Why Return to Bodhgaya?

This time in Bodhgaya I found myself asking , "Linda, why to you keep coming back here". Maybe this question is an echo from what mum and dad are probably wondering but it is a good question; so is an attempt to answer it I will continue to scribble.
First of all though Ven. Amy Miller gave a great definition of Buddhism last night; she said that what defines Buddhism from Judeo/ Christian traditions is that Buddhism looks inward for an answer to the human condition of suffering. I think looking for an outward solutions can also take the form of political, social and cultural systems that try to alleviate the suffering within communities, nation, regions and countries. Anyway Amy's definition is exactly why Buddhism appeals to me. It gives me an answer to why there is human suffering and gives me methods to overcome this suffering; and this is why I keep coming back to Buddhism (for all you Dharma wallas you recognise this as the teaching on the 4 Noble Truths)

In Buddhism to get to an answer you first cut away what is not the answer so; why do I keep coming to Bodhgaya?
I do not come here for he beautiful, natural scenery because it is dirty, noisy, flat and the river is dry and dusty most of the year.
I do not come here especially for the people. Although I have made many wonderful friends here over the years from Bihar and within the Tibetan and Western communities these friendship while precious are the icing on the cake of being here and not my main motivation.
I do not come here to visit all the elaborate  temples from all the Buddhist countries which have been built in the last 20 years or so. These temples, many of which are actually fancy guest houses for pilgrims are filled with tourist clicking cameras and few devoted real practitioners.
I do not come here for social work. Even though I did volunteer last year and I always try to give assistance to many of the beggars and locals when I can, but that to is not the attraction to be here.
And unlike so many, I do not come here for buisness.

I come here because it is the place of enlightenment of one man, the Buddha.I come here for inspiration; so I can  keep on this path which works toward becoming a better person and to be effective in doing good in the world. Loft aspiration maybe, but I think many of us do this in our lives in different ways and why not try.

On my first few visit here I  was what many of the local call a " holy tourist". This is different than a real devoted pilgrim because I took lots of pictures, bought lots of Buddhist stuff  and ran around seeing all the holy spots just like a tourist. However because I really wanted to become I good Buddhist (and also wanted to be seen to be good Buddhist) I acted like the "good, devoted pilgrim." Monkey see monkey do I guess but it was so inspired and impresses by the whole scene and was desperate to find meaning  in or to life.
Well anyway this can only last for so long as my actions were empty of any true understanding and devotion but I kept on studying and slowly, slowly  began to gather some sense that Buddhism may just be be right on (for me ). With this change real practice began. I was curious about mediation practice and saw it as an inner experiment. I wanted see what would happen to my mind if I remained open and just did what Buddhism teaches. I had admiration for the Buddha's teachings similar to how we admire any great scholar, politician or social activist, so I had to try, do what he taught and see what happened.
Like Amy also said last night; "This path is a process and it is not for everyone." But being me; stubborn, determined and curious I kept on going with this Buddhist thing and every year I came back to Bodhgaya for a top up of inspiration, from the place and from the people practicing. Down into the rabbit hole I willingly went; one year taking teachings, or doing various meditation and offering practices while all the time trying my best to connect the practice to the philosophy and train my mind toward a more positive way of functioning. When I look back there was positive changes, I was happier, calmer and more patient but then came the return to the West.
The great thing about life is just as you think you have mastered something, you fall flat on your face and I had to admit; I just did not have it together as much as I thought I did. Juggling a formal sitting meditation practice with work and university was near impossible and slowly slowly the old habits of mind crept back but I never did loose the conviction in Buddhist philosophy.
So after university and not being able to get a job, etc etc, I had to laugh and go ahhhh!  as I recalled the first teaching of the Buddha; life is suffering. So back to the teachings of Buddha I went, only this time with a must  more  realistic and more honest approach to where my mind is. So again I am attempting to transform this foggy mind and stabilize it. This is a wee bit harder to do than before because as I must admit I chose to stay in a  nice safe Buddhist bubble somewhat removed from the real India. However this time, being more honest and gentle with my self  is (so far)  much more rewarding because I am not letting the ego fool me and therefore have no facade to keep in tact.
So here I am, again in Bodhgaya for the 12th time, being inspired, enjoying not being in my old Buddhist bubble, being as present as possible in India with all its trials and tribulations and attempting to deepen and stabilize the practice with the motivation (or goal) for better application of the teachings in the world.
Fingers crossed it all works out well; then again they do say 13 is lucky for some,

Tent Town; 'professional beggars' or not?

You hear this phrase a lot in India; 'professional beggar' and yes in many ways some of them are.They play with your emotions, can put on a great act and of course can extract money, food and clothes if they pester you enough. Now I know you may think that it a harsh thing to say and yes it may be but hang around India long enough  and you get to know the game and see that a lot of ways in which foreigners give to beggars just encourages this practice even more. The problem is that people are suffering and if you have anything of a heart you want to help, the question is, how to help. In what skillful manner can the acts of one person ( little old me) make an impact that can work to change a mindset, a cultural norm or a corrupt and exploitative social functioning. It has taken many years of trying to figure this one out.

Do I give out of pity, believing somehow I am superior: I have done this but the real answer is; NO
Do I give out of guilt for having what they do not: In the beginning this was all I knew but now; NO
Do I give to make myself feel good:  Guilty as charged but it is never effective and again the answer  is; NO
Do I give to get rid them:  I have to say, been there done that too but the real response should be; NO

It all boils down to motivation. What is my motivation to give? and that in and of itself is a huge rabbit hole that needs to be survived, checked and re-checked.

gathering for samosas and mantras

eating samosas in peace

saying bye; tents and palace in background

I am beginning to think (and please tell me what you think as this is maybe something we can all understand better) that the only way to give has to come with compassion and empathy but no expectations or need for reward. It must also contain the essential ingredient of wisdom while planting the seeds of responsibility and long term thinking in the receivers mind.

Yesterday Jesulmeil,  Doris, Kush and I went to the beggar tent town which is on the banks of the Ganga across form the  Maharajah's Palace. Now if that is not a contrast of wealth I do not know what is. Anyway this is where Jesulmeilr's school children live and she goes once a week to meet the families and give some food to the children. It is a small act to buy and give samosas ( deep friend veggie pastries) but it is the manner in which she does this  and her motivation which I think is very effective.

A Christian religious women, maybe Christian spiritual is a better word here, Jesulmeir's  motivation is to get the children to sit together quietly (without hitting or fighting) and connect with their higher self or with God. She chooses to do this excises in front of the parents and encourages the parents to get the children to first gather and sit quietly. Now you have to remember that these kids live with constant noise of traffic, being yelled  at by drunken parents or people who shoow them away when they beg, well as the constant in fighting over getting stuff. So for them to sit still is huge.
Jesulmeil then lite some incense and got them all to quietly recite a mantra, which is all in line with their own culture, not forcing another religion on them. At first the kids yelled and mothers laughed but she persisted and slowly the kids all followed her lead. They closed their eyes, held their hands in prayer and quietly recited the mantra. WOW! We sat for about 5 minute,s not long  but it was probably the most peace these kids had experienced all week. She then had one of the girls fill a metal contained of holy water from the river. Then again some mantras were recited and she sprinkled all the kids with Ganga water. Lots of laughter ensued and the kids hugged each other and played nicely. Next we handed out the samosas and the kids still sat in their circle enjoying the warm food.

When finishing  she had the kids tidy the paper bags up and put the ground cloth back. She met some parents and encouraged the parents to bring the kids to her small school in Assis ghat. It was overall a very well received visit.

So as far as giving she gave with empathy and compassion, expecting nothing in return. She gave not out of guilt for having what they do not  she give not out of pity and not to get rid of them. She gave in a way that made then feel good, encouraging them to feel the goodness within themselves and her own  happiness from this act was a mere by-product. She planted the seeds of being responsible for their environment and going to school and an introduction to not only practical spiritual practice but also patience and sharing. The wisdom part I saw play out in several ways. She did not discriminate who came or who got food, all were welcome. She knows that some of this group are 'professional beggars' but sees that breaking the cycle of begging begins with people giving attention and showing love to beggars. Attention in the form of education, instilling self worth, self responsibility and self respect. Jesulmeil is starting with the kids and learning about how to change a community through the mothers.  As they say in India; Slowly Slowly. i.e the long term view.

Burning Ghat.

The biggest tourist attraction on the ghats is the burning ghats where families come to burn the bodies of their recently deceased relatives. A trip to Varanasi is just not complete without visiting this ghat for some time and just contemplating the impermanence of human life. I spent about an hour there one afternoon and watched the flames of around 12 funeral pyres consume the corpses of 12 people. I can hear you think that must have been hard to watch and yes it was. In so many ways, we always want to avoid anything uncomfortable but in another way once I got past the harsh truth of seeing so many dead bodies there was something almost comforting about seeing the bare faced truth; we all die and it is not a pretty site or a comfortable thing to face.

 I could go on about the awful smell of burning flesh, watching the flames turn skin black or frazzle nicely dyed hair, seeing feet, legs and arms protrude from a small mountain of wood or the dogs that fought by river side over the morsel of roasted human flesh; but I won’t. For the men who work at the ghat they face this sight every day and it is all in a day’s work for them. They build the fires, carry the bodies, place the body on the wood, make sure the fires keep burning and burn every part of the body, then they have to sift through the ashes and hand the ashes over to the family for disposal in the river.

This uncomfortable vision before me is just the top layer of repulsion that makes as all turn away from death. In the west death is never talked about and is always dressed up nicely, it is not messy at all and even in our mourning we are taught to be controlled or self composed. I had to force myself to stand and get beyond the messy, unclean, uncomfortable, unstructured and uncontrollable sight before me and take this opportunity to see and feel something deeper.

The ceremony itself (what little I could learn) is really beautiful and involves sending the body back to the elements; earth water, fire and air. The corpse is draped in clean white cloth and then coloured cloth with gold broche. It is then put on a stretcher and carried by the male members of the family down to the river side where it is then placed on the earth and then soaked for a while in the holy water of the Ganga. Once placed on the pile of nicely arranged wood, the body it then sprinkled with sandal wood and other substances. The eldest son or closest male relative of the deceased will then light the fire. He has already that day been shaved of his hair has taken a bath in the Ganga and is dressed in white clothes as is the traditional style of a Brahmin. As the wood starts to catch fire the relatives and or priest will do prayers and then watch the fire burn. The fire can last several hours and with about 12 fires going at once there are many people standing around in mourning.

 People mourned differently and were allowed to do so. Some sat alone in a corner tears, or stared trance like the flames of the fire. Many people were crying and being held or embraced by other relatives. This communal show of emotion I felt was in some ways also cleansing for the grieving relatives. A kind of purging of sadness so that they could move on with their lives. All I could do was try to feel their pain and show respect by bowing my head and covering my hair. It was in some way refreshing to see people being open with their grief.

That hour was a harsh teaching on how to fully appreciating my life and be grateful for my good health, the great people around me and all the comforts that I have. I know I have wasted a lot of time on trivial things over the years but an hour at the burning ghats make me more determined to use take every day as a gift and use it wisely and in a good way coz I have no idea how long I have got left.

HH DL Tenzin Gyatso

Queing

Approximately 7 thousand people attended the teaching of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Sarnath; this is great but standing in line to get in can take a long time. Since there have been attempts to take His Holiness life, at lease seriously injure him either by Chinese agents or  people under Chinese command, security at teachings is always tight. Most times I can deal with queuing but dealing with the people in the que can be a huge test of patience.

Chenrazig diety of compassion

On day the last day of the teaching His Holiness gave a blessing to the crowd in the form of a ceremony, where the student had to engage in a meditation with visualisation. The blessing ceremony gives the students permission to practice a particular meditation practice which is designed to encourage the practitioners mind to become more compassionate. Of course the 4 days of teaching compliments the mediation practice. Anyway many of the Tibetan and Himalayan peoples love to come for the blessing ceremony and often either skip the teaching or sit and have a picnic and not listen to the teaching. So you can imagine even more people turned up on the last day which meant the security have their work cut out and the que was extra long.
Kiran, my French room mate and I showed up at the teaching ground around 7.30 am. First things first; get a cup of tea in my cup and find the end of the que. That done we had to then endure the onslaught of beggars and sellers.
First there were the local woman from the village with their babies squatting on the path holding out their filthy, torn sari head cover piece to put money in. Many of them have a home and pretend to be beggars in the hope of  getting a few extra rupees. They use their babies as props, often pinching then to cry and then pulling a very sorrowfully face which just pulls at your heart strings. However some of these women are genuine beggars. They may be widows or have left their husband due to abuse and with no home and unable to return to their parents home live on the street. It is just hard to tell  who is in need and who is not because by western standard they are all in need. There are so many women begging if you give to one then you should give to them all. I try and at least look them in the face and give a smile, even some look empathy for them.
The there are the children  who run around  in their bare feet with their hands out pulling on your clothes, running at after you and constantly calling for money. Again who is really in need and who is not. Some of the kids play beggar as a game and I can have some fun with the kids  but again it just so hard to see such poverty and think that these kids have very little hope of ever getting out of poverty. The problem is if you give a kid money he or she will either buy sweets or give it to their parents who may well be booze it away.
Next were the Indian Buddhist monks. They are a rag taggle looking bunch and must be the poorest of any Buddhist Sangha on the planet. Many are from Bangladesh or Bihar and  follow His Holiness where ever he is teaching. Now when monks beg they are supposed to patiently stand, with eyes cast down and accept  whatever they are being given. Unfortunately the disciple or knowledge of the teachings, of these monk is not so good and they stand begging bowls in hand with huge eyes,desperation written all over their face, often fighting with each other over who gets the offering. Of course there are one or two who do not do this but the majority have the habits of beggars but are dressed in monks robes.
Fourth is the disabled people. So many people with missing limbs or blind with leprosy or effected by polio in wheelchairs on crutches or just plain deformed at birth. Again it is hard to see such suffering  but I found that the beggars with disabilities are often the nicest and most patient. They will smile and even chat with you and always say a thank you, many speak different languages; after all they are the professional beggars.
Oh yes and then just as you think your finished with the begging, you get through the security gate and are faced with tables and tables manned by monk and nuns asking for donations for their monastery or nunnery.

So as if dealing with the many hands out with the accompanying facial expression designed to wrench your heart out and get you to dig deep into your wallet  is not enough, there is the pushing and shoving of the crowd. Hey if I were 6 ft tall then no worries but being 4ft 11  it can bet a wee bit annoying even scary at times. The Himalayan and Tibetan people just love to push and shove in line, for them it is a big game. With a    bigger crowd on the last day all semblance of order went out the window; the ladies line was infiltrated by men; the monk and nuns lines were infiltrated by lay people and the special guests had no hope of finding their line. It was one big mosh pit with the security trying their best to maintain order.
It was in many way also a teaching on how selfish people can be and in so many ways funny to watch.
The richer Tibetan ladies in their silks Tupas (dress), gold jewellry with their face full of make up and nose in the air would try to stride past everyone shooing away the beggars as they went. The new-comer Tibetan women with babies strapped to their backs  and smelling of rancid butter used their brute force and ignorance of etiquette to battle their way to the front. Some westerners, with their nose and mouth gaurds to protect them selves from the dust, simply used being western as an excuse to try and skip the que. Then their are the Mongolian who with their Gangas Khan blood  just barrel over everyone regardless of who is ordained or not. The Russians  are not much better. The Taiwanese and Korean groups always came late and would bring their Indian guides/security/servants  to help them barrel through the security gates just before His Holiness started teaching upsetting everyone as they went.
Anyway I started that morning in a very happy mood and with the sun finely out I was very content. However after one hour of being in the que I was emotionally exhausted. I must have said over a thousand Om Mani Padme Hung mantras as I tried to practice patience, given a few rupees here and there to the monks, played with the kids to avoid giving then rupees, talked with the disabled and again a few rupees here and there, made sympathetic faces to the women with children and the elderly, defended my place in line  from intruding monk, nuns, Mongolians, Russians, posh folk and rude westerners and still managed to have a few cups of tea and chat with Karin. By 9 am I was on my cushion with the teaching about to start and I was ready for a nap.  It is tough work attempting patience and generating compassion to difficult sentient beings;  hmmm but is that not the teaching? 

And sadly the violence toward women continues.

With all the publicity surrounding the Delhi gang rape case you would think that violence to women would decrease, at least for a while anyway but no. What it has done has highlighted  the plight of women in India  and more cases of violence are now being reported. I  have just found out from a dear friend about a girl in Kashmir that had acid thrown on her because she did not accept the advances and marriage proposal of a guy. Unfortunate cases of abuse toward women are on the rise in Kashmir and women often tolerate domestic abuse and violence as one women put it "her duty." Hearing that just made my heart sink and my guts churn but this is how many women have to frame abuse in order to survive it.
Even today the His Holiness the Dalai Lama commented on the increase of violence toward women saying that the rape in Delhi was due to destructive minds that have no respect and are completely devoid of any compassion for another human being.   So true and so horribly sad.
Anyway the young woman who survived the acid attack in Kashmir is in Delhi in Hospital; she had lost one eye and is under doctors care.

The following link is to an article on the acid attack in Kashmir
http://m.risingkashmir.in/news/name-and-shame-the-perpetrators-39447.aspx

The following article is by Ezabir who has worked for many years in Kashmir giving much needed medical care to women. You are awesome Ezabir!
http://www.risingkashmir.in/news/2-hr-shutdown-in-srinagar-39398.aspx

Looking back at 2012

Human family

2012 stared in India in Bodhgaya at the Kalachakra and ends in India in hippy heaven in Goa. Like every year it had been a year of great highs and lows too. A journey filled with great people, I have strengthened bonds with good friends from all over the world, especially in California, Virginia, Washington DC, Scotland and India. These people are travelers, yogis, mediators, academics, teachers and people working their daily job to support their families. I have been very grateful this year to spend time with my family who over the years has been a great support; I am more than fortunate that they seem to handle my no-conformist life. An added bonus this year was to at last meet and spend time with the Killock clan and I look forward to strengthening that family bond. Being way from Scotland since 1985 (wow has it been that long) I have come to understand the word ‘family’ in terms that extend beyond blood. As His Holiness always put it “we are, all brother and sisters, one human family,” For the survival and thriving of all of us on the planet we have to  recognize our interconnectedness and interdependence and start living our lives from this place of wisdom. I strive to be able to share this vision of His Holiness and be able to feel closeness to people regardless of our man made divisions. 

Looking back at 2012 I so appreciate the moments well spent in the company of wonderful people, whom I respect and admire, who inspire me and support me, with whom I have laughed with, got tipsy with and discussed the world and dharma with. To those who have let me crash on their couch and into their homes and lives I have been humbled by your kindness and hospitality and have to say a huge thank you and hope that in some small way I can return the favor or pass on the generosity.

As mum says like is full of ‘Hatches, Matches and Dispatches’ and his year was no exception. Welcome to the world Ada: Jen and Julia’s daughter who looks like a wee angel picture and I am so happy for them. Congrats so to Shabir and Asia in Kashmir who got engaged in the summer and will marry in 2013.WE ad great celebrations regardless of having to wait for the curfews and strikes to pass. I wish you both every future happiness. Like many in 2012 I also grieved for the passing of a dear friend in California. She was a great supportive friend to many as well as a loving and caring wife and mother. I know she is very much missed by all of us but her spirit, her laughter and love, live on in her children and her husband. Love you guys so much. Many dear family and friends have also dealt with a range of disease and health problem. I am especially glad that wee Rita, in California has had successful brain surgeries and is now growing strong and healthy; she is so precious. So, here’s to a healthy new year for all of us.

2012 was also year to witness poverty, injustice, corruption, oppression, violence and prejudice, both in the east and the west. These experiences just make me more determined to live a truthful, honest life and to stand up against, injustice, violence, inequity and unethical activities. I mean at the end of the day all we have is how we have lived our lives and in these days, in a distracted, fast paced, ego centric age, we need to see more examples of people standing up for and living by what is good. For me I have no idea what my career will be or where this year will take me but for sure I know I must live truthfully and simple.

Quotes of the day;

            The teacher at the Himalayan Iyanger Yoga, Anand Sagar says some great things during class. His style of yoga encourages awareness and full attention to every muscle of the body during a pose so that we can keep awareness in our daily life.
            Anyway here are some great quotes from today's class.

  "Your goal is to balance the unbalance."

            "When you have no awareness, then of course confusion comes."

             "By learning what it is not, you learn what it is."

About this Blog

Since starting this blog last year I find that the purpose of doing this has changed, so I wanted just to take a minute to both re-organize my motivation for writing as well as make a bit clearer to the reader what to expect from this collection of posts.

Background

After graduating in 2011 and spending months in Washington DC searching for a job in the peacbuiIding field, I had the idea to rather go work the field to get the necessary ‘experience’ with which to build an awesome resume that would get me the awesome job I was pursing. Apparently 2 or 3 unpaid internships does not count as enough experience; age and life experience does not count for anything anymore and I also found the jobs were going to my 20 something classmates not the mid forties folk like me. Well young people can work longer hours without complaint, are more techno savvy and can be molded into the the NGO, company or government wants much easier than an older person with well formed attitudes. So rather than keep trying to fit into the mould I dusted off my backpack and took off in Dec 2011. I was determined to find out more about on the ground peacebuilding and volunteer in social work organization. I was even open to the possibility of starting a small organization in collaboration with local people, if there was a genuine need and if a situation could be improved.

Being Honest

Looking back on 2012 it was a year where I pushed and pushed to fulfill this goal. I was very fortunate to have master’s thesis published  ( http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Overcoming-Violence-Working-Kashmir/dp/3847344978/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356857599&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=women%27s+agency%3B+overcoming+cviolence+by+working+for+peace+in+Kashmir)    and also had the opportunity to work on and narrate an award winning documentary (http://youtu.be/eY20VzEpTSo). However, overall I did not make the contacts in the NGO world that I would have liked and being in Kashmir, which is a very broken and divided society and as a lone foreign female tourist was very difficult. I also felt that while my motivation was good I was not staying true to the Buddhist principles, I was not impressed with the functioning’s of the NGO world and was very disillusioned about the education system in the USA. Getting masters had not made me a better person; in fact I had witnessed how letters after ones name only serve to inflate the ego. I have also become disgusted at how materialism is effecting the world; i.e. encouraging individualism which in turn is causing the rapid break down of social fabric and respectful human interaction. So by October 2012 I was re-thinking my direction, again re-thinking my purpose in life.

Luckily I have been very fortunate in that the rent for property funds this journey. I live simply, stay in cheap accommodation, have no desire to go party or indulge in buying expensive clothes so being here has all worked out so far. Anyway thankfully the rent kept coming in on time and since I had no job and was in no rush to join the rat race in Washington DC, I decided to stay on in India. The focus has changed though and I am going back to what feel right for me; the study and practice of the Dharma and learning yoga, (well I will have to get a job at some point and peacebuilding was not cutting it, no matter how expensive the degree was and how hard I tried to get ‘experience’).

The funny thing is that the study and practice of the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings) is about being at peace; being responsible at the personal level for ones action’s and thoughts and for what one projects into the world. It was the study of Buddhism that made me want to get into peacebuilding in the first place and it has been the NGO peacebuilding world that has made me return to the Dharma and the practical, personal aspect of enacting peace.

Today

           This year is about going more inward, working on not pushing, working on de-stressing, working on being more aware of possibilities as well as limitations; also not working; being a human being not a human doing. Being honest with who and what I am, not projecting and pushing for an idea of what I think I am, what I thing I want or what I think I should do or be. Living in the way of the Buddha’s teachings, because only with being kinder to myself can I then in turn be of some help to others. Or as my dad said before I left Scotland this time; “If you’re pleasing yourself, then at least your pleasing one person”

In the Now
Therefore the  blog will be a combination of travel journal complete with information on places to stay and stuff to do; a look at society, culture, class and religion by introducing local people and their stories; information on yoga, meditation, spiritual and religious teachings with a focus on Buddhism; information on organization I learn about or volunteer at, and lastly my thoughts and reflections on this whole experience. Each post will have labels according to 1) place, 2) teachings, 3) volunteering and 4) reflections. Writing this is also a great excuse for me to play with attempts to write. I have never written a journal of any of my travels or experiences because I never felt I was good enough, had anything to say or that anyone would listen. Thank the Gods that middle age gets rid of all those fears about what others may think and loosens the tongue up to say what you think. However I also have to thank my mum, Rae for encouraging me to write, thanks also to Lesley Foster who has given me advice on writing from the heart without fear. Check out her writting workshop with Ink and Inquiry in Charlottesville at  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ink-Inquiry/548507128496570 

Thanks also to Katherine McNamara for her encouragement  and advice to write on line. Her editing company, Artist Proof Editions is at http://www.facebook.com/ArtistsProofEditions

I also hope to figure out how I can post your comments for all to see so as to open up conversation and really would like to get some feedback from you.

Also I have added a like it on Face book at the bottom of this page  so if you do please like it and lets see how many reader we can muster. Thank you to all

Back after a long break

Since my last entry, I have been luck to be able to visit friends and family in the USA and UK. September, October and November flew by and I am so great full for the warm welcome and hospitality of so many good people. I feel very fortunate to truly have wonderful friends and family. So I must say a huge thank you and send big cyber hugs to everyone who loaned me their couch or spare bed over the past two month and remember when ever I ‘settle down’ you are most welcome anytime.

My original idea for this year was to go back to the USA in October and start job hunting again, however I felt I had still much to do, as well as learn in India. So I am very happy to say that I am able to extend this phase of life and will be able to stay in India and Nepal for another 10 months. Yahoo! The skeleton plan is to take more teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to do more courses in yoga and meditation, learn Hindi as well as visit Nepal to do volunteer work. So let’s see what happens this time, who I bump into and what karma ripens.

On returning to the west I was also nicely surprised that quite a few people had actually followed this blog and asked if I would do this again. So I am happy to keep going with this but I would really like to hear from you readers. So if you have any questions about India, ant me to write on a subject or comments then please do let me know. In this way we can have a more interactive experience and I will be more inspired to keep writing. Thanks!!

Bodhgaya Bihar

First port of call on landing will be Bihar the most poor, lawless and corrupt state in India, but also home to the most important pilgrimage site for Buddhists, the place of Buddha’s enlightenment. Weird how such a holy site representing the full and positive potential of a human being is surrounded by the worst of human nature. The towering, carved stupa, Bodhi tree with gold leaf offerings on its bark and tranquil flower garden grounds are starkly contrasted with the street mayhem of shoeless cripples, lepers and old people begging in tattered clothes, pushy street sellers and child pick pockets. This pilgrimage season will see the most people ever to decent of the tiny village of Bodgaya, I get excited just thinking about it.


 His Holiness the Dalai Lama will confer the 32^nd Kalachakra initiation. Tibetans believe it is good to receive this initiation three time to ensure a good re-birth, well I probably have a lot to rectify in this life so this will be my 7^th time and I hope they are right. Millions of pilgrims will be coming from Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Ladhak and Arunachal Pradesh in North East India as well as countries from all over of the world. Living conditions will be sparse such as tent cities, mud hut restaurants and basic, basic toilet facilities. Food supplies may be going scarce and for sure you would not want to drink the water. I am sure to re-united with long time Dharma and local friends and for sure make some new friends too.

For small Bodgaya video of the temple  try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk-9Ez3xICY

For info on Kalachakra try    http://www.dalailama.com/teachings/kalachakra-initiations
http://kalachakranet.org/       http://www.kalachakra2012.org/