Do you eat cows?

Yesterday a child asked me at school, "Do you eat cows?" And I hesitantly replied, "Sometimes..." even though we actually eat quite a lot of beef in Austria. But I already knew that cows are considered sacred here, so I felt uncomfortable about it and we just eat them haha

But the kids found it funny and told me that they don't eat cows because they believe that multiple deities reside in them.

In Nepal, in Hinduism and Buddhism, pretty much everything is considered a deity. Even clay/mud is a god! But even the Nepalese find that funny. They don't take it too seriously.

Today I also learned that the birthday of the deity Shiva is celebrated in February. People from all over Nepal and India come to the Pashupatinath Temple (which is dedicated to Shiva) and bathe in holy water. And what I find really funny is that marijuana is legal on this day and everyone smokes it in the temples - Shiva wants it that way haha

After school, we visited a Buddhist monastery today - Koban Monastery. It is located on a hill and offers a view of the entire Kathmandu Valley. Buddhist monks live there and there is also a school where boys are educated to become monks.

By the way, becoming a monk is more or less a personal choice. One must be a Buddhist, and initially, the parents decide whether they want to send their sons to a monk school at the age of about 5. However, when the children are around 10 years old, they can decide for themselves whether they want to continue on this path and become monks or not. The monks here wear those yellow-red robes (like the Dalai Lama). Nepal is one of the few places in the world where Tibetans are allowed to practice their religion freely, and there are many Tibetan refugees here. Subash told me today that people in China are even executed if they are found with a picture of the Dalai Lama. I was aware of the oppression of Tibet by China, but it hits you even more when you can experience the uniqueness and benevolence of this religion up close.