Why Is Buddhism Important To Nepal?

We traveled to Katmandu, Nepal last summer and can honestly say we weren’t anywhere near as familiar with Buddhism as I am now. In fact, I wish that I had taken this course prior to taking the trip as I think it would have given me a more thorough understanding of the religion. The aspects of Buddhism I was familiar with were very simplistic as a whole. I had a very western understanding of the religion which was sadly mostly things I’d learned from movies, people talking and the silly things people posted on Facebook with the photo of a Buddhist statue behind the words. I knew Nepal is primarily Hindu and Buddhist and was exciting to learn more. I went with my Husband and not even two year old son at the time. People thought we were crazy for bringing him, but the host at the housing we stayed in told us people in Nepal absolutely love children and not to worry. After staying in Nepal, we were happy …show more content…
Most of what we learned was as I said before was from reading and then speaking to the locals. The shop keepers would explain their art to us and the significance to Buddhism. I purchased a painting of Nirvana, the Buddhist ascend to heaven. The artist explained the Four Noble truths and the illusion of our ego. He also talked about the transformation of the monkey as it ascended. I found the painting to be mystical and beautiful but didn’t fully understand its significant and underlying meaning until taking this course. I was unaware of what the Four Noble Truths really were and that they were the heart of Buddhism. Additionally, we looked at the prayer circles paintings and found them to be amazing works of art. We awed at their detail and bright gold ink. We still aren’t sure what the paintings prayers are but enjoyed their beauty so much we purchased a couple of them to remind us of our journey to