This is still a test because some of you received 3 copies of my travelpod links. I am trying to figure out what happened before I leave home. Let me know if you are getting multiple copies again on this blog. We are flying to Bangkok this Sunday and will start our adventures from there. Come along with us.

I have been reading books about Bhutan and Nepal in preparation of this trip . Currently I am reading "Beyond the Sky and the Earth" by Jamie Zeppa. Jamie was a Canadian went to Bhutan in 1989 as a volunteer teacher and stayed there for 3 years. Even though many years had passed, I found her book inspiring, her encounters with Bhutanese cultural interesting and her descriptions of Buddhism enlightening. Jamie caught the essence and the spirit of Buddhism in several short paragraphs. The following is a quote from her book

"The Buddha did not claim to be a deity. He was not offering a new religion but a way of seeing and living in the world. There is no all-powerful God who we must fall down and worship, but there is also no permanent self, no essence of self. Nothing exists inherently on its own, independently of everything else. Buddha told his disciples not to take his word for it, they are to analyze and search and test what he says for themselves. On his deathbed, he reminds them, "Decay is inherent in all compound things. Work out your own salvation with diligence"

Growing up in Taiwan with Buddhism as part of tradition permeable into daily life, I didn't pay much attention to the Dharma (teaching of Buddha). Now going to the two countries (Thailand and Bhutan) with Buddhism as their national religion , I hope to gain some understanding in it and maybe a little enlightenment in life. 

I found this clip on Bhutan on YouTube, I include it here to see if a video works on TravelPod. Let me know.