Bodhgaya

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From Varanasi Charly and I decided to take a mini-break to Bodhgaya, 5 hours away by train. Bodhgaya (also known as Buddha Disneyland) is a town built around the spot where the Buddha achieved enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree in, err 6 something BC I think. If the Buddha came back to visit today I'm not sure what he'd make of all the fuss and pomp at Bodhgaya. For a philosophy expounding simplicity and non-attachment, there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of gold leaf.

Our train from Varanasi, which we had woken up at 4.30am to catch, was 3 hours late and by the time it came Charly had made solid friends with the monkeys, rats and beggars of Varanasi Junction while I sulked into a chai. By the time we arrived and checked into the appropriately named Deep Guesthouse it was well into the afternoon and I was well into a horrible cold.

Nonetheless, we headed out into the balmy evening to do a cicrcuit of the Mahabodhi temple, a huge complex around the very tree under which Buddha got enlightened and the main attraction of Bodhgaya. (It's actually a tree grown from a cutting of the original tree, but in the same spot. ) The tree itself is huge and peaceful, teeming with industrious birds, it's branches speading far out over the grounds. Despite the pink painted temple tops, manicured lawns and colour-changing floodlights which give the complex something of a theme park feel, there is a stillness and genuine spirituality about the place. Hundreds of monks circle the tree temple or sit meditating under the tree, their uniform of simple red or orange robes and hairless heads giving them an air of austere serenity. Inside the temple a giant gold Buddha sits, resplendantly lit, behind a glass case, his half-closed eyes and drooping ear lobes giving him a vacant look. Charly and happily spent a couple of hours in these captivating surroundings, watching the monks, the tourists and seemingly the whole town taking a turn around the vast structure.

The town itself is as contradictory as anywhere in India. The monasteries representing various Asian countries seem to be competing for the most elaborate, expensive decoration while outside dusty, ragged beggars line their sweeping entrance paths, drawn to to the town because of the alms-giving pilgrims. The town was ramshackle, dilapidated and dirty where it wasn't tree-lined, manicured and maintained by wealthy commitees of Buddhist tourism's facilitators. During the day we strolled around the town visiting the orante monasteries, which eventually blurred into one. We checked out the enormous Buddha statue on the outskirts of town, so surrealy huge we didn't mind that it was closed and we could only view it from the locked gates. A group of youngish Indian lads insisted on shaking our hands ten times each, then having a photo taken with us which they got printed there and then and made us sign. We drank fresh sugar-cane juice and pondered the singular experience of being Westerners in India.

We spent the evening at the Mahabodhi Temple again and I meditated my very best under the tree, moved by the energy emanating from the hordes of the faithful and the calm hopefulness that religious places seem to inspire in me. The tourists chatted and mosquitoes buzzed and cameras flashed and monks chanted and the sun set but under and over it all the tree stood still and silent, winning the war for presence and permanence without even trying.

Two nights probably wasn't enough to take the time we wanted to explore this strange town, and I wanted very much to find someone to ask questions of - my 'What is Buddhism?' book wasn't very useful (pity they didn't have an 'Idiot's Guide'...) - but soon it was time to leave Bodhgagy and head back to Varanasi. After all, we had a pressing engagement to buy Charly a kurta.

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