately to be positive. I find that whenever I do very strenuous exercise, it puts my mind in a calmer state. All unnecessary thoughts are wiped away and I am filled with a sense of peace and clarity akin to what I feel when meditating. This, as it turns out, was the perfect way to approach the World Peace Pagoda. The clarity allowed me to approach with an open mind and really feel the beauty and joy of this place. And it made me want to meditate more and learn more of the Buddha’s teachings. I could finally see a way forward through my pain and through my curse. I did not see a solution, but I saw that the will and resolve I would need to make it past these trials was already inside me. I’m going to need to explore these ideas and this state of mind more as my journey continues.