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.

An Engaging question answered emphatically...

Love, Thailand and Rubies. A reunion of two souls committed to transcending past aversion and fear and living out our lives intertwined in the exploration of awakened love. A week's worth of details follow, but I'll have to embellish later for I'm back in India and havent slept in about 36. Caught a redeye to dehli and bought a Train ticket to Varanasi leaving in about 4 hours. I won't arrive there for another 17 hours and I'm already crashing, but I'm sure the smell of burning bodies will wake me up. The Holiest place in India, I hear. A few days there then I'm of to Bodhgaya and finally back to Dehli before heading home. Renewed and filled with insight and compassion towards my suroundings I have embraced my return and feel much more in touch with the true essence of this rich experience. In my last moments here I will try to remain mindful and aware of the great lessons mother India offers at every corner.
This has been one of the most wonderful periods of my life and I want to thank everyone who supported me through this and helped make it possible. Hope others will follow their hearts and walk the path. Namaste.
Did I mention I'm ENGAGED? And a Dread=)

More trouble in India

An earthquake measuring 7.6 in magnitude killed at least 3000 people in North India and pakistan today. These cats just never get a break. A friend who just got back told me about a train leaving Varanasi that derailed. I'll be on one of those in about a week. Guess thats why they're so resilient. Like Jay-z so prolificly states,"It's a hard knock life".

Continuing where I left off...

At face value Thailand seems entangled in the same web of western materialism and traditional Buddhist culture that I find in myself. In essence the middle path. There is much to be learned by the temptaions of a comfortable, mindless shallow existence that is void of spirituality. Having spent many years in that state, I opt for more. The road has helped expel this from me forcing me to give up the comforts of western society and be content and even elated with the simple needs that you must find a way to meet. My diversion to Thailand was no mistake. It has shown how to thrive in a state of constant change. Speaking with a monk yesterday about traveling he inspired much confidence in my being on the right path. I know that Thailand is a place rich in true experiential Buddhism. Almost every Thai, at some point in their life, becomes a monk. That gives them a respect and perspective that few other nations can boast. I am humbled by there traditional values and struggle to properly infuse a modern, competitive, global presence into this rich culture. I am thankful that the atrocities of India have led me here. It was a much needed stop on my journey. It has also given me the time to look to India for further inspiration as I am eager to return and complete my travels there. I'll be heading to Bodhgaya(aka encephilitus country) and the waterways and burning bodies of Varanasi on my return. I now know that India should be viewed with compassionate eyes and I feel I have gained those in my travels.
I seek not to justify any of my actions and would usually opt to not even acknowledge the comments sections but know this: My blog was set up for people who respect my intentions and seek to know of my well-being and progress along the road. These entries recap my thoughts and experiences. I thank Madz for understanding this and all of me and look forward to seeing her soon;)

Lost and Found...

After a sabbactical from my sabbatical I'm back on the path. My meditation was wrought with insights into the essence of this journey.As always I'm full of paradoxes and many other things.Leaving New York because of its overwhelmingly consumer-driven, materialistic aura I found myself in it's antithesis, Mother India. Just as overbearing I missed "the middle way". One cannot find solace or focus when their senses are constantly being barraged by all that is India. Fleeing to the Himalayas was sublime. I found my Shangri-la in the comfort of the Tibetan people. The availability of the Dalai Lama's temple was an easily accessible meditation refuge and being in the casual presence of so many monks made it a perfect breeding ground for my practice. Unfortunately, it was also a breeding ground for what I'm dubbing the next supervirus which emerged under the guise of an upper respiratory infection. Having to dry out, I fled the monsoon rains of Northern India with the intention of trekking through Nepal. That plan was thrown out due to all these people getting blown up on buses or caught in the crossfire between the Maoist rebels and the King. Already losing the battle to infection, I also opted to avoid the outbreak of Japanese Encephilitis infecting thousands in the next region on my itinerary.
Thailand,anyone? The land of smiles, sounds good to me after all the scowls and stares I'd been enduring. Beautiful white sand beaches, emerald green 85 degree water and Thai food, I'm there. Rich in Buddhist history and culture it's Population is 95 percent Buddhist and there are many temples,shrines and monastaries to explore. Of course, most people come to Thailand for much different reasons.Much different reasons!
To be continued...(after I get a little Pad Thai)

Bob is alive and well...

Just got out of South east Asia's Largest music festival and it was.... "The Wailers were there performing all their original Marley Anthems and wowed the Crowd. I have never seen soo many Dreaded Thais singing words they didnt understand and couldnt pronounce yet fully living and embodying Bobs message. They know the struggle, the island life, the good ganj and the good fight. These cats didnt know the words but they knew the essence and soul of every song. It was a pure and beautiful experience. Island life is "IRIE". Think I'll stay and soak it up a bit=)

For all the nonbelievers...

Spirituality is not found in a church or sacred place. It is found within yourself. My meditation and introspection has a new venue(and what a venue it is=).I need not look to the idols and houses of worship of external religious belief to achieve my goals. Spirituality is all around us, in every moment.

From one extreme...

Wow, what a difference. Last week I was knee deep in New Dehli, now I sit in the hammock strung up on the porch of my bungalow listening to the unbelievably green 85 degree water thats 30 feet from my door. It's quite a change. I'm still trying to adjust to sunny, laidback island life after so many dirty days struggling through grime and poverty. Makes Thailand seem very utopian. I think many people feel this way. These islands are among the most beautiful in the world and millions come every year to experience them. I now know why...