Rangrig Dorji, BA student, Bhutan

I was over the moon when I heard that RYI would be reopening for on campus studies because even though online learning was beneficial, it did not have the same effect as studying in actual classrooms. Moreover, learning through a small computer screen sitting in the comfort of one’s home could never substitute the experience of living in Nepal, the land of the buddhas. Nepal is not only the birthplace of the Buddha, but it also boasts of producing and hosting some of the greatest Buddhist saints and teachers to have lived, and to have the opportunity to study and practice in this sacred land is something I will cherish and not take for granted. 

 There are Buddhist temples of the Newari tradition as well as monasteries and institutes belonging to all the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism which gives me a great feeling of unity and purpose. Furthermore, the co-existence of the Hindu community and the Buddhist community, and their shared beliefs is very heart warming. Everywhere I go, I see temples, stupas, shrines and people celebrating and practicing the teachings of the exalted ones which serves as a reminder for me not to waste this precious life. For me the hustle and bustle of the streets, chants and music from the monasteries, people in love holding hands, people of all ages circumambulating the Stupa, beggars and renunciants, all represent the wisdom of non-duality. Nepal celebrates life, impermanence, culture, mythology, interdependence, oneness, diversity and the truth, and I feel fortunate to be experiencing the Dharma in all forms.