Beautiful Hike

I accompanied T and D on their hike up past Tushita Meditation Center to a mountain top. It was a rather steep hike, but was gorgeous. We stopped for chai at this little stall called "Restawhile" at halfway up.

Once up there, the guys set to work to build the offering pyre. It was lit on fire, and we all made offerings to our specific gods. We watched the smoke billow up in opaque clouds as we threw in the offerings of tsampa, fruit, biscuits, sprinklings of water, candy. (Offer what you like to eat, T had said). We threw in a kata and some fragrant incense powder. As the fire started to die, the crows above kept mistaking the red-stained kata for meat and were always disappointed. But they cleaned off the remnants of biscuits from the pyre.

T & D both gave hearty yells from their lungs as they threw the lungtas(small "lottery" papers) into the air, making dedication for long life and prosperity for ourselves and families in the present and future lives. We sat down and recited our mantras for about half an hour. The dog who followed us up the mountain was enjoying that. He lay stretched out, sleeping.

Offered windhorses (prayer flags)were also a little adventure. We found some suitable trees and climbed them, despite their thorniness. And left a sign of our aspirations there. Visuals below.