Today is our second day in Bodh Gaya. The place where the Buddha became enlightened! We are here listening to teachings from the Dalai Lama (along with 10's of thousands of others). There are people from all over the world. Mostly, Tibetan monks. It's so inspiring to sit and listen to the teachings in such a powerful place. I feel sooooooo calm. It's amazing.
As we left the teachings this afternoon, I wanted to stand in the crowd and watch people go by. I love looking and watching and seeing people and different cultures. I have been particularly inspired by the Bhutanese. Bhutan is a tiny little country to the north and east of India, way up in the Himalayas. The people are Buddhist and their government has decided to focus on something they call Gross National Happiness rather than focusing on Gross National Product. It had been closed off to westerners until recently, so the culture is still very pure. Many bhutanese have come to the teachings. I love seeing new cultures and their dress and especially their jewelry......
The woman and men look very Tibetan, and both wear very raw turquoise earrings, as well as interesting gold hoops, which have inspired me to design some new earrings. I am soooooo excited about this. While in the crowd watching, I felt like I was standing alone, as the world walked by in a whirl.
We then circumambulated the stupa and the Bodhi Tree where the Buddha sat and meditated for 2 weeks after reaching enlightenment. It's quite amazing to be here.
I hope to have some pictures tomorrow. We are not allowed to bring our cameras into the teachings. So, I have not been taking any pictures.
2 comments:
So nice to know you two are at Bodh Gaya already! and I enjoyed reading the observations you wrote in this post, especially for the "watching people walking by" and "feeling you're standing alone and the world becomes a whirl..." part -- that's an interesting imagination!
By the way, since you're at Bodhgaya, have you tried temples run by different traditions?
HI Sherab,
Yes, it is very nice to be here in Bodh Gaya. We have not gone to temples at all (if you can believe that), the teachings have been taking up most of our energy and then we eat and sleep. Hopefully before we leave, we will go to some temples. I am most interested in the Bhutanese Temple right now, which steven told me he stayed at the last time he was here 16 years ago.
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