Drukpa Eco Pad Yatra
A Journey from Self to Selflessness
His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa took with him 9 Rinpoches and 180 nuns and monks on a 500km Pad Yatra in the holy places of Lord Buddha in 2006. This was the first part of 1200km walking journey, visiting the eight holy places of Buddha. The second part of the journey took place in 2007.
The 8th Pad Yatra saw a surge in number of participants. Majority of the 1800 yatris were from Ladakh, joined by international participants, and led by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa and his spiritual entourage. The Pad Yatra kicked off below the iconic Chemdray Monastery, continued towards Tathok Monastery, followed by the famed Khespang retreat center, before ascending to Igoo Tso, the mysterious prediction lake located at 5,400m above sea level.
Between 5th March and 5th April 2013, more than 1000 participants joined in Sri Lanka to begin an epic walking journey, promoting peace and eco-friendly way of living. This was the first pad yatra outside of India and a state visit well arranged by the Sri Lankan government.
1200 participants joined in the Eco Pad Yatra, walking close to 780km, visiting the holy places of Buddha in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The journey lasted a month from 1st to 30th November 2014, began in Vararasi and concluded in Lucknow.
From Darjeeling to Sikkim, more than 600 participants trekked on a 33-day treacherous walking journey of 420km and picked up more than 1 tonne of non-biodegradable plastic rubbish.
More than 600 participants joined this time to walk from Mumbai to Sanchi Stupa, India. The amount of non-biodegradable rubbish more than doubled from the last two Eco Pad Yatras, proving that the more densely a place is, the more it is needed to implement proper recycling facilities.
From Drilbu Ri (Lahaul) to Hemis (Ladakh), the Gyalwang Drukpa took more than 700 monks, nuns and lay devotees (and 300 mules and donkeys) on a 42-day treacherous walking journey of 400km - for purification, for spreading the message of love and for educating the Himalayan people about preserving their environment in the Himalayas, an important water source for half of the world's population
A Pad Yatra is not only a physical journey, but also an inner journey of transformation. When you are mindful of the detail, you notice the light come into the sky at sunrise, and how good the first sip of tea in the morning tastes. So find your own Pad Yatra, if you can – it will be the best workout that you can give your mind.
Come and walk with His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa and his spiritual entourage, in Odisha, to...
Scholars believe that Biraja (modern Jajpur) was a sacred land of Buddha Padmaprabha and the...
Since there will be a lot of complicated onground arrangement for the Eco Pad Yatra, interested...
