Blogs from Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, Asia - page 5

After a calm'ish train and hellish rickshaws, 2 friends and I arrived in Bodhgaya, this is in the next state Bihar and the town where the Buddha hung out for a few weeks during his nirvana two and a half centuries ago and where the Buddhist philosophies where born. There are many Buddhist temples and Buddhist monasteries from all round the world and allot of Tibetan influence. The famous Buddha tree is here too amongst other things and this is a famous pilgrimage town. It is so so different to Varanasi and the first nights guesthouse was laughable for many reasons so we looked for an ashram, we found a beautiful ashram which housed 50 or so loveable orphan kids, grew its own food and was in the shadow of the massive Mahabodi temple. The kids ... read more

Il piu' importante centro di pellegrinaggio buddista al mondo sorge tra i campi di riso del Bihar, uno tra i piu' poveri ed arretrati tra tutti gli stati indiani: probabilmente non esiste posto mogliore al mondo per immergersi nella meditazione e nello studio di questa antica filosofia di vita. Qui a Bodhgaya, 2500 anni fa, il principe Siddharta Gautama raggiunse l' illuminazione, diventando il buddha, l'illuminato appunto. Oggi su questo sito si trova un grande tempio, accanto al quale cresce rigoglioso il figlio dell'albero originale, il Bodhi tree, sotto cui meditava il futuro buddha. Ogni giorno centinaia di pellegrini arrivano fin qui da ogni angolo d'Asia, e pure del mondo, dando vita ad una larga riunione che potrebbe ricordare, per la fede ed il fervore dei devoti, una importante cerimonia di una delle nostre grandi religioni, ... read more

If you are ever going to come to India, go to Bodhgaya. If you weren't thinking of going to India, go, and go to Bodhgaya. All our experiences are unique i guess, but after 5 days of being near the descendant of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha (or Sakyamuni Buddha) attained enlightenment, and about half of each day meditating right next to it, something inside me has just popped, a doorway in my heart, the inner sanctum of the body temple, opened up and flooded my whole being with the most incredible light and love. Sure, the town is a bit like the wild west, sure the beggars and scavenging kids are like seagulls on an unattended packet of chips on the beach, sure there's more tourist bling and hawkers than ants on that ... read more

6-20 September Well, you know you have been traveling a nice long while when you have the offer to travel with two Vietnamese monks with limited English skills to one of the poorest and most dangerous states in India, with none of you having a guidebook, and it sounds like the most natural and obvious thing to do. And with the acceptance of that offer Dang and I took the bus from Dharamsala to Delhi to meet his brother, sister and cousin, who are all living in Delhi and studying at the University of Delhi. Dang´s brother and cousin are a monk and nun, while his sister had recently arrived to begin studies at the university. Dang´s cousin was an AMAZING cook and for two days she cooked every meal for us - delicious fresh Vietnamese ... read more

I would like to start this entry with a story from a very important piece of ancient Hindu mythological literature called the Ramayana. The heroine of this story is the Prince of Ayodhya, a man by the name of Rama. Now Rama was not just a high prince (circa 1000 BCE), but he was also believed by devout Hindus to be the reincarnation of Vishnu, the creator god. When Rama was young he was the ideal son (intelligent athletic and imaginative), who grew into the ideal husband (strong and brave yet sensitive) and later the ideal ruler of Ayodhya. Unfortunately due to an exaggerated and complex family quarrel, Rama was banished from the throne by his evil stepmother in favor of his younger brother becoming king. When Sita, Rama's devout and probably beautiful wife, heard this ... read more