“Home is not a place on a map. It is the only place in the world where you can take off your armor. Where the heavy metal of the mask gives way to the warmth of your loved ones’ hands.
Beyond this circle lies cold, storms and an endless battle. But here…here you don’t need to hide your face. Home is not where you’re from.
It is what you are willing to sacrifice everything for.”
I open my eyes for the first time in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, at the foot of the roof of the world. Finally, I arrived at home.
How long have I shared my wish to be here, to see, to feel and to understand this land ? For me, Nepal is a vibrational vortex, a place of life, death and rebirth.
It is early and I have decided to accompany Bhuti Ama on the Kora, the practice of walking around Bodnath with faith and awareness, one of the largest stupas in the world. We came out as the night is ending and the sun is about to awaken. I begin walking, but Ama is incredibly fast! She prays and rolls her mala beads between her fingers as soon as we step through the door of the house.
I make a vow for the love, peace and freedom of all beings.
Alongside other pilgrims, some of whom have come from very far away, we begin to circle around the stupa. I am flying with the movement… purifying the mind… “Om Mani Padme Hum”, as I spin the prayer wheels of this wonderful place, over and over, without stopping.
I try to keep pace with Ama, who is constantly praying with her mala. I lose track of time but after countless rounds, we leave the flow of the crowd behind. Bhuti takes me to get some breakfast in a small alley, with mostly women sitting at the tables of a traditional café. We drink spiced milk tea while eating chapatis.
Then it is time to return home, where Ama prepares lunch while I rest.
I take the time to meditate and simply be with her.
In the afternoon, one of her friends comes to help her untangle wool outside, in the garden.
Bhuti Ama comes back inside to set up her loom in the living room. She uses a wooden rod, wedged into the doorway, to stretch the wool. She fastens a belt connected by two elastic bands around her waist. Finally, she loops these around the ends of her sticks, which she uses to stretch the other side and wind her work.
It is quite extraordinary to watch her create with her own hands, weaving the wool at the heart of her home. As I watch her admiringly intertwine each warp and weft thread, we begin to recite together, the sacred mantras taught by her brother. Drupon Lama Dorje is a renowned teacher, a lama of Tibetan Buddhism around the world.
The reason I am here in Nepal today is because of these sacred echoes, which resonated with something remote and precious deep within me.
Sitting directly on the ground on a small cushion with her legs stretched out, she weaves the wool that once belonged to these mountains.
Every passing thread is one more step on this long pilgrimage of life.
Every crossing is a fragment of the story that shapes us ; making us unique within our similarities, uniting us in our hearts and allowing us to let go a little farther, a little longer.
And yet, if we look more closely, wool is simply wool and it belongs to the earth. We too, will return to the simplicity of the earth, once a few experiences have gently, or sometimes fiercely, transformed our perspective on existence.
There are sometimes days like this, when the weight of the present moment feels heavier than usual.
A tribute to Bhuti and to everything that enables me to evolve, understand, love and grow.
“Along the way, we do not learn how to love ; we learn to remove everything that prevents us from loving.
Because love is the expression of our deepest nature, the very essence of being present to ourselves.” — Robert Eymeri
Lama Dorje Foundation
https://www.lamadorje.net/
Dewachen World Peace Sanctuary, Costa Rica.
© 2026, Mains de Silence - Caroline Elise Martin, All rights reserved.
caroline.martin03@hotmail.fr