The glacier was amazing, and walking on it was very cool indeed. The sun beat down and warmed us - except our hands, which got cold with every loss of balance. The hobnail boots kept us feeling our way carefully and treading in the steps of those gone immediately before and years ago.
Approaching the glacier's terminal face, the ice just melts away and sometimes breaks off in large icefalls. Climbing up the glacier just above the terminal face, it's evident that the ice is truly flowing.
Atop the glacier, above the face, we could look out towards the Tasman Sea, just 15-20 kilometers away!
Crevasses lead to the edge of the ice, where the mountains start. We could also see the bottom of an icefall farther up the glacier. The ice follows the same contours as the land below it, so at steep sections of land far below, the ice falls and separates, creating many crevasses.
Cracks in the ice eventually widen and deepen, creating amazing under-ice spaces, sometimes like the cavern described by Joe Simpson in his book, Touching the Void.
We got to crawl through a crevasse, which involved taking off all our backpacks and squeezing through a tight space, getting soaked in the process. (Thanks to the guiding company for the waterproof jacket!)
There were deep holes in the ice, through which I felt I could drop a stone to the very bottom of the glacier valley, at least a kilometer below me. And then there were holes barely beginning to form, with just a little water seeping into it, eroding the ice...
Sundog
This is my tribute to Sundog, my trusty companion and vehicle, a 1981 Ford Cortina wagon of surprisingly bright color...
We went to the base of Treble Cone ski area, near Wanaka, before the snow came down...
But then the crash happened. The inside of the car was a jumble of stuff that came out from under the driver's seat into the pedal area, and my shoulder and ribs broke the passenger seat.
The front wheel broke off the axle in the collision. The engine compartment is a jumble of parts, almost none where they are supposed to be...
The frame was twisted, and the rear window was shattered so completely there was nothing left.
Before Sundog headed off to the Wanaka dump, Steve, the guy from the service station, removed the registration tag. (Note to would-be rego stealers: The rego has been cancelled with LTSA.) Farewell, friend!
We went to the base of Treble Cone ski area, near Wanaka, before the snow came down...
But then the crash happened. The inside of the car was a jumble of stuff that came out from under the driver's seat into the pedal area, and my shoulder and ribs broke the passenger seat.
The front wheel broke off the axle in the collision. The engine compartment is a jumble of parts, almost none where they are supposed to be...
The frame was twisted, and the rear window was shattered so completely there was nothing left.
Before Sundog headed off to the Wanaka dump, Steve, the guy from the service station, removed the registration tag. (Note to would-be rego stealers: The rego has been cancelled with LTSA.) Farewell, friend!
Beth Shalom
I was driving in the Queen Charlotte Sounds and came across a sign:
I thought it would be an interesting place to have a look at, and perhaps talk to the owners to learn more. It seemed to fit with the monastery and with Parihaka as part of a possible project on peaceful places around New Zealand.
But other things indicated to me that it would be a while before this truly was a house of peace. The place was nothing but a deck, separated from the hill I was on by a large reinforced wall.
The posts were freshly in place, with labels still intact and unweathered. There were no people, no tools, no sign that the workers would return, except the chair.
In the end, this is all there was: a sign, a path, a construction site, and a view unequaled even in paradise.
I thought it would be an interesting place to have a look at, and perhaps talk to the owners to learn more. It seemed to fit with the monastery and with Parihaka as part of a possible project on peaceful places around New Zealand. So I walked closer, down the hill, to see what was there.
A deck chair seemed to say that someone had been there, and was planning to be back.
But other things indicated to me that it would be a while before this truly was a house of peace. The place was nothing but a deck, separated from the hill I was on by a large reinforced wall.
The posts were freshly in place, with labels still intact and unweathered. There were no people, no tools, no sign that the workers would return, except the chair.
In the end, this is all there was: a sign, a path, a construction site, and a view unequaled even in paradise.
Around Bodhinyanarama
Bodhinyanarama, The Garden of Enlightened Knowing, is a Buddhist monastery in the Theravadin tradition in the Stokes Valley above Wellington, New Zealand.
Here's a look around:
And here's a photo essay I did on the concept of life springing from death on the monastery grounds:
The audio here is of the monks chanting in the morning and evening sessions of chanting and meditation. The normal order of events is:
Here's a look around:
And here's a photo essay I did on the concept of life springing from death on the monastery grounds:
The audio here is of the monks chanting in the morning and evening sessions of chanting and meditation. The normal order of events is:
5:15 morning chanting (puja) begins
The following are samples of morning chanting. The opening and closing are always done but the others vary daily, not usually in any particular pattern.
Chanting is in Pali, which is the language the Buddha spoke, and English. First phrases of Pali are chanted and then the English translations.
This is what was chanted the morning of Tuesday, April 27, 1999:
Morning opening
Preliminary homage to the Buddha. This is often chanted before other chanting.
In praise of the Dhamma. The Dhamma (Sanskrit: Dharma) is the set of teachings by the Buddha which lead to Enlightenment.
In praise of the Sangha. The Sangha (the word means "community") is the monks and nuns, including those at this and all other monasteries.
5:30 morning meditation begins (silent)
6:45-7 morning meditation ends, followed by some more chanting and the closing chant
7-7:15 end of morning puja
then in the evening:
7 evening chanting begins
The following are all part of a single chant, a list of the ten teachings which "should be reflected upon again and again by one who has gone forth" and become a monk or a nun. These, as with the other chants, are in Pali and English, alternating.
The days and nights pass by
At the end of my life
The kamma (Sanskrit: karma)
Solitude
Impermanence
7:15 evening meditation begins (silent)
8:15 evening meditation ends, followed by more chanting and the closing chant
8:30 end of evening puja
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