I was delighted today by a very pleasant surprise. I went to extend my tourist visa and instead of it being $50, I found the charge had been reduced to only $30. This will be a great incentive for tourists to stay longer in Nepal. It will be an even greater day when a Western Sangha, such as myself, will able to get a visa that allows us to stay, study and practice the Buddha's Dharma in Nepal for extended periods of time. At present I can only come for a limited five months per year and I have to say that I'm a tourist, whereas really I'm a nun and Dharma student. I come here because this is the homeland of the Buddha and all my teachers are here. The Buddha's Dharma is deep and takes many years of study and meditation to really understand and integrate in one's life. I pray that in the future the option of a 'Meditation Visa' becomes available so that I can just settle down and stay living the life of a nun.

Venerable Jampa Chodron,
by email