The body breaks down...
The mind is perplexed, but the soul is home. It's good to be back in India. This last week has been hard, but very rewarding. it only took a few days back to get sick again, but I now understand and accept suffering in a much different way. My sore throat and head cold pale in comparison to the daily strife of Indian life. After 2 days of visiting temples and taking boatrides on the Ganges, I feel a deep connection with the heart of India. Varanasi is a powerful place where I witnessed people bathing, drinking and swimming in the same water I saw a corpse floating. Praying at the temples alongside Hindu pilgrims in the holiest city of India was profoundly moving.
It was then on to Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is the city where the Buddha gained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Every major Buddhist country in the world has a monastary here and the Mahabodhi temple was declared a world heritage site in 2002. As I sat under the Bodhi tree and monks from Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and so many other places chanted, meditated and read the scriptures i was overcome with joy. I knew my pilgrimage had found its home as my tears so clearly demonstrated. A long journey where I learned soo much was coming to an end in the most appropiate of places. There were many lessons I had to learn before being ready to experience this sacred place. The road took me where I had to go and now I was ready to just be. I am staying at a Tibetan Monastary. it is a great refuge from the common guest houses,with all their noise and grime, that I had become accustomed to. Its calmness creates a serene sanctuary with monks greeting me with prayers and genuine smiles. They have let me use their shrine room to meditate and I am deeply grateful. A perfect culmination to my pilgrimage.
Soon I'll be heading back to Dehli and then on home.Hope you made the most of your 2 months and I look forward to seeing everyone soon.
It was then on to Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is the city where the Buddha gained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Every major Buddhist country in the world has a monastary here and the Mahabodhi temple was declared a world heritage site in 2002. As I sat under the Bodhi tree and monks from Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and so many other places chanted, meditated and read the scriptures i was overcome with joy. I knew my pilgrimage had found its home as my tears so clearly demonstrated. A long journey where I learned soo much was coming to an end in the most appropiate of places. There were many lessons I had to learn before being ready to experience this sacred place. The road took me where I had to go and now I was ready to just be. I am staying at a Tibetan Monastary. it is a great refuge from the common guest houses,with all their noise and grime, that I had become accustomed to. Its calmness creates a serene sanctuary with monks greeting me with prayers and genuine smiles. They have let me use their shrine room to meditate and I am deeply grateful. A perfect culmination to my pilgrimage.
Soon I'll be heading back to Dehli and then on home.Hope you made the most of your 2 months and I look forward to seeing everyone soon.
posted by Maddie and Matt at 9:42 PM
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