Entrance Chorten (Kani)

Along with the Buddhist divinities this entry chorten or Kani has an unusual painting- the one with animals stacked on top of each other. As the story goes an elephant was resting under the shade of a tree when a monkey approached. Upon seeing the monkey the elephant said, "Go away, this is my tree, for I got here first." The monkey quickly replied, "Were there any fruits in the tree when you got here?". To this the elephant replied, "No". "Aha!! See when I got here first there were fruits in the tree which I ate, so I got here first". The elephant thus agreed to share the shade. Shortly later a hare appeared and wanted to share the shade, upon which both the elephant and the monkey shouted at the hare, "Go away, this is our tree, we got here first". Upon this the rabbit replied that it had seen the tree since it was a sapling. Upon hearing this both the monkey and the elephant said, "Ok, we agree, you can share the shade with us." Upon hearing all this conversation the pheasant which was sitting on top of the tree said, "You know guys, the tree sprouted out of the seed in my dropping". All three looked up and bowed in reverence to the pheasant for creating the tree that was giving them shade. As such the image depicting the four animals and the tree is a symbol of peace, harmony and interrelatedness of all things. Just something to keep in mind as you enter the fragile landscape of Khumbu.