Taking the hill road out of Hawick in the direction of Lockerbie and Dumfries brings me past Kagyu Samye Ling Buddhist Temple, near Eskdalemuir.
I often see the unbifurcated monks from Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre when they come into town here in Hawick, but today one of them welcomes me to visit the temple. The building in the background is the Butter lamp House. Buddhist tradition has it that offering lights to the Enlightened Ones benefits sentient beings and 108 are lit daily, and 1,008 on special days, dedicated to world peace and harmony.
Our monk introduces the work of Tibetan monastery and Buddhist centre.
Kilt is lightweight polycotton McKenzie with Freelander Sporran.
The magnificent temple was finally completed in 1988.
Another view of Kagyu Samye Ling Temple.
Having climbed the stairs and standing by the entrance to the temple. The building behind me contains the monks' living quarters on the upper floor and their refectory or dining hall on the ground floor.
As there was an hour to spare before the next prayer meeting I was allowed inside the Temple. I had to remove my boots before stepping inside.
The Green Tara Tibetan Herb Garden. Here herbs and vegetables are grown for food and medicinal purposes, for use within the monastery and for sale to raise funds. A number of monks were going about their gardening work in their maroon robes but appeared not to want to be photographed.
More to follow shortly.
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