The Benefits of Pilgrimage and A Tour and History of the Holy Sites in Kathmandu
with Venerable Robina Courtin and Amber Tamang
online event Monday, September 28, 2020 7:00pm – 8:30pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) Tuesday, September 29, 7:45am – 9:15am NPT (Nepal Time) While we are prevented from traveling because of the pandemic, there is no reason we can’t travel virtually. Join us for this 90 minute presentation by Amber Tamang, an historian and pilgrimage guide as we explore the holy sites in Kathmandu. To kick off this program, Venerable Robina Courtin will give a brief talk about the benefits of pilgrimage, and the advice that Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave her to make this kind of travel truly beneficial.
We are using the Zoom video conferencing system for this class: Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85388542687?pwd=OG5QOWt0eCtMMWZ4WDJFMit1bXRzUT09 Meeting ID: 853 8854 2687 Passcode: 694340 Your generous donations are essential for the continuation of programs like this. No one turned away due to lack of funds
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Amber Tamang is from southern Solukhumbu, a small hamlet not even included on most printed maps. He began as a trekking porter in 1993 to support himself through college. For his undergraduate degree, he wrote his thesis on protection for workers in the tourism industry and received his Master’s Degree in Nepali Culture, Religion and Philosophy. He researches Himalayan culture and religion and has published articles in Nepali and English.
Amber began guiding with Himalayan High Treks in 1995 and in 2001 Amber and his wife Sushma founded Three Jewels Adventures. Amber has led pilgrimages with Venerable Robina Courtin and Venerable Amy Miller, among others, to the Buddhist holy sites in India and Nepal and to Lawudo, Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s remote hermitage (and FPMT’s most isolated center) in the Solukhumbu region. Those who've traveled with him praise his patience, kindness and articulate English as he enthusiastically describes Himalayan mountain culture and Buddhist people. Amber lives in the Thamel district of Kathmandu with Sushma and their two daughters. Ordained since the late 1970s, Venerable Robina Courtin has worked full time since then for her gurus Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s. Over the years, she has served as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and as a touring teacher of Buddhism. An award-winning film by her nephew Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Chasing Buddha documents her life as well as her work with prisoners. She is one of the subjects of Vicki Mackenzie’s book Why Buddhism? and a film by Christine Lundberg, On the Road Home. |