December 25th, 2007
Bodh Gaya is indeed a land of Buddha. Many countries have their presence shown by building a monastery there (including Taiwan!) Yet, it is very rural. I happened to be there when Kagyu Monlan Chenmo was taking place. Pilgrims from all over the world were there. It could appear to be a big Buddhism convention for people not familiar with Tibetan Buddhism. I met a couple of Rinpoches as well as meeting the young Karmapa and heard his teachings. It is truly amazing to meet someone that possesses such a high spiritual wisdom at such a young age.
In addition, the place where Sujata fed Buddha Kheer (rice cooked with milk) is very near by surrounded by endless rice fields.
It is not far from paradise, perhaps it is due to the compassion of Buddhism, it seems that it is the place where beggars come, too.
December 17th, 2007
Varanasi is a very unique place indeed... It is a place for Hindus to come to die and get cremated. I spent a few hours at a Ghat watching the whole cremation process. It really makes me feel that a person consists of two parts, a physical body and a spiritual soul. A body is really just a container. A body without a soul is just a dead body, which is not a dead person. A body without a soul seems so objectified, arbitrary, anonymous... A body is so external.. A body is just a body and nothing more.
Still, it makes sense to strengthen the body to be a strong container for the soul.
This is my last day in Varanasi. This place is growing in me. It starts to be a lot of fun traveling in India after I absorb the psyche of the people and adopt the rhythm of their lives. For instance, while riding in an auto or a cycle rickshaw, just completely relax myself and let go any fear of getting into accidents.. then the ride started to become joyful. Walking on the streets that are dotted with cow dung and dog's poo, one could just pace himself easily and enjoy the stroll without stepping onto any as every single local soul does.
And yes, there is absolutely no personal space. Yet, people are extremely polite and patient. Amazing!!
December 14th, 2007
I am in Varanasi now. I think that God is in squalor and the filthiest of the filthiest. It is hard to be comfortable with the environment here without having any aversion to the filth. Perhaps, by constantly dealing with the aversion and not let aversion affect my mood is a spiritual practice already.
At the same time, I come to realize how much over rated being clean is in the West. Millions of people live in such an unsanitary state and function fine and happy. It makes me ponder...
Some of Papaji's followers stayed and started a very successful company, Organic India. (google it) I had a very good fortunate to meet both of the founders. One is from Israel and the other is from the US. The man is one of Papaji's favorite students. They are employing thousands of people in India. It is a pretty awesome story, in my opinion. The man threw a huge party for his birthday and invited everybody to come. I had a close encounter with him and questioned him
about Papaji's teaching. I must say that he possesses some special energy in him. It is hard to gauge his authenticity, but from what I could tell, he is an unusual character with building a very successful company.
I will stay here for a few days and visit Sarnath and on to my final journey, Bodh Gaya.
I feel badly for Indian mass.. I have not seen a country with such a huge disparity.. (maybe South Africa is the same..) It is a shame that the richest man is from India now and yet most of his country men live in poverty. This kind of phenomena manifested through Hinduism is very
questionable in my head.
December 12th, 2007
Here I am again... It's third day I am in Lucknow and am planning on leaving tomorrow for Varanasi. I found the official website for the place that I am staying at the moment.. http://www.satsangbhavan.net/ Internet is wonderful, isn't it? I am going to the farm tonight with folks here. So far, it feels like I am an extra here. There is no schedule, no program, no teaching for me. People here just go about doing their business. I don't quite know what is going on most of the time. It is OK by me as I am only here for a short stay. After all, I am really practicing to accept whatever it comes to me.
Last night I ventured outside to eat on my own instead of eating at Bhavan, I tried Shari (shai) Paneer.. wow.. it was really delicious. Indian food is amazing. The restaurant at Bhavan is very clean with nice vegetarian food but plain... Still, I have not had the courage to try any meat dishes yet. Paneer (cheese) is the one that comes close to.
I don't know what to think of the folks that stay here and run the place, but I am just taking them as they are. They are running a line of Indian herb called Organic India and doing some serious business, too. Discussing the message of Papaji is an unusual experience to me
because the message of Papaji is no students, no teachers, no teachings... You are already enlightened! So, the folks told me not to think much (well.. not to think at all..) to experience the Self (even the experience is a concept...) So.. there is a logic problem but who said that by understanding could give you happiness. So far, I could only go by how I feel from watching the video tapes. There is no doubt that Papaji, in my mind, is another messenger that simply wants to convey peace and love to everyone."
December 10th, 2007
I had my first train travel experience today. I thought that traveling during the day would allow me to see nice scenery... It turned out that there were times that I just wanted to close my eyes and stared away. It was so surreal (actually very distressing) to see the horrendous sight that garbage scattering along the tracks and humans going to bathroom everywhere. It was hard to see Sun, either, even though it was sunny day as a thick fog clouded the sky..
Still, I appreciated very much the human spirits of Indian people. This morning I woke up at 5:00am and made my way to the train station. It was only a 10 minute walk but an cycle rickshaw driver passed by and convinced me to take a ride. He rode it with such morning vigor
and spirits. Amazing and touching...
December 9th
Today is a pretty good day. I managed to switch to a hotel that cost only 1/3 price of the first hotel I stayed. It is much quieter, too. What a bargain! :-)
Then, I went out of this chaotic area to visit two temples, One is Baha'i and the other is Hindu. Both are right next to each other.. It shows a tolerant society as far as religion is concerned. The Baha'i temple is called Lotus Temple, which is massive and graceful. The Hindu one is ISKCON (http://www.iskcondelhi.com/) It has a very educational multimedia program to teach public what Bagahva-gita is really about. I was there when they had a chanting going on, so I sat
with them for a bit. That chanting, in my opinion, seems serving the similiar purpose to Sufi's chanting that we saw in the class. Lots of people were there.
Then, I went to RajGhat to see the burial ground for Ghandi. My camera was not working at that time and I just then gave up taking photos. I spent the rest of the afternoon touring Ghandi museum near by. The museum was founded in1964 and seems to have been staying that way
forever. The museum does not have fancy picture frames to preserve documents like we have in the US. The wall color is fading, too. Still, one could really feel the spirits of Ghandi. It has very detailed description of every phase of his life.
People do seem friendly over all. There are tons of tourists here. I have not met any one yet. It takes too much energy to strike up a conversation and most of time I am pondering what like is like to be an Indian here.... I can somehow see why so many Indians want to move to the US to avoid the proverty....anyway, but maybe that is not the case...
December 8th
This afternoon, I went to the Old Delhi. You could google Red Fort or Jama Mosjid to find out exactly where I was. I made it there on foot from the railway station area and decided to take human rickshaw on the way back. The journey both getting there and coming back should be
written very much about. I can't describe to you the congestion, misery (my judgment), filth that people endure here. Pictures will tell you the tales when I show you. Both Red Fort and Jama Mosjid are extremely impressive, though.
Bodh Gaya is indeed a land of Buddha. Many countries have their presence shown by building a monastery there (including Taiwan!) Yet, it is very rural. I happened to be there when Kagyu Monlan Chenmo was taking place. Pilgrims from all over the world were there. It could appear to be a big Buddhism convention for people not familiar with Tibetan Buddhism. I met a couple of Rinpoches as well as meeting the young Karmapa and heard his teachings. It is truly amazing to meet someone that possesses such a high spiritual wisdom at such a young age.
In addition, the place where Sujata fed Buddha Kheer (rice cooked with milk) is very near by surrounded by endless rice fields.
It is not far from paradise, perhaps it is due to the compassion of Buddhism, it seems that it is the place where beggars come, too.
December 17th, 2007
Varanasi is a very unique place indeed... It is a place for Hindus to come to die and get cremated. I spent a few hours at a Ghat watching the whole cremation process. It really makes me feel that a person consists of two parts, a physical body and a spiritual soul. A body is really just a container. A body without a soul is just a dead body, which is not a dead person. A body without a soul seems so objectified, arbitrary, anonymous... A body is so external.. A body is just a body and nothing more.
Still, it makes sense to strengthen the body to be a strong container for the soul.
This is my last day in Varanasi. This place is growing in me. It starts to be a lot of fun traveling in India after I absorb the psyche of the people and adopt the rhythm of their lives. For instance, while riding in an auto or a cycle rickshaw, just completely relax myself and let go any fear of getting into accidents.. then the ride started to become joyful. Walking on the streets that are dotted with cow dung and dog's poo, one could just pace himself easily and enjoy the stroll without stepping onto any as every single local soul does.
And yes, there is absolutely no personal space. Yet, people are extremely polite and patient. Amazing!!
December 14th, 2007
I am in Varanasi now. I think that God is in squalor and the filthiest of the filthiest. It is hard to be comfortable with the environment here without having any aversion to the filth. Perhaps, by constantly dealing with the aversion and not let aversion affect my mood is a spiritual practice already.
At the same time, I come to realize how much over rated being clean is in the West. Millions of people live in such an unsanitary state and function fine and happy. It makes me ponder...
Some of Papaji's followers stayed and started a very successful company, Organic India. (google it) I had a very good fortunate to meet both of the founders. One is from Israel and the other is from the US. The man is one of Papaji's favorite students. They are employing thousands of people in India. It is a pretty awesome story, in my opinion. The man threw a huge party for his birthday and invited everybody to come. I had a close encounter with him and questioned him
about Papaji's teaching. I must say that he possesses some special energy in him. It is hard to gauge his authenticity, but from what I could tell, he is an unusual character with building a very successful company.
I will stay here for a few days and visit Sarnath and on to my final journey, Bodh Gaya.
I feel badly for Indian mass.. I have not seen a country with such a huge disparity.. (maybe South Africa is the same..) It is a shame that the richest man is from India now and yet most of his country men live in poverty. This kind of phenomena manifested through Hinduism is very
questionable in my head.
December 12th, 2007
Here I am again... It's third day I am in Lucknow and am planning on leaving tomorrow for Varanasi. I found the official website for the place that I am staying at the moment.. http://www.satsangbhavan.net/ Internet is wonderful, isn't it? I am going to the farm tonight with folks here. So far, it feels like I am an extra here. There is no schedule, no program, no teaching for me. People here just go about doing their business. I don't quite know what is going on most of the time. It is OK by me as I am only here for a short stay. After all, I am really practicing to accept whatever it comes to me.
Last night I ventured outside to eat on my own instead of eating at Bhavan, I tried Shari (shai) Paneer.. wow.. it was really delicious. Indian food is amazing. The restaurant at Bhavan is very clean with nice vegetarian food but plain... Still, I have not had the courage to try any meat dishes yet. Paneer (cheese) is the one that comes close to.
I don't know what to think of the folks that stay here and run the place, but I am just taking them as they are. They are running a line of Indian herb called Organic India and doing some serious business, too. Discussing the message of Papaji is an unusual experience to me
because the message of Papaji is no students, no teachers, no teachings... You are already enlightened! So, the folks told me not to think much (well.. not to think at all..) to experience the Self (even the experience is a concept...) So.. there is a logic problem but who said that by understanding could give you happiness. So far, I could only go by how I feel from watching the video tapes. There is no doubt that Papaji, in my mind, is another messenger that simply wants to convey peace and love to everyone."
December 10th, 2007
I had my first train travel experience today. I thought that traveling during the day would allow me to see nice scenery... It turned out that there were times that I just wanted to close my eyes and stared away. It was so surreal (actually very distressing) to see the horrendous sight that garbage scattering along the tracks and humans going to bathroom everywhere. It was hard to see Sun, either, even though it was sunny day as a thick fog clouded the sky..
Still, I appreciated very much the human spirits of Indian people. This morning I woke up at 5:00am and made my way to the train station. It was only a 10 minute walk but an cycle rickshaw driver passed by and convinced me to take a ride. He rode it with such morning vigor
and spirits. Amazing and touching...
December 9th
Today is a pretty good day. I managed to switch to a hotel that cost only 1/3 price of the first hotel I stayed. It is much quieter, too. What a bargain! :-)
Then, I went out of this chaotic area to visit two temples, One is Baha'i and the other is Hindu. Both are right next to each other.. It shows a tolerant society as far as religion is concerned. The Baha'i temple is called Lotus Temple, which is massive and graceful. The Hindu one is ISKCON (http://www.iskcondelhi.com/) It has a very educational multimedia program to teach public what Bagahva-gita is really about. I was there when they had a chanting going on, so I sat
with them for a bit. That chanting, in my opinion, seems serving the similiar purpose to Sufi's chanting that we saw in the class. Lots of people were there.
Then, I went to RajGhat to see the burial ground for Ghandi. My camera was not working at that time and I just then gave up taking photos. I spent the rest of the afternoon touring Ghandi museum near by. The museum was founded in1964 and seems to have been staying that way
forever. The museum does not have fancy picture frames to preserve documents like we have in the US. The wall color is fading, too. Still, one could really feel the spirits of Ghandi. It has very detailed description of every phase of his life.
People do seem friendly over all. There are tons of tourists here. I have not met any one yet. It takes too much energy to strike up a conversation and most of time I am pondering what like is like to be an Indian here.... I can somehow see why so many Indians want to move to the US to avoid the proverty....anyway, but maybe that is not the case...
December 8th
This afternoon, I went to the Old Delhi. You could google Red Fort or Jama Mosjid to find out exactly where I was. I made it there on foot from the railway station area and decided to take human rickshaw on the way back. The journey both getting there and coming back should be
written very much about. I can't describe to you the congestion, misery (my judgment), filth that people endure here. Pictures will tell you the tales when I show you. Both Red Fort and Jama Mosjid are extremely impressive, though.
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