Nepal is a country filled with both beauty and harmony and the people who live there reflect this. Hindus and Buddhists live together with great respect and reverence for each other. We saw many Hindu and Buddhist shrines. The Buddhist shrines are called Stupas. The most ancient of the holy Stupas in Kathmandu valley, almost 2,000 years old and a UNESCO World Heritage site is the SWAYAMBHUNATH STUPA, or the MONKEY TEMPLE.

The Stupa is visible for many miles since it is located high on a hill.  The dome at the base represents the entire world.  There is a large pair of eyes on each of the four sides which represent Wisdom and Compassion.  Above each pair of eyes is another eye, the third eye.  It is said that when Buddha preaches, cosmic rays emanate from the third eye which act as messages to heavenly beings. Below each of the pairs of eyes is a symbol that looks like a question mark - this is the Nepali number "1" and represents the unity of all things.  No ears are shown because it is said the Buddha is not interested in hearing prayers in praise of him.

Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom.  The flags do not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception; rather, it is believed the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space.

The flags come in sets of five: one in each of five colors. The five colors are arranged from left to right in a specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow.  Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth.  According to traditional Tibetan medicine, health and harmony are produced through the balance of the five elements.