MR507 The Great Stupa of Bodhnath

The Great Stupa of Bodhnath glows with the light of a hundred thousand butter-lamps, offered every friday during the funeral ceremonies for the great Tibetan master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in 1991. The Great Stupa of Jarungkashor, Bodhnath, in Nepal's Kathmandu valley,  is a major pilgrimage place for Tibetan Buddhists, for its construction was linked to the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. Every early morning and late afternoon, hundreds, sometimes thousands of devotees circumambulate the stupa many times, reciting prayers, as a devotional gesture. According to ancient legend, the four sons of the poultry-woman Shamvara who built the stupa were reborn as the Guru Padmasambhava, the Abbot Shantarakshita, the King Trisong Detsen and the minister Bami Trihzi, as the result of wishes they made on completing the stupa. As an offering, devotees regularly sponsor the whitewashing of the stupa, concluded by the scattering of saffron-colored water in wide arcs around the 'vase' of the monument and the hanging of new prayer-flags from its pinnacle. They also offer butter lamps and candles. Buy on-line a fine art photographic print, signed by the hand of Matthieu Ricard, buddhist monk, photographer and author. He has also been the French interpreter of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama since 1989. Some of the photographs in his collection are printed in limited edition, signed, numbered and delivered with a certificate of authenticity.