Blogs from Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, Asia
Joe Blogs - Off The Grid 24°41′N 84°59′E
Published: January 25th 2012Asia » India » Bihar » Bodh Gaya
January 25th 2012
Bit off the grid at the moment. 5 hour drive from Varanasi to Bohd Gaya, where the Buddha sat under the bodhi tree and achieved enlightment. Hotel very basic ( Bohd Gaya very basic for that matter - poverty very challenging ). No Internet in hotel, so am in a cyber cafe (of sorts). Got a long journey to Agra tomorrow ( 17 hours on the road ) so hoping for more facilities there and will be able to provide a full report ( with pics ) the following day. In the meantime, Om Mane Padme Om.... read more
January 1st 2012
Prior to leaving on this trip from Alaska, we had made a decision to attend the 32nd annual Kalachakra initiation presented by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. While we had no real idea what we were getting our selves into, we knew it would be a great opportunity/adventure. The Kalachakra initiation was to be presented in a town that could house maybe several thousand tourists at a time, and yet would be attended by appx two hundred thousand. Due to the lack of accommodations, many tent camps were being set up for the attendees. We opted to stay in a tent on the university grounds hosted by the Kalachakra organizing committee and blindly booked our tent many months in advance. So eventually the day arrived when we needed to catch a train from Varanasi to Gaya. ... read more
December 31st 2011
I've been back in New Delhi for the past week after three weeks in Bodhgaya. For non-Buddhist readers, Bodhgaya is in Bihar State, which is in central northeastern India, near Nepal. Bodhgaya is like the Mecca or Jerusalem of Buddhism, as it is the location where Shakyamuni Buddha, the forth Buddha of this world system attained enlightenment 2500 years ago beneath the bodhi tree. We are currently under his teachings, until the manifestation of the next Buddha, his disciple Maitreya, the Buddha of Loving Kindness. I was in Bodhgaya for teachings with His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I arrived Christmas Eve after two days of train travel from Dharamsala in North India. The journey was exhausting. My Tibetan travel agent could only route me to Gaya proper via Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, a city I wanted ... read more
March 2nd 2011
Hiya folks! Sorry for the delay. Things have been kind of hectic with sightseeing, Vipassana courses, tabla lessons, and all. So I'm just now getting around to the first official travel blog post - yes, two months into the trip. In this post, I will cover my Vipassana course (February 16-27) in Bodh Gaya. There will then be a bit of backtracking as the next post will cover the month of January I spent in South India. I just wanted to talk about the Vipassana first.......while it's fresh in my mind (I wasn't allowed to write anything down during the retreat). And the post after that will likely explore Kolkata and the tabla. So here are some pics for you: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8870546@N03/sets/72157626179020876/ Also, y'all are gonna have to show me some love (or hate or something) if ... read more
November 23rd 2010
die inder machen fotos von uns westler, wir kleiden uns wie die inder und die inder moechten so aussehen wie wir bodhgaya ist wunderschoen und ein toller ort zum praktizieren, verlaesst man aber den geschuetzten bereich so ist es ausser laut und aggressiv nur laut und... ich fang an, wuensche zu machen, nicht als inder wiedergeboren zu werden. apropos heut hab ich geburtstag... ... read more
October 21st 2010
Hier kwam de rust helemaal tot mij. Na al de drukte van Mumbai en het stressy trein/taxi/richaw/tuktuk/busverkeer kan ik terug adem op de plek waar boedha Nirvana bereikte. Mss niet verwonderlijk dat het net op deze plek is ;) Boedhistische plekken hebben ook altijd die bepaalde energie over hen. You just feel the peace! :) Hier zijn heeft echt iets magisch en toen ik onder de Bodi boom zat en er een blaadje naar beneden viel recht voor mijn voeten, was het helemaal compleet. :D Sascha is totally zen en klaar om morgen terug de drukte in te gaan opweg naar Agra to Taj Mahal! ... read more
September 28th 2010
Ok, ich hab Euch ja schon diverse Bilder von Buddha-Statuen und Tempeln zugemutet, aber Bodh Gaya und sein Mahabodhi-Tempel sind etwas besonderes. Bodh Gaya ist eine der heiligsten Stätten des Buddhismus. Der buddhistischen Lehre zufolge erlangte Siddharta Gautama an diesem Ort unter einem Bodhi-Baum meditierend die Erleuchtung und wurde somit zum Buddha. Ein Nachfahre des ursprünglichen Bodhibaumes (der erste wurde zerstört) steht hier noch heute. Um die Stelle herum wurde ein prachtvoller Tempel erbaut. Buddhistische Nationen und Gruppen aus allen Ecken Asiens haben in Bodh Gaya außerdem zahlreiche weitere Tempel in ihrem jeweiligen heimatlichen Stil erbaut und so findet man tibetische Tempel neben chinesischen, japanischen, thailändischen oder vietnamesischen Tempeln. Neben buddhistischen Pilgern zieht es auch zahlreiche Hindus in die Tempel. Für Hindus gilt Buddha als die neun... read more
July 29th 2010
Well know I've been to all the touristy areas around town. Two days ago my new friend Sunil took me to all the spots- the cave where the Buddha meditated or six years (!), his uncle's house, and some old banyan trees. We also went to an intelligence-insulting school. You want to know a surefire way to spot a scam in India? They take you to the small school, show you around to some kids, sit you down, and then hit you up for cash without offering you tea or water. . I've been to the mud huts of tribal villagers who have shown more proper hospitality. This has happened to me twice in the last two days- a sign of the relative lack of tourists in the area. Tuesday afternoon I met up with a ... read more
July 26th 2010
There are not many tourists around- it is easy to meet local friends and annoying pushers. Most folks are fine though, and a surprising number (roughly one fifth) speak a bit of Bengali. Many of the middle-aged men have spent time living and working in Kolkata. The Mahabodhi temple is fantastic. It is not quite so old- although the history is palpable. Yesterday I had an evening walk. There were many armed police forces about, kicking out the hawkers from the temple area. I meet an honest group and made quick friends. I got slightly lost on the roads under the full moon and missed my turn to go back to the place I was staying. I finally asked a group of heavily-armed jawans where to go, and they kindly obliged. The key is to say, ... read more
July 24th 2010
About a quarter of Kolkata's population is Bihari. They are usually laborers, tea-stall owners, richshaw pullers and the like. In a way, they are Kolkata's "Mexicans". When I meet one, I usually say Manush Bihari atma thaga acche . Bihari people have strong souls. Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India (less than 50%). The land here is gorgeous. It is much dirier than West Bengal. I am suprised to see boulder-graced hills; I had imagined the land is completely flat up to the Himalayas. After an overnight train, I had some tea and headed into the town of Bodhgaya. There's a lot of new contrsuction to cash in on the growing religious and historical tourism. After three weeks in the Indian sun, my skin began to turn brown. After four weeks in Ma Hindustan, ... read more
