scene with a bicycle

A politician said that life is like riding a bicycle, and you don't fall off unless you plan to stop pedaling. It is natural for him to say that he was a politician. People usually think they should make every effort to attain their goals in life. We have been educated and trained to agree with that way of thought since birth in this world.

Life is just like a flowing river. It goes its own way and happens as it does. Actually, we don't have to try to attain something valuable and worthy that is pictured in your thinking. We have already been fully fulfilled and equipped, which means no efforts are needed to become or attain something. However, a barrier keeps you from tasting this simple truth at this moment: thinking.

Once, Buddha delivered a sermon to his disciples on a hill named Gridhrakuta. Then he picked a flower and held it up silently. Most of the audience were surprised and confused, but one of his disciples smiled. At the moment, Buddha's enlightenment was transmitted to his successor as the transmission of the lamp.

Buddha held up a flower.
One of his disciples smiled.

Buddha holding up a flower about 2,500 years ago and pedaling a bicycle this moment are the same or different?

Boudhanath

In the northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, the magnificent white stupa, Boudhanath, is located, the largest spherical stupa in Nepal, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It takes about half an hour by bus from Ratna bus park in central Kathmandu. Boudhanath, briefly Boudha स्तुप, like other great Buddhist stupas, was designed based on the mandala. The overview above shows a huge mandala symbolizing Buddha's enlightenment.

Buddhist monks, tourists, Tibetans, and Nepalese circle the stupa clockwise each morning at sunrise, while spinning Manicha, the prayer wheels, or listening to Buddhist chants being played outside shops. Lots of Tibetan restaurants, stores, and monasteries are centered around it. There is no separation between the sacred and the profane.

Visitors enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, sitting in some of the temples and taking photos. The sound of bells rings through the air. Devotees burn incense around the stupa, and its scent permeates the surrounding area.

Pilgrims sit in meditation and prostrate themselves before the stupa, and every morning, offerings and prayers for the welfare of all sentient beings are performed. Scenes such as dogs lazing around and sleeping idly on the ground, and pigeons flocking to be fed or flying in the sky, also contribute to the peaceful atmosphere.

The earthquake struck Boudha and severely damaged the Boudhanath Stupa, along with much of the country's cultural heritage. The Buddhist community in Nepal did its best to restore the stupa, and it was finally reopened to the public on November 22, 2016. Jaeho stopped by Boudha in October 2017. It had been over 14 years since his previous visit. There were no visible signs of damage caused by the 2015 earthquake. Boudha and the prayer flags hanging from it, and waving in the wind, presented the same fascinating appearance as before.

The above sketches on the right and left were done in 2004.