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| AHYMSIN NEWSLETTER, ISSUE - October 2014 | ||||||||
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Pilgrimage to Kailash Mountainby Susan KuangSusan wrote in Chinese and English; the Chinese follows the English version.   A group of international Himalayan yoga meditation sadhakas, organized by Yoong, from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing, a group of 20 persons, went to Tibet for a spiritual journey of 19 days starting 23rd of August. The main purpose was a pilgrimage around Mount Kailash. I was on this trip.   When I got to Gonggar Airport in Tibet, I told myself to move slowly just like the tortoise: fold my limbs, slow down, breathe slowly, talk less. I unexpectedly felt very comfortable of body and mind, strangely in a good mood. It was time for dinner and my appetite was also very good although I knew to eat less. If you eat too much, the stomach consumes huge amounts of oxygen, and it’s easy to get altitude sickness. During dinner, someone told me that the soup being served could protect me from the high altitude, so, even though I was already quite full, because of some worry, I had the soup also.  When I got to my room, my breathing was difficult and I had a headache; I felt both hot and cold as well as thirsty. The next day, resolving to overcome the reaction of the body, at this point I thought of Swami Veda saying: ‘don't let the body problems become mind problems’. So, when altitude sickness appears, face it, accept it, feel it, treat it as a cold, remember your breathing, let the heart be quiet, and try to let the body and mind’s response be reduced, confident to overcome it.  Mount Kailash (Gāngrénbōqífēng in Chinese) is known worldwide as a sacred mountain, believed to be the ‘center of the world’; its top is permanently covered in snow and flashing brilliant reflections in the sunlight. At an altitude of more than 4800 - 5723 meters, people circle Mount Kailash mountain, walking or kowtowing [kneeling and touching forehead to the ground] on the mountain road. We walk 17 km on the first day. The second day is the most difficult, at 25 kilometers. Everyone powered along on foot with great determination on the precipitous and uneven road. It is especially difficult climbing Domala Pass at over 5700 meters. On the mountain it’s especially precipitous and long. Two nights previous it had rained and snowed. We started the day without the sun, as if it were a fickle child’s face, one moment snowing, the next moment the sun peeking out.   The final day's 12 kilometers of road is smooth, the best walking yet, the people not unlike celestial beings of long ago. I’m conscious of the peace, as if a monk all alone. All the way I enjoy mild sunshine, reluctant to forget, sometimes stop-and-go, quietly sitting on the roadside stones to rest for a moment, giving myself to nature, breathing slowly, experiencing the mountain guru's slight whisper! I feel fantastic! Tibet's roads don't only test your health and stamina. Rather, they transform your spirit over the course of events. In this way, on the last day, leaving this pristine place of low oxygen -- forcing you to breathe slowly, it makes you reflect upon your own life. Life is a trip/process/experience. As long as you have an open heart and open eyes, and perceive the road, let the heart be calm and perceive everything you experience! Editor’s Note:To read these articles by Swami Veda Bharati, please click on title: Yoong is a mantra initiator and centre leader for Himalayan Yoga Meditation Centre of Singapore (HYMCS). He had previously done a pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash in 2011; the account from 2011 can be read at this link: http://www.ahymsin.org/docs2/News/1111Nov/04.html Chinese Version由Yoong 组织的新加坡和Shi Hong负责组织香港成员，以及台湾和我一个个来自大陆的国际喜马拉雅瑜伽冥想团20人进行为期19天的西藏心灵之旅。 初次到到西藏的贡嘎机场，告知自己要行动缓慢，就象乌龟般收起四肢，放慢节奏，放慢呼吸、少说话，出乎意料我倒是感觉身心特别舒服，没有缺氧感，心情莫名的好。到了晚餐时间，食欲也很好。尽管知道要少食，吃太多胃要消耗大量的氧，容易引起高原反应。晚饭时大家告知我某种汤是防高原的，由于担心和恐惧在吃饱的前提下任是喝下了这汤，当夜感觉呼吸不畅，头痛、阵冷阵热持续了很久，第二天凭着意志力克服了身体的反应。此时，我想起Swami Veda 的话，不让身体的问题成为心的问题。当高反出现时，面对它，接受它，感觉它，把它当作感冒，始终回到呼吸上让心安静，尽量让身心的反应降低，坚信能战胜它. 团队租了7辆越野车一路开向阿里地区，驶向目的地冈仁波齐峰，沿途的风光美不胜收。我们途经了许多著名的寺庙，达到世界上海拔最高的绒布寺。目睹了世界第一高峰 ----珠穆朗玛峰的雄姿，感受大自然的壮丽。还到达了世界上最高的淡水湖 ----玛旁雍錯。玛旁雍错位于圣山脚下，湖水由圣山雪水融化而成。其梵文名称为Manasarovar，意思是心湖。西藏之旅不为到达某个地点，美好的风景总在路上！人生之旅在于过程和体验，只要打开心，打开眼，带上知觉上路，让心平静，去感知和体验你所经历的一切！ 冈仁波齐峰是世界公认的神山，也被认为世界的中心。它终年积雪的山峰，即使在阳光的照耀下也闪着的奇异的光芒，转山人在海拔4800米至5723米的山路上行走或叩头。我们第一天转18公里，第二天是最艰难的日子，大家带着坚强的意志徒步完成25公里路，穿越山路陡峭凹凸不平的卓玛拉山口（Domala)，海拔5700多。登顶时累得直想哭，下山非常陡峭和长。前天夜里下雨和雪，天没亮我们就出发，阿里的天就如小孩善变的脸。一会豆雪，一会大太阳。最后一天12公里路平坦最好走，人不像前两天人多，我有意识的安静地独自行脚，亨受一路上温和的阳光，最后一天转山还真是念念不舍。走走停停，静静地坐在路边的石头上停留片刻，把自己交给大自然，放慢呼吸去体验这座神山guru的微微细语！ 西藏之旅不仅是考验你的身体和体能，更是让心灵蜕变的过程，在这样一个离天最近的纯净的地方，氧气稀溥让你自然放慢呼吸，也不由自主对自己的人生作些反省。 Susan Kuang
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