Ambition - Be a Mountain Sage

[RongzomFan]

how many monks are there living in the nepalese, tibetab and himalayan mountains now? do you think they are all rich?

 

I assume you are talking about Buddhists. People often wrongly equate Buddhists with monks.

 

Atleast some of these Buddhists are doing much higher end stuff than merely meditation and chanting. Past example is Kunzang Dechen Lingpa.

Edited August 4, 2013 by alwayson

[thelerner]

If this is Tulku,

In the past you've talked about leaving for China, then Tibet etc., How is it different this year? What preparations have you done? What is your current practice?

[Chang]

See and hear what some real recluses have to say about their lives in the mountains.

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by Chang

[suninmyeyes]

Tenzin Palmo http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzin_Palmo went off and spent 12 years in a cave in the mountains, 3 of those in strict retreat. The way it is done is through sponsorship so essential food is brought to you so you can spend your time in practice, even then it is risky because snow cut off her food for sometimes weeks at a time.

 

Through a Buddhist lineage you can do such retreats with sponsorship but generally you need many years intense preparation and study beyond what would be PhD level in the west as well as empowerments and initiations otherwise your mind may not cope and you may get overwhelmed by what comes up. All of that hostility in your mind may eat you up without it.

I really liked the story of the book "Cave in the snow ", so interesting .(recommended to those who haven't read it yet )

 

 

Jetsun you do have a point here ..

 

I know one woman who spend 2 years solo deep in mountains and she had amazing meditation experience , infact so much that at the end she could not handle it and deschiper between waking , dreaming and meditation . Which of course is the goal , BUT ones whole physical system , including the nervous system must be prepared for it otherwise burn out happens OR experience simply remains an expirience and not a new way of being .

Anyway the woman loved it and is a risk taking sort of person and is doing well , still working on integrating experience into daily life .

Another girl sat in her cave and she told me all she could think of was her home country and nice food for days , weeks , months on end ..

 

Another two old silent sadhus I know of who didn't speak for sooooooooo many years even a word , live in neighbouring cave and are at war with each other . Literally . Neither of them talk , but just furiously write threatening messages to each other , its mad and hilarious at the same time .

 

Just writing this gossip to say that people live and learn and if someone has to do something than someone will do it no matter what cicumstances .