Saturday, January 17, 2015
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Porter Poety
Poem
Even though my soul has been torn, here I am laughing.
Even though my very being is in fragments, I have somehow survived.
As long as there is one drop of blood in my body,
Until life’s last instant, I will always foster this love.
When I die I will be thinking of it – my education.
But now it is just a dream that cannot become reality.
If I was a flower, I would bloom, but I cannot for all of the thorns.
If my love was for anything else I could forget it.
I cannot forget my desire to learn, and the road is covered in thorns.
How can I laugh with my heart so filled with a love for learning?
How can I laugh?
--Santaki B.K. (translation by B. Ayers)
Assets
Today, a Nepali’s morality
Only considers possessions.
Respected porters, brothers –
Today, a Nepali’s identity
Has become selfish.
Respected porters, brothers –
We’re only here as long as our physical health is.
Of course, we will become wealthy and happy.
Respected porters, brothers –
If your soul is content and peaceful
Your creativity can build a Taj Mahal!
Respected porters, brothers –
Make your hardship into a possession.
Soak this earth with your sweat.
Make a storehouse for your sweat.
-- Nanda Raj Rai (translated by B. Ayers)
Even though my soul has been torn, here I am laughing.
Even though my very being is in fragments, I have somehow survived.
As long as there is one drop of blood in my body,
Until life’s last instant, I will always foster this love.
When I die I will be thinking of it – my education.
But now it is just a dream that cannot become reality.
If I was a flower, I would bloom, but I cannot for all of the thorns.
If my love was for anything else I could forget it.
I cannot forget my desire to learn, and the road is covered in thorns.
How can I laugh with my heart so filled with a love for learning?
How can I laugh?
--Santaki B.K. (translation by B. Ayers)
Assets
Today, a Nepali’s morality
Only considers possessions.
Respected porters, brothers –
Today, a Nepali’s identity
Has become selfish.
Respected porters, brothers –
We’re only here as long as our physical health is.
Of course, we will become wealthy and happy.
Respected porters, brothers –
If your soul is content and peaceful
Your creativity can build a Taj Mahal!
Respected porters, brothers –
Make your hardship into a possession.
Soak this earth with your sweat.
Make a storehouse for your sweat.
-- Nanda Raj Rai (translated by B. Ayers)
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Meal Gratitude
This food is the gift of the earth, the sky,
the sun and much hard work. May we live in a way that is worthy of this
food. May we transform our unskillful states of mind, especially ignorance, fear, lust, anger, sloth and delusion. May we eat only
foods that nourish us and prevent illness. May we accept this food for
the realization of the way of understanding and love.
- Mahayana Buddhist Blessing (paraphrased)
“If people knew the results of giving and sharing … Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were some being to receive their gift.” - Sakyamuni Buddha, Itivuttaka Sutta
- Mahayana Buddhist Blessing (paraphrased)
“If people knew the results of giving and sharing … Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were some being to receive their gift.” - Sakyamuni Buddha, Itivuttaka Sutta
Monday, November 17, 2014
Tyranny of Monsoon Leeches
Sanguivorous leeches thrive during wet conditions, vying for a
trekker’s 10 pints of blood. During the monsoon, they are abundant in
forests above 4000 feet (1200 m)…and the author once became attached to
one at over 12,000 ft (3700 m). These jawed, terrestrial parasites
(Gnatbobdellida of the suborder Hirudiniformes) are sensitive to light
and attracted to movement, warmth, and by-products of respiration.
Leeches can drop from vegetation or “crawl” in inch-worm fashion (by
using suckers at each end of the body) up from the ground as well as
attach from leaves or rocks. Leeches find hosts by detecting shadows,
mechanical stimuli of vibrations and heat as well as chemicals (carbon
dioxide and skin oils).
As ecto-parasites, they attach themselves by means of tiny teeth with sharp cutting edges. Although leeches feed off the blood of a host, bites usually go unnoticed because a concomitant anesthetic is released. They also disperse an anticoagulant (the peptide hirudin is in their saliva) to keep the prey’s blood flowing and eventually, will drop off once sated. This may take twenty to forty minutes or longer, in which time the leech can swell, bloated on the blood feast, many times in size.
A single feeding is enough to sustain a leech for several months and they burrow into the ground to survive long dry periods. Leeches are hermaphroditic and deposit eggs in a cocoon after copulation and exhibit advanced care of young not usually seen in the phylum Annelida. They also have modern day medical relevance and can be used during recovery in plastic and reconstructive surgery cases and are helpful in the drainage of pooled blood, especially to relieve venous congestion and maintain circulation.
To remove a leech in the wild, use the leading edge of a fingernail (or other flat object) scraped along the skin to dislodge the thinner, anterior end at the attachment site. Keep the wound clean. Other means of removal—such as pulling or using heat, salt, alcohol, or insect repellent—can cause the leech to release the contents of its stomach which contain bacteria and may infect the bite area. Jawed leeches are not known to be transmitters of disease, however, because of anticoagulants there might be considerable blood flow. Control the minute lesion with pressure, and watch for signs of infection later. Rarely, some people have an anaphylactic or other allergic reaction to leech bites, requiring serious medical attention.
If embarking on a monsoon trek, certain items of equipment are essential: a waterproof pack cover, sheets of plastic for porter loads, plastic bags for gear inside the pack, an umbrella, a hat with a brim, a walking stick, footwear with good traction and especially leech protection. The best preventive to bites is to cover the skin. However, leeches often find a way through clothing. Some insect repellents work when applied to boots, lower legs and exposed skin. “Anti-Leech Oil,” a potent elixir of five oils, is available in some pharmacies and shops in Kathmandu and at the Kathmandu Environmental Education Office (KEEP) in Kesar Mahal, Thamel. Other options include eucalyptus oil, lemon juice, or, in a pinch, smearing bath soap over dry skin. Leech-proof socks could be worn over regular socks. With preparation, a foray into the leech infested heights can be relatively terror free!
As ecto-parasites, they attach themselves by means of tiny teeth with sharp cutting edges. Although leeches feed off the blood of a host, bites usually go unnoticed because a concomitant anesthetic is released. They also disperse an anticoagulant (the peptide hirudin is in their saliva) to keep the prey’s blood flowing and eventually, will drop off once sated. This may take twenty to forty minutes or longer, in which time the leech can swell, bloated on the blood feast, many times in size.
A single feeding is enough to sustain a leech for several months and they burrow into the ground to survive long dry periods. Leeches are hermaphroditic and deposit eggs in a cocoon after copulation and exhibit advanced care of young not usually seen in the phylum Annelida. They also have modern day medical relevance and can be used during recovery in plastic and reconstructive surgery cases and are helpful in the drainage of pooled blood, especially to relieve venous congestion and maintain circulation.
To remove a leech in the wild, use the leading edge of a fingernail (or other flat object) scraped along the skin to dislodge the thinner, anterior end at the attachment site. Keep the wound clean. Other means of removal—such as pulling or using heat, salt, alcohol, or insect repellent—can cause the leech to release the contents of its stomach which contain bacteria and may infect the bite area. Jawed leeches are not known to be transmitters of disease, however, because of anticoagulants there might be considerable blood flow. Control the minute lesion with pressure, and watch for signs of infection later. Rarely, some people have an anaphylactic or other allergic reaction to leech bites, requiring serious medical attention.
If embarking on a monsoon trek, certain items of equipment are essential: a waterproof pack cover, sheets of plastic for porter loads, plastic bags for gear inside the pack, an umbrella, a hat with a brim, a walking stick, footwear with good traction and especially leech protection. The best preventive to bites is to cover the skin. However, leeches often find a way through clothing. Some insect repellents work when applied to boots, lower legs and exposed skin. “Anti-Leech Oil,” a potent elixir of five oils, is available in some pharmacies and shops in Kathmandu and at the Kathmandu Environmental Education Office (KEEP) in Kesar Mahal, Thamel. Other options include eucalyptus oil, lemon juice, or, in a pinch, smearing bath soap over dry skin. Leech-proof socks could be worn over regular socks. With preparation, a foray into the leech infested heights can be relatively terror free!
Climate Change vs. the Mighty Himalaya
The earth’s thermostat seems to have lost its bearings and the Himalayan region has seen disruption in critical monsoon timings and a marked retreat of glaciers.
There are nearly 3000 glaciers and 1500 glacial lakes in Nepal above 11,480 ft (3500 m). It is predicted that a 4°C rise in the global average temperature, which is within some projections for the end of this century, would eliminate these glaciers. According to the Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), the temperature in Nepal’s Himalaya may be increasing by an average of 0.04° Celsius per year.
Imja
Glacier in the Everest Region of Nepal is considered to be one of the
fastest-retreating Himalayan glaciers at approximately 243 feet (74 m)
per year, and the decline is attributed to solar warming. Imja Tsho Lake
has increased in size alarmingly over the last half century from mere
melt ponds in the 1950s to a lake of nearly 0.38 square mile (1 km²), or
247.11 acres, with an estimated volume of 47 million cubic yards (35
million m³) of water and rising. Its moraine of rock and ice is
considered unstable and a threat for a glacial lake outburst flood
(GLOF).
If extensive, a GLOF could result in severe wreckage downstream. A 2002 report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the UN Environment Program puts twenty of Nepal’s glacial lakes at risk for a GLOF, and Imja Tsho is considered the worst danger. According to Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), there have been more than fourteen GLOFs in Nepal. The most recent in the Everest Region was recorded in September 1998, which caused flooding on the Inkhu Khola. Other floods in that area include ones that damaged parts of the village of Ghat in 1985 and Pangboche in 1979. In May 2012, a massive landslide near Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Peak) in the Annapurna Region caused flooding on the Seti River and dozens of people perished.
Climate change is making its mark on mountaineering, too, “Climbing is becoming more and more dangerous because glaciers and snow are melting and rock is appearing and avalanches are more frequent. The impact is visible in the high Himalaya,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, President, Nepal Mountaineering Association.
There are nearly 3000 glaciers and 1500 glacial lakes in Nepal above 11,480 ft (3500 m). It is predicted that a 4°C rise in the global average temperature, which is within some projections for the end of this century, would eliminate these glaciers. According to the Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), the temperature in Nepal’s Himalaya may be increasing by an average of 0.04° Celsius per year.
If extensive, a GLOF could result in severe wreckage downstream. A 2002 report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the UN Environment Program puts twenty of Nepal’s glacial lakes at risk for a GLOF, and Imja Tsho is considered the worst danger. According to Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), there have been more than fourteen GLOFs in Nepal. The most recent in the Everest Region was recorded in September 1998, which caused flooding on the Inkhu Khola. Other floods in that area include ones that damaged parts of the village of Ghat in 1985 and Pangboche in 1979. In May 2012, a massive landslide near Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Peak) in the Annapurna Region caused flooding on the Seti River and dozens of people perished.
Climate change is making its mark on mountaineering, too, “Climbing is becoming more and more dangerous because glaciers and snow are melting and rock is appearing and avalanches are more frequent. The impact is visible in the high Himalaya,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, President, Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Renewal/Extension of Nepal Visa
NEW information about visa renewal/extension while in Nepal:The
immigration offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara no longer accept on-site
handwritten applications for visa extensions. Applications for
renewal/extension need to be filled out ONLINE....although machines for
doing so are available at the immigration offices for this, lines to use
the machines will be long and wait times extensive. Better to fill out
an application online before visiting the immigration office to renew
(extend) your visa.
Make an application online and bring a print out
of it and photocopy of passport, photocopy of current visa and a
passport photo. Follow this link to get started:
Yoga Guides
"Arise! Awake! Do not stop until the goal is reached!" --Swami Vivekananda
1. The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman, praising him as a hero of the Ramayana (an epic Sanskrit saga).
It has been said that anyone who recites the Hanuman Chalisa 100 times (or for 100 days) will invoke Hanuman’s divine intervention and be released from everyday troubles and life's burdens and eventually find Supreme Bliss. Lord Shiva himself is believed to have affirmed this and that anyone who recites the Hanuman Chalisa can achieve greatness. (Kindle edition)
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2. Yoga Synthesis by Swami Sivananda (Kindle edition)
“Sri Sankara, Jesus, and Buddha were all masters of Yoga Synthesis. Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Sadhu Vasvani, and more were all practicing the Supreme Yoga, the Yoga of Synthesis.
May you all tread the path of Truth. May you all attain perfection and integral development through the practice of Yoga Synthesis!
Logical chopping, clever hair splitting arguments, intellectual gymnastics and word jugglery will not help you in attaining Self-Realisation. You must harmoniously develop your head, heart and hand through the practice of the Yoga of Synthesis. Then only you will attain perfection and integral development. “ –Swami Sivananda
1. The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman, praising him as a hero of the Ramayana (an epic Sanskrit saga).
It has been said that anyone who recites the Hanuman Chalisa 100 times (or for 100 days) will invoke Hanuman’s divine intervention and be released from everyday troubles and life's burdens and eventually find Supreme Bliss. Lord Shiva himself is believed to have affirmed this and that anyone who recites the Hanuman Chalisa can achieve greatness. (Kindle edition)
2. Yoga Synthesis by Swami Sivananda (Kindle edition)
“Sri Sankara, Jesus, and Buddha were all masters of Yoga Synthesis. Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Sadhu Vasvani, and more were all practicing the Supreme Yoga, the Yoga of Synthesis.
May you all tread the path of Truth. May you all attain perfection and integral development through the practice of Yoga Synthesis!
Logical chopping, clever hair splitting arguments, intellectual gymnastics and word jugglery will not help you in attaining Self-Realisation. You must harmoniously develop your head, heart and hand through the practice of the Yoga of Synthesis. Then only you will attain perfection and integral development. “ –Swami Sivananda
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