HEAVEN ON EARTH (LAND OF SNOW)

The real beauty of Tibet, like the clarity of sky and the sea, you will find the people of Tibet very pure and sincere by heart. The real view of Tibet, as i called it HEAVEN on earth, the land of snow. Truly amazing place to live and take breath to make your life longer.

Karma la's trip to London

”London Bridge is falling down Falling down, falling down London Bridge is falling down My fair lady.”

The River Thames was a very much wider river in the early days of London. When the Romans first saw it for the first time it was around five times as wide as we see today. Because of the width, it was also much shallower, with small islets forming when the tide was low. It is only man claiming the banks back over the centuries that has narrowed, and deepened the river. This explains why certain areas of London have such a high flood risk, being somewhat lower than the level of the water now. There is no doubt that the conquering Romans must have had a bridge crossing the river somewhere near today’s site. It may have started as a floating pontoon, then a more permanent wooden structure. Either way, they needed one for crossing, as well as defense purposes.

Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu

Boudhanath Stupa (or Bodnath Stupa) is the largest stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. It is the center of Tibetan culture in Kathmandu and rich in Buddhist symbolism. The stupa is located in the town of Boudha, on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu.

Site Information
Names:	Boudhanath Stupa; Bodnath Stupa; Boudha Stupa; Chorten Chempo (Great Stupa)
Location:	Kathmandu, Nepal
Faith:	Buddhism
Denomination:	Tibetan &Nepali
Category:	Buddhist Temples
Date:	14th century
Features:	Largest
Status:	active
Visitor Information
Address:	Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal
Coordinates:	27.721434° N, 85.362128° E
Lodging:	View hotels near this location

Potala Palace, Lhasa

The Potala Palace is the monumental residence of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhist. It is named after Mount Potala, believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be the abode of Chenresig, the Tibetan name for the Avalokitesvara.

Avalokitesvara is the bodhisattva that embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is referred to as Padmapani, or "Holder of the Lotus". Among the Chinese, the Avalokitesvara is often depicted in female form, and is known (although scholars are still deliberating over this) as the Guan Yin or Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy. Among the Tibetans, the Avalokitesvara is believed to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama.

The Potala Palace measures 400 meters from east to west, and 350 meters from north to south. It is held in position by stone walls which are 3 meters thick on average, and 5 meters thick at the base. The complex is sixteen storeys tall, containing over 1000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues. It rises 1000 feet from the valley floor.

Bodh Gaya, Place of lord Buddha's enlightenment

 

Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya (Hindi: बोधगया) is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place of Gautama Buddha's attainment of Enlightenment.
Historically, it was known as the Bodhimanda (ground around the Bodhi-tree), Uruvela, Sambodhi, Vajrasana and Mahabodhi.^[1] The name Bodh Gaya did not come into use until the 18th century. The main monastery of Bodhgaya used to be called the Bodhimanda-vihāra (Pali). Now it is called the Mahabodhi Temple.
For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha, the other three being Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. In 2002, Mahabodhi Temple, located in Bodh Gaya, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[2]
The surrounding town, by contrast, is dusty and somewhat noisy.^[3] A new development plan has been proposed to "ensure a sustainable and prosperous future" for Bodh Gaya, but has become controversial because such a plan may require the relocation of whole neighborhoods.

Mcleod ganj – himalayan glimpses, Place of living buddha

Named after David McLeod, McLeodganj and Dharamshala became renowned places for commerce, trade and tourism. The British would bring their families to spend the summers here. It became their favorite vacation destination. However, the township was destroyed by an earthquake in 1905. The town never revived from the calamities after that but it remained a vacation destination until independence in 1947. McLeodganj once again created its spell after the Dalai Lama started the exile Tibetan government’s administrative headquarters here. It became the hub of Buddhism learning and a pilgrimage center. It is also the hub of Tibetan culture and tradition that is brought here by the Tibetan refugees who settled here.

Agra Fort

Agra Fort- The History Akbar, king at 14, began consolidating his empire and, as an assertion of his power built the fort in Agra between 1565 and 1571, coeval with the construction of Humayun's tomb in Delhi. The Agra fort retains the irregular outline of the demolished mud-wall fort of the Lodis. The lofty battlements o the new fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of court that nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.

The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders Akbar and later Jehangir and Shahjahan. Of the nearly 500 Akbari buildings built in the Bengal and Gujarati traditions only a few have survived, arrayed in a band on the riverfront.

The fort is auricular in shape and its colossal double walls rise 20 m in height and measure 2.5 m in circumference. The fort is encircled by a fetid moat. The lofty battlements of the Agra fort cast its protective shadow over the far stretching mansions of nobles and princes built along the riverfront. The magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts and majestic gateways symbolized the confidence and power of the third Mughal emperor.

The fort contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two generations of prolific builders, Akbar and later on by Jahangir and Shahjahan. Of the nearly 500 Akbari buildings built in the Bengal and Gujarati traditions, only a few have survived, arrayed in a band on the riverfront.

Taj Mahal { Symbol of LOVE }

The Taj Mahal is located in Agra city in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is quite close to the national capital, New Delhi. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Shahjahan was the fifth of the Mogul rulers and Mumtaz Mahal was his second wife. She was the daughter of the Prime Minister in Shah Jahan's father, Jahangir's court. Shah Jahan was deeply in love with his lady and took her along wherever he went. She died at a tender age of 39 during one such expedition of the emperor in 1630. It is believed that in her dying moments, Mumtaz Mahal had expressed a wish of a monument to be built in her memory. Devastated with grief at the loss of his dear wife, the emperor decided to commemorate his love for her in the most wonderful structure the world has ever seen.

A manuscript called, the 'Diwan-i-Muhandis' dating back to to the 17th century brings forth the name of its architect. It was a Persian engineer cum astrologer named Ustad Ahmad, a resident of Lahore, who designed the Taj Mahal. It is said that the king grieved for two years, spent most of his time secluded and alone in agony. His son, Aurangzeb, who assumed the Mogul throne, imprisoned him in the Agra Fort from where he could see the splendid structure. He passed away during this sojourn, with the Taj Mahal in front of him. It houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and the Emperor Shah Jahan, who wished to be laid to rest besides his beloved wife.