The Hanging Temple (simplified Chinese: 悬空寺; traditional Chinese: 懸空寺; pinyin: Xuánkong Sì) is a temple built into a cliff ( 75m Above the ground )near Mount Heng in the province of Shanxi. The closest city is Datong, 65 kilometers to the northwest. Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is unique not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it includes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements.

Related: 悬空寺 (百度百科)
Wikipedia 悬空寺 (Hanging Temple)

The once-common jaguar has become a rare sight in North America, thanks to hunting and habitat fragmentation.

Now two were spotted in exceedingly rare and unrelated events this month.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department caught and collared a wild jaguar in Arizona for the first time, officials said Thursday. While a handful of the big cats have been photographed by automatic cameras in recent years, the satellite tracking collar will now help biologists learn more about this animal's range.

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In 1997, a team was established in Arizona and New Mexico to protect and conserve the species. The Jaguar Conservation Team (JCT) began working with Mexico two years later, recognizing that the presence of jaguars in the United States depends on the conservation of the species in Mexico.

Interestingly, the project set up to do all this is funded by Arizona Lottery ticket sales.

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"The photographs provide information about new recording sites, and allow us to deduce that the area where the animal was observed may be a corridor connecting jaguar populations," Monroy-Vilchis said.
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Jaguars can live in several types of forest, grassland and dry habitat. They prey on a variety of animals, including fish, birds and reptiles. The largest contiguous area of habitat now remaining for jaguars centers in the Amazon Basin.

Related:
Amur Leopard Near Extinction.

Taken off the coast of Mexico's Holbox Island by amateur photographer Sandra Critelli, this breathtaking picture captures the migration of thousands of rays as they follow the clockwise current from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula to western Florida.

Measuring up to 6ft 6in across, poisonous golden cow-nose rays migrate in groups - or 'fevers' - of up to 10,000 as they glide their way silently towards their summer feeding grounds.

These cow-nose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) have distinctive, highdomed heads, giving them a curiously bovine appearance.

But even equipped with this powerful poisonous stinger, cow-nose stingrays are shy and non-threatening in large 'fevers'. Even when isolated, they will attack only when cornered or threatened.

Unlike other stingrays, they rarely rest on the seabed (where unsuspecting humans can step on them) and prefer to be on the move.

They migrate long distances, and can be found as far south as the Caribbean and as far north as New England.

They use their extended pectoral fins to swim, and often turn upside down, curling their fin tips above the surface of the water - leaving terrified swimmers convinced that they have seen a shark. :)

Their flexible fins also come in handy when rustling up food. By flapping them rapidly over the seabed, they stir up sand and reveal crabs, shellfish and oysters, which they then feed on using their powerful, grinding teeth.

Their particular fondness for shellfish has made them public enemy number one with oyster fishermen.

But despite this, their numbers are exploding, thanks in part to rising sea temperatures. They mate every winter, and females produce a litter of five to ten young.

- shared by Swee Fun.

We would have to take a long bus journey from Varanasi to our next destination at Lumbini. Lumbini is the birth place of the Buddha.

I was a bit late for breakfast and I sat beside Raja for the only time we had ate together during the trip. He asked me why I didn't turn up for the Ganges river trip and I told him that I thought no one is actually going. Before we depart from our hotel, we had a bit of free time and I sat down at the hotel lounge to read the newspaper. There was an interesting story about an Indian boy who had helped his fellow students to learn by teaching them through arts, games and singing.

We left our hotel at approximately 8:30 am and we would eventually arrived at the India - Nepal border at 6+ pm. We had a stock of bottled water at the back of our bus. Choon Hong started to distribute the water bottles and we would pass the bottles one by one from the back to those in the front.

Somewhere along the bus journey, Sita invited our fellow members to ask Venerable Mudita questions, and she handed me a paper so that I can write the question down. I was sure that I would have a question to ask, but it would eventually took me some time before that question surfaces up in my mind.

The question would not be related to meditation practice since I had rarely meditate, it would not be related to Buddhism theory or question on zen koan. It would be related to a doubt that I have on Pure Land Buddhism. I had to read out my question as Venerable Mudita could not read all my scribbling, and I was sitting beside him at the front of the bus.

In Pure Land Buddhist thought, Enlightenment is difficult to obtain without the assistance of Amitabha Buddha. Pure Land Buddhism teaches that devotion to Amitabha leads one to the Pure Land, from which enlightenment is guaranteed. Rigorous practice is not required of those who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land. They need only have faith in Amitabha's primordial vows and recite his name. Thus, belief in Amitabha is called a path of easy practice.

The doubt that I have is Pure Land Buddhism would have offered us a much significant easier path to enlightenment as compared to the main Buddhist path. The question I asked Venerable Mudita was "Whether it is sufficient for a person to go to Pure Land after he has passed away if he has faith in the Buddha's teaching (Amitabha) and he aspires to go to Pure Land?"

Venerable Mudita answered No. Faith alone itself is not sufficient for one to enter Pure Land. It will also depend on the state of the mind, its awareness, when a person has passed away. This is dependent of whether one has done good deeds and whether one has practiced the five precepts.

Venerable Mudita's answer had cleared up my doubt.

A fellow member asked Venerable Mudita what should we do if we felt sleepy in meditation. Venerable Mudita suggested many remedies to this problem. I am afraid I cannot remember all of them. We can smile when we are meditating, when we are more joyful, we will have more energy to meditate. We can do walking meditation when we feel sleepy, we can also investigate our sleepiness.

He told us a story about Ajahn Brahm when he was young. Ajahn Brahm would put some matchstick on top of his head when he was doing meditation. But, he would become very skillful in balancing it even when he was sleepy. :)

We can wash our face. We can also contemplate on the Dhamma. We do not need to feel bad or frustrated about it, for that would only make matter worse.

Ajahn Brahm had written a book on meditation. "Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond. A Meditator’s Handbook" You can download the first 5 chapters of Meditator's Handbook and also listen to his Dhamma Talk Podcast.

Thanks to Venerable Mudita for sharing his insight.

After the question & answer session, we would have some chanting. Venerable Mudita had a portable speaker to play audio and it was being hanged to the ceiling of the bus. Even with the speaker, the sound would be quite soft from the back of the bus.

We had packed lunchbox from the hotel Varanasi and we would have to eat our lunch during our bus journey. I could tell you that this had to be my most adventurous lunch that I had, for the bus was jumping up and down. The lunch was quite delicious, I ate potato, tomato and curry puff and some breads. The curry puff was very nice. I had left the two boiled eggs to be eaten last. It would take me quite some time to remove the egg shell amid the bumpy ride. I was hoping that both the egg on my hand and the egg that was still in the lunchbox will not jump out. Eventually, I would complete my lunch. Some of our fellow members had eaten a smaller portion of their lunch.

The other difficulty that we had to endure for a long bus journey was that we would need to wait for the toilet break to pee. At least for men, we can pee just about anywhere, so we were more fortunate than the ladies. On one of the toilet break, some people might have step on some dungs that were beside the bus, and others were reminding the rest not to step on it.

We would passed through Gorakhpur at around 2:30pm, after travelling 6 hours from Varanasi. We would have a longer toilet break the next time because Raja, the assistant and bus driver would had their late lunch. Some fellow members had bought bananas here and offered them to the rest. A Thai group tour bus also came up right beside our bus.

I was able to access internet at some place and manage to post a twitter. Though, it would be too difficult to read from my mobile phone in this bumpy ride. The sky would grow dark here as early as 5pm? I would feel very sleepy from that time onwards.

We would reach the Nepal border at 6+ pm. There were quite a lot of shops near the border, but the light outside would be too dim when I took a photo from inside the bus. We would wait inside the bus at the border for quite a long time as we would need to apply for the Nepal visas ($US25) to enter Nepal.

The ladies were more talkative and were making jokes while we waited inside the bus which had become very cold. Some of the ladies like Choon Hong had come to Nepal before for trekking at around 4km height. Very impressive! Jesse took a photo of me with some ladies, I had only a few photos of myself taken with my camera phone for the whole trip.

Our hero, Raja, finally came back with our passports and visas stamped. Our patient break was finally over and we would had a short trip to our destination hotel Nirvana. Along the way, we could see signboard like Yeti airline, Buddha airline, that were named after Nepal attractions. We had our dinner immediately after reaching our hotel.

I was totally dead tired and had fallen to sleep at quite an early time for me.

Had a good nite.

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View the same map on Nokia Sports Tracker.

On our return journey, I received sms from my brother, knowing that his father-in-law had passed away. (Let us offer a prayer to his father-in-law.)

Varanasi is a holy city in Hinduism, being one of the most sacred pilgrimage places for Hindus of all denominations. According to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu deity, Shiva, around 5,000 years ago, thus making it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the country. Varanasi is generally believed to be about 3,000 years old. More than 1,000,000 pilgrims visit the city each year.

Hindus believe that bathing in Ganga remits sins and that dying in Kashi ensures release of a person's soul from the cycle of its transmigrations.

Varanasi is one of the holiest places in Buddhism too, being one of the four pilgrimage sites Buddha had mentioned in Maha-parinibbana Sutta, that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.

Ananda's Concern

15. "Formerly, Lord, on leaving their quarters after the rains, the bhikkhus would set forth to see the Tathagata, and to us there was the gain and benefit of receiving and associating with those very revered bhikkhus who came to have audience with the Blessed One and to wait upon him. But, Lord, after the Blessed One has gone, we shall no longer have that gain and benefit."

Four Places of Pilgrimage

16. "There are four places, Ananda, that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence. What are the four?

17. Lumbini: "'Here the Tathagata was born!' This, Ananda, is a place that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.

18. Buddhagaya: "'Here the Tathagata became fully enlightened in unsurpassed, supreme Enlightenment!' This, Ananda, is a place that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.

19. Sarnath: "'Here the Tathagata set rolling the unexcelled Wheel of the Dhamma!' This, Ananda, is a place that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.

20. Kusinara: "'Here the Tathagata passed away into the state of Nibbana in which no element of clinging remains!' This, Ananda, is a place that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.

21. "These, Ananda, are the four places that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence. And truly there will come to these places, Ananda, pious bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, laymen and laywomen, reflecting: 'Here the Tathagata was born! Here the Tathagata became fully enlightened in unsurpassed, supreme Enlightenment! Here the Tathagata set rolling the unexcelled Wheel of the Dhamma! Here the Tathagata passed away into the state of Nibbana in which no element of clinging remains!'

22. "And whoever, Ananda, should die on such a pilgrimage with his heart established in faith, at the breaking up of the body, after death, will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness."

In Varanasi lies Sarnath, the site of the deer park where Buddha had given his first sermon of the Dharma.

At the railway station, a group of porters helped to carry our luggages to our tour bus waiting outside the station. The porters piled the luggages on top of their heads in addition to carrying them with their hands. A small group of very young beggars and old beggars accompanied us as we waited for our luggages to board the bus.

Along the way to our hotel (Meraden Grand Varanasi), we could see large green fields (quite a lot during the whole trip) along the road. The hotel is probably the most beautiful one among all the hotels we would stay during the trip. We would have our breakfast first before we checked into our rooms. Comparing to my usual breakfast in Singapore, I ate better breakfast and in much bigger portion for the whole trip as well. (I ate something very sweet here, didn't know what it was)

Some of us had to wait for our rooms keys after our breakfast. I followed Vera to his room first so that I could charge my mobile phone, otherwise I could not take photos. There was a breakdown in his room toilet. Vera had a special role to perform in this trip, he was the assistant to our Venerable Mudita, just like the Venerable Ananda was a personal assistant to Buddha. Vera, who is a Thai, had been a monk before for a short time. I sit down and jot down the previous day events while waiting for my phone to be fully charged. Sita knocked on the door for she had come to deliver my room key. She was our group leader and also had to make sure we are all safe and sound. Time for bath.

We had our lunch in another place, a restaurant. If my memory still serve me, I left a paratha uneaten as it was quite hard to chew. This was probably the only time I was wasteful on the food. We ate mostly vegetarian food for our whole trip other than eggs. Overall, the food we ate was quite good except that it could become monotonous for some people. I would appreciate very much that we had icecream during the trip and I had enjoyed each of them.

Steven and I went out of the restaurant after we had finished our lunch. I was still eating my icecream. I was able to buy a pen at one of the shop to replace the pen that I had brought here. Hmmm, the shopkeeper told me to throw my icecream cup anywhere so I threw it along some rubbish beside the road.

Sarnath, located about six miles due north of the ancient city of Varanasi, is renowned as the place where the Buddha gave his first teaching. The name Sarnath derives from Saranganatha, which means Lord of the Deer. Once, in a previous life, the Buddha lived here as the leader of a herd of deer and offered his life to the king in return for his release of a pregnant doe. The king, amazed and humbled by this selfless action, created the Deer Park as a sanctuary for the deer.

After Buddha's enlightenment, the Buddha went to the Deer Park of Sarnath to teach the Dharma to his five former companions: Kondañña, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji. In this first sermon known as Dharmacakra-pravartana (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), Turning the Wheel of the Dharma, the Buddha conveyed to his first five disciples the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the twelve links of dependent origination. (On the No-self Characteristic)

With their realization of the Buddha's teaching, the Sangha was established at this holy place. Since that time, Sarnath and the Deer Park have symbolized teaching and transmission of the Dharma.

We would arrive at Sarnath. First, we visited the Dhamek Stupa, we circumambulated the Dhamek Stupa three times before taking our seats on the grass beside the Stupa to do our meditation. (When had I ever do meditation without feeling sleepy?) This was probably the first time I was not feeling sleepiness in meditation! , maybe bacause it was done outdoors and I was feeling the warmth and the heat from the Sun. :)

Only a small portion of the Dhamek Stupa's facing stones survive today. (photo) The stone facing is chiseled and displays delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. The wall is covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in the Brāhmī script.

Sitting on the grass, I was able to gaze at some of the drawings and carvings on the side of the stupa facing me and I noted one which is a flower shape containing a smaller flower shape. Only the Dhamek Stupa remains today, the Dharmarajika Stupa was completely destructed, only its foundation remains. (The Stupa was mined in 1794 for materials to build the Jagatganj marketplace)

A local Indian guide explained that King Ashoka built the earlier stupas. King Ashoka built stupas to enshrine small pieces of calcinated bone and other relics of Buddha and his disciples. He had also erected many Ashoka pillars during his reign in the 3rd century BCE. It would be mainly due to him that we now had the opportunity to visit and pay our respect in these holy places. So, we had many many thanks to Buddha, his disciples, the Sangha, King Ashoka, and also many of the Kings who had protected Buddhism and such sacred sites, Sir Alexander Cunningham (a British archaeologist known as the father of the Archaeological Survey of India) who had identified and preserved such sacred sites, and the famous Buddhist pilgrims like Faxian and Xuanzang who had left great accounts of their pilgrimage and had help to spread Buddhism to the East, and many of the many others. It was of immense fortune that we would be able to witness the revival of Buddhism in India and for Buddhists all over the world to be able to come to the holy places of Buddha to pay homage to Buddha.

Excavations revealed as many as four and five layers of buildings, monuments, and shrines built one over the other. In all, around thirty monasteries were found at this site. The ground plan of the monastery is similar to cave monasteries carved out of solid rock at Bagh and Ajanta.

The Ashoka pillar that was erected next to the main shrine, was broken fairly close to the ground. The once 15 m high pillar was made of Chunar sand stone. It was once surmounted by the famous lion capital with four lions facing the four directions standing on top of a Dharma wheel. This capital had miraculously survived the fall and can now be seen in the Sarnath Archaeological museum. (It is also an excellent example of Mauryan art) Today, a representation of this lion capital appears on the official flag of India. The pillar bears three inscriptions, the earliest one was an edict carved in Brahmi script at Asoka's command, directing monks and nuns to refrain from causing dissension within the Sangha.

About Dharmarajika Stupa

Sarnath map

We would bypass the Chaukhandi mound (photo) without visiting it. The Chaukhandi monument is said to commemorate the reunion of the Buddha with his five former companions, who became his first five disciples. The building was erected during the Gupta period.

At Sarnath Archaeological Museum, we could see the magnificent Lion Capital of Asoka, it also houses a rich collection of sculptures, artifacts and edifices comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images and other ancient remains. The collection of figures and sculptures were from the Mauryan, the Kushana and the Gupta periods. Prominent of them is the earliest Buddha image found at Sarnath and many images of Hindu Gods dating from the 9th to 12th centuries. It also houses the famous Buddha statue in the Dharmacakra mudra (the teaching mudra) from the Gupta Period.

We next visited the new Mulagandhakuti Vihara, which was founded by Anagarika Dharmapala in 1931.

He was a leading figure in initiating two outstanding features of Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was a pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually extinct there for several centuries, and he was the first Buddhist in modern times to preach the Dharma in three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe.

In 1891 Anagarika Dharmapala was on a pilgrimage to the recently restored Mahabodhi Temple, where the Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, India. Here he experienced a shock to find the temple in the hands of a Saivite priest, the Buddha image transformed into a Hindu icon and Buddhists barred from worship. As a result, he began an agitation movement.

The Maha Bodhi society was founded in 1891. One of its primary aims was the restoration to Buddhist control of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, the chief of the four ancient Buddhist holy sites. To accomplish this, Dharmapala initiated a lawsuit against the Brahmin priests who had held control of the site for centuries. After a protracted struggle, this was successful, with the partial restoration of the site to the management of the Maha Bodhi Society in 1949.

The original Mulagandhakuti Vihara was built on the spot at Sarnath where the Buddha spent the first rainy season retreat with his disciples. Enshrined in the new Mulagandhakuti Vihara is a statue of the Buddha modeled after one of the statues unearthed at Sarnath, representing the Buddha in the Dharmacakra mudra, the gesture of teaching the Dharma. (the original statue is at the Sarnath museum)

The temple has a magnificent large bell donated by the Maha Bodhi society of Japan; on the temple's walls are exquisite frescos depicting the life of the Buddha, painted by a Japanese artist. We circumambulated the Buddha statue three times as well and made some donations to the temple. There was a stall inside the temple near the entrance. Some books were sold there, but I did not have sufficient time to check out the books.

On the way back to our hotel, when I was in the bus taking a photo on the street, I noticed a young Indian child smiling and waving at me; and so I smiled and waved back at him. After a short break at the hotel, we had some shopping at the Safari Silk Weaving Centre. Some of our fellow members bought quite a bit at this shop. Steven and I went out of the shop after a while. We would meet Sita, Vera, and the tour assistant later, they were trying out some boiled eggs at a street stall opposite the shop, and I would get invited to taste it.

We would then visit an art centre that was selling buddha statues, jewels and other arts items. The price that they sold was expensive. I bought a small wooden buddha head that cost 270 rupees as a souvenir. I ended up being the last one to leave the centre. Alice congratulated me on buying the souvenir.

Possibly, the only regret here was not going to visit the Ganges river. Initially, only three of us wanted to visit the Ganges river that was scheduled to be on the early morning on the next day. We had some chanting and meditation after our dinner at the hotel. Venerable Mudita had suggested that we should not go to the Ganges river for there is a bit of risk for the river here is toxic, and also because we would had a long journey to Lumbini. When he asked how many are going, I was the only one that put up my hand, I spotted that Vera half-raised his hand. In the end, I thought no one was going to the Ganges river tomorrow.

(view others Varanasi photos)

On the Buddha Trail in India from thezensite.

My photos at the Mulagandhakuti Vihara.

the Buddha statue in the Dharmacakra mudra

Huntington Archive of Buddhist and related art.

Buddhist art in the Freer and Sackler galleries.