Dharmodaya Vihara
Kalimpong, India · March 1950 – early 1951
27.06190°N, 88.47510°E
Key Facts
- ◆ First home in Kalimpong, from March 1950 until early 1951 — approximately ten months.
- ◆ The name means 'Monastery of the Rise of the Teaching'.
- ◆ Sangharakshita and Kashyapji ate their daily meal at the Nepali Building, less than a mile up the road.
- ◆ Conflicts arose with a newly arrived Newar monk, Aniruddha, who shut down YMBA activities in Sangharakshita's absence and demanded 100 rupees monthly rent for his room.
- ◆ On Sangharakshita's refusal to pay, Aniruddha acted in a way that forced him out.
- ◆ After leaving, Sangharakshita was given temporary residence in the guest cottage of Burma Raja, a nephew of the last king of Burma.
“At Siliguri, there was a jeep waiting for us outside the station, and on our arrival in Kalimpong three hours later, we were driven straight to our host’s home for lunch.
When we had eaten and rested, our host — a smooth-faced, smiling man of about thirty in semi-traditional dress, wearing white jodhpurs and a black English jacket — took us to the Dharmodaya Vihara, or ‘Monastery of the Rise of the Teaching’, as the building at the top of the acclivity was called, where he had made arrangements for us to stay. Before leaving, he invited us, in the most cordial manner, to take our bhikṣā or almsfood — the polite term for the monk’s single, pre-midday meal — at his home each day.
For a week or more, all was well. At ten-thirty every morning, having studied the Dhammapada together for a couple of hours, Kashyapji and I made our way to Nepali Building, which was situated on the other side of the town, less than a mile up the road from the vihara. Here, in the living quarters above the business part of the premises, we were given our meal.”
— Facing Mount Kanchenjunga
Source: Facing Mount Kanchenjunga
Other sites in Kalimpong
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