Phurpa

Who is Phurpa? Phurpa is a tiny, beautiful monk who lives as a ‘sadhu’ at the monastery of Tawang, known in Tibetan as ‘Gaden Namgyal Lhatse’, which is also the biggest monastery in the world. The wintry calendar beeped, “14/02/2021.” I was on my way to the monastery, bewildered by the way the monks lived throughout all these years as people centred to unimaginable boundaries of rules, roles, and sacrifices. A plethora of questions ate me up for years and I had to find a place to make peace and know them better. Phurpa is just like any other monk; smart, full of clarity, and honest. Yet, there’s something precious and intriguingly strange about these monks I was overwhelmed with, may be the energy they radiated due to the direct influences of the chants and bells ringing on them. He knows nothing of grief and anger. A soul full of balance and life, unlike most of us, he speaks of formless love and has a very refined taste in everything. He believes in spirits and so do I, reason I felt we could connect pretty well. He made me feel I’m nothing more than a child, only aging with baggages of unset paradoxes and thoughts. He took me to an archery ground where they practice archery and guess what, he won an archery competition held the previous day. This little kid is no ABC, he’s some super sophisticated physics formula, like M-theory in real life. When you visit this spectacular monastery in Tawang, look out for Phurba. He’ll give you a tour and make you believe in magic. Look into his eyes and you’d see a desire to breathe in peace, gratefulness, and total innocence. Phurba is one name to be remembered. ‘Namastey’ 🙏🏾 #pindle #indiatravel #writer #travelblog #meetthelocals #locals #guidebook #culture #arunachal #world