Mani Stones

Mani Stones are stones featuring carved mantras, most often the Chenrezig Buddha of Compassion mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum. They may be heaped together in mounds or walls, and often appear near Buddhist places of worship (temples, stupas, holy lakes and mountains, or remote places where strong spirit presences are believed to exist).

The following are some examples I have come across during my travels in Tibetan exile communities in northern India:

Mani Stone Outside the Main Temple of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama-McleodGanj, India

Mani Stones and Image of Guru Rinpoche near Tsuglakhang, McleodGanj

Mani Stones, including a Kalachakra Mantra, at Tsuglakhang

Mani Stone Pile Outside Choekling Monastery in Bir Tibetan Settlement

All images copyright 2015 Tammy Winand, all rights reserved. Please see my stock galleries on shutterstock, dreamstime, 123rf, and mostphotos (largest selection of India, Tibetan, Kathmandu related images) to download.

Kora

Late Afternoon Kora at the Great Stupa of Boudha

Kora (Tibetan,literally "circle"), is a form of walking meditation. The most simple explanation for westerners unfamiliar with this tradition is that Tibetans (and some other Buddhist traditions) walk clockwise around a holy site, such as a monastery or stupa, chanting mantras (a form of prayer) and moving their prayer beads with each prayer repetition. Kora are usually lined with prayer wheels, mani stones, and strung with prayer flags as forms of offerings.

Devotees may do a minimum of one circuit. A common number of repetitions is three (one for each of the Three Jewels-Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). 
Very devout pilgrims may do the kora while prostrating (bowing) repeatedly along the length of the path. Some view kora as a social event and go with friends. Others have told me that for them it is more a form of exercise than meditation.

In McleodGanj (Dharamsala, HP, India) the main kora is a path which goes through a wooded area around the perimeter of the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. There is also a kora inside His Holiness' Tsuglakhang temple there.

In Boudha (Kathmandu, Nepal) the most famous kora is at the Great Stupa, followed by the stupa at Swayambu. 

The following images all feature kora in Tibetan Buddhist communities in either India or Nepal.

Tibetan Women in the Settlement of Bir, HP, India Making Kora of a Stupa at Choekling Monastery

Tibetan Woman in Traditional Chupa doing Kora at Great Stupa, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal

Tibetan Woman at Kora...Not Everyone Wears traditional Clothing in to Kora

All images copyright 2015 Tammy Winand, all rights reserved. Please contact via email for usage permissions, or see my stock galleries on shutterstock, dreamstime, 123rf, and mostphotos (largest selection of India, Tibetan, Kathmandu related images) to download.

Afternoon Stroll

Open air booths covered with tarps line the streets of McleodGanj. Tibetans, and Indians, do business here, outdoors, year round.

In this photo, a monk and a Tibetan elder stopped at a stall along Temple Road to examine scrolls bearing inspirational quotes by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

All images copyright 2015 Tammy Winand, all rights reserved. Please contact via email for usage permissions, or see my stock galleries on shutterstock, dreamstime, 123rf, and mostphotos (largest selection of India, Tibetan, Kathmandu related images) to download.