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Mount
Kailash stands prominently in a remote south-west corner
of Tibet, an amazingly symmetrical 22,028 foot striated
pyramid with a diagonal gash on one of its faces. It has
been described as 'a compelling, dome-shaped peak, rising
above a desolately beautiful 13,000 ft plateau of
rainbow-coloured rocks'.
Mt.
Kailash is also called Kang Rinpoche, or the Precious
Mountain, in Tibetan. It is believed that the eleventh
century poet-yogi, Milarepa was the only person to have
set foot on its peak, and he accomplished the feat by
flying there...
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| The Bön, an aboriginal religious
sect of the Tibetan pre-Buddhist era call it Yung-drung
Gu-tzeg, or "9-storey Swastika" because on the
south face of Kailash can be seen a swastika. The 6,714
metre peak is believed to be the actual home of Lord
Shiva, and also the sacred seat of Adinath, the first of
the Jains. This peak
is the earthly manifestation of Mount Sumeru, or Meru as
it is also known. Sumeru is believed to be the axis of
the universe. The point about which the entire cosmos
spins is Mount Meru.
The journey to Mt. Kailash is an
important pilgrimage for millions of Buddhists and
Hindus, in addition to Jains and also to Bonpos. It is
believed that one circuit of the sacred Mt. Kailash(54
km/32 miles) is sufficient to wipe out all the sins of
your lifetime. Wiping out the sins of all
your lifetimes is a much bigger task; that major sin
clean-up requires 108 revolutions. Or bathing in the icy
sapphire waters of Lake Manasarovar at the mountain's
base is also said to remove the sins of innumerable
lifetimes.
Since Mt. Kailash is the home of
Lord Shiva, for Hindu people it is also the highest
blessing to take darshan of the mountain - to be in its
presence; to see it and
to be seen by it.
Tibetan poet and seer of the 11th
century Milarepa's comment on Mt. Kailash is worth
quoting: "There is no place more powerful for
practice, more blessed, or more marvelous than this. May
all pilgrims and practitioners be welcome!"
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