On our last night in Bohd Gaya I was one of the last ones out of their rooms at the monestary and rolled by big bag into the darkened entrance courtyard to find nearly everyone in our group sitting around on the concrete with their bags inside the gated compound. Our new bus was not there at midnight as planned. Kunchok went to track down the driver who was not answering his cell. The bus was parked away from the monestary, probably to be closer to a hotel. We were all tired after a long day and none of us particularlly enjoy traveling in the middle of the night. But everyone was chill about the situation. Traveling with Khenpo means to expect the unexpected and to be ready to have your boundaries stretched. The reason for doing driving at night is to avoid traffic, since sometimes the traffic jams in India can last for hours, and as in most places, traffic is much lighter at night.
The bus arrived 25-minutes late, and we quickly boarded. As with all bus trips, Khenpo grabbed the mic on the bus PA system and began singing mantras. Usually "Namo Buddhaya," "Om Ah Hung Badzra Guru Pema Siddhi Hung," "Om Tare Tu Tare Ture Swoha," and others. We all sang along to create positive conditions for the trip. The ride was bumpy and dusty. I wore my dust mask, earplugs and wrapped my head in a cloth to block out any light. The 32-seat bus had 10 empty seats since there were 21 of us that night. The seats were smaller than the last bus though. I had an empty seat next to me, and I tried sleeping in every possible position including upside down with my feet up on the windows. I was able to sleep some between 1 AM and 5 AM until we stopped at a traffic jam and they had to turn the bus around to take a different route. After that I don't think I really could sleep until we arrived in Varanasi at dawn.
The bus ground to a stop in the middle of the city and we groggily slid open the curtains to reveal a smoggy narrow street crowded with people. The extreme chaos of the Indian cities we've visited has been notable compared to the moderate chaos of American cities. There is a very different approach to nearly everything here, so it all seems very foreign and mysterious. Once off the bus, our group strung along in a line in the narrow street. I was near the end this time, although for much of the more recent part of the trip I've stayed at the head with Khenpo in order to capture more photos of him and not be left behind. A stall that had camera gear caught my eye, and I stopped to quickly ask about compact flash media since I'm running out of space to take photos. In the half minute it took me to get a price quote of Rs.1200 (about $10) for a 1 GB Compact Flash card, the entire group had disappeared down a narrow alley and I was separated. I felt a tinge of panic, but kept my calm. The street was filled with cows, dogs, beggars, people going about their business on foot, bicycles, motorcycles, and of course other vehicles of every sort, from bicycle rickshaws to cars and large trucks. Most trucks and buses are made by Tata, the large Indian carmaker. Many are painted custom colors with all kings of designs and messages. Trucks frequently have a sign on the back that says "Please Blow Horn!" since horn honking is considered a courtesy, so that someone knows when you are passing them.
I moved forward down the crowded street, and came to a fork. I looked each way for the end of our group, and rather than go down the dirty narrow alley where the vegetable sellers were lined up, I took the larger alley and found that it was widening and steps down were leading me to a river. We call it the Ganges, but in India they call it Ganga. After a few more steps closer to the river, I spotted our group near the water, standing there taking in the sights of a busy Ganga waterfront at dawn. Sandstone steps ran right down into the water where several men and women were bathing, drinking the river water, praying and making offerings. The sun was near the horizon across the river. Thick smog blanketed the river and the sun was barely visible. You could stare directly at it and make out the outlines of several passenger boats powered by boatmen with long oars. A man offered me a small cup made of palm leaf with flowers and a butter candle inside. I gave him Rs.5 and stepped out onto some flat sandstone slabs in the river and offered it for the true happiness of all beings.
Khenpo arranged for a boat and we all got on board. Sveta asked me about life preservers, what if people can't swim. I agreed there was some risk, but on we went. There were no life preservers on the boat, but fortunately it was a wide dorry about 20' long that could easily seat us all with the two boatmen. The water was mirror flat in the breezeless morning. We floated up river and surveyed the scene along the river front. There were numerous ghats dotting the shore, which are ritual places to burn bodies. Most of the bank was covered by stone steps. platforms and walkways. Khenpo told the story of how offering bodies into the river started many centuries ago, and how so many bodies were accumulating, that then a tradition of cremation along the river started to stem the body problem. More of the floating candle flower offerings were released. Khenpo paid for a fish release from one of the floating vendors who persistently followed us. Another floating vendor sold some of us some little brass containers for Rs.50 each to hold Ganga water. I just used an empty water bottle to collect some water to cary back with me. Khenpo dipped in a cup and offered the water for any of us to drink a sip. He offered it mainly to people who he thought had too much cleanliness clinging. I happy drank a sip. I think Justin did too. I'm not sure if anyone else did besides Khenpo. Right after the sipping, we pulled up to the shore, and someone was manipulating a spillway where suddenly all this sewer water flowed into the river. Yum.
We walked back to find the bus and I found the vendor with the flash card. I negotiated the price down to Rs.900 and made the transaction without losing the group. We strung along back to the place where the bus parked, but it wasn' there any more. Khenpo speculated that it had been hyjacked. Kunchok got on his cell and arranged a meeting place. All the way on foot through the city we were acosted by street vendors and beggars, mostly speaking in English. It can be a little wearing. You don't want to be harsh to them, but they can really get in your face. And of course you want to be compassionate. So in some cases I offer money to beggars if it seems like they may really need it. In tourist areas it is hard to know who is a professional beggar and who is truly in need. Once you give money, it typically makes you a mark in the eyes of other beggars who observe the act of generosity. Then you have to get very good at becoming fast and evasive.
Once back on the bus we drove a few minutes to Sarnath and stopped first at the stupa where Buddha met his five friends after his enlightenment. A brick stupa stands on this site. Khenpo paid the caretaker to allow us to climb the stupa and enter a circular shrine at the top. we ascended the crumbing stupa and entered a metal gate that locked the room. We sat in a circle in the unadorned room. Six broken round stone monuments, each about 6" across were arrayed in a 6' circle in the middle of the room. Khenpo taught about the history of the place and then he taught his style of the four noble truths, and had us recite them together. Here's some paraphrased notes on what Khenpo taught.
After Gottam became Buddha and achieved vast awakening he realized aceticism is the wrong path. Indra and Bramah asked many times to Buddha that he give teachings, and each time he refused saying, that there's no way you can understand. His five childhood friends, who became his first five disciples, and the first five arhats of Buddha's lineage were Kaundinya, Asvajit, Mahanama Vashpa, Bharika. [I think the spellings in the Sutra Lineage prayer of the Buddha Path are a little different.] They had written him off since they knew he had abandoned the aceticism that they had all felt was their path together. Their plan was to not greet him or talk to him, but when he arrived, his body was emiting so much light that they all stood up and greeted him with respect and surprise. They asked him, did you achieve full enlightenment, and Buddha replied, yes I am vast awakening. This stupa was that greeting or reception place, and then Buddha lead them about a half mile away and gave them the first teachings on the four noble truths.
Then Khenpo had us recite the four noble truths in his inimatable language:
"May I realize, my suffering is the result of my negative thinking and negative karma. This is the first enlightented truth regarding my suffering."
"May I realize, my negative thinkging and negative karma are the cause of my suffering and the condition for all sentient beings suffering. Therefore, I will decrease my negative thinking and negative karma. This is the second enlightened truth regarding the cause of my suffering."
"May I realize, my happiness is the result of my positive thinking and positive karma. This is the third enlightented truth regarding my happiness [cessation]"
"May I realize, my positive thinking and positive karma are the cause of my happiness and the condition of all sentient beings' happiness. Therefore, I will increase my positive thinking and positive karma. This is the fourth enlightened truth regarding the cause of my happiness [the path]"
Khenpo then taught that if you don't understand cause and condition, you'll never be free from suffering. Many times we blame others for our suffering, but we need to realize that our negative thinking and negative karma are the main cause of our personal suffering. If you have a lot of money, or high position, or are very famous, it is not necessary that you'll be happy. The realization that your happiness originates from your positive thinking and positive karma is very important.
We then gave thanks to Indra and Bhrama for convincing Buddha to give Dharma teachings. Bhrama gave the gold wheel of Dharma, and Indra gave the wish fulfilling jewel to Buddha as offerings. We also recited our thanks to Arhats Kaundinya, Asvajit, Mahanama Vashpa, and Bharika for being the first human disciples of Buddha. We also sang, "Please Buddha Blessing Us." "May I realize the four noble truths." "May I realize the four enlightented truths."
Next we got back on the bus and drove a very short distance to the other part of the park, which is an archeological site with stupas, monestaries and temples all made of brick and some rock trim. We bought tickets (Rs.5 for the Indians and Tibetans, and Rs.80 for the foreigners). Khenpo took us first to the museum, where we saw many amazing statues that had been recovered from the site by archeological digs performed by the British in the early 20th century. The two main pieces are the crest of the Ashoka pillar, with the four lions facing in four directions. This symbol has been adopted by modern India. Also, the Sarnath buddha statue with the circular wheel of Dharma behind him is the other iconic rock sculpture from the site.
Unlike Western museums, it was quite permissable to touch the stone statues, so some of us touched our malas to the statues to absorb some of the blessings of all of the prayers made at these statues over the centuries.
Then we entered the main complex at Sarnath, and Khenpo gave another reading transmission in Tibetan from the Chöying Dzöd: The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena by Longchen Rabjam. He did this in the area near the Ashoka pillar at three locations facing different directions.
After that we bid farewell to most of the Chinese students, Peter, Iris, Alexandria, Sylvia and Vivian.
Alexandria exhorted us to take better care of Khenpo after they were gone. Khenpo's Asian students, coming from a culture that is steeped in Guru yoga, realize the importance and the methods of respecting and caring for the teacher. Alexandria was gently reminding us of this fact. I think Americans in particular, with our independent and very autonomous ways of regarding the world and others have a great challenge when it comes to practicing Guru yoga. The levels of understanding to reach experience and realization that Guru yoga is not teacher worship, but is actually the path to realizing one's own inner nature, is a bumpy path for many Americans.
After the Chinese left, Khenpo had us go off on our own for an hour. I wandered around taking photos and contmplating the site. Notably there was the huge Dharma Chakra Stupa where I did kora and marveled at the remains of the beautiful rock carvings. This stupa is the visual symbol of Sarnath, and is one of the locations within the park where Buddha taught, perhaps the first place, no one knows for certainly.
The park is called Deer Park in English. Many deer came to listen to the Buddha teach there. Today, you'll see a symbol of two deer and an eight spoked Dharma well adorning the top of many temples. The Dharma wheels at Sarnath have 18 or 32 spokes.
At 6 PM we met and made our way to the bus, which drove us a short distance to one of the best restaurants we'd found so far. The food took a while to be prepared, so while we were waiting, Khenpo used the battery powered PA for Chris to blast some rock songs from his iPod. We all danced wildly, much to the amusement (or not) of the staff. Khenpo also had each of us sing a short song. He said of the singing and dancing, "If we don't help ourselves be happy, then no one will do it for us." The meal was amazing Indian food, very high quality and all made fresh.
We got back to the hotel at a resonable hour. I roomed with Kunchok and Tenzin, sleeping on a roll-away. Tenzin and I had time to have a long talk about the cultural differences between Americans and Tibetans, and some of the ensuing difficulties that arise.
I was showered and asleep by 11 PM and slept until 8:30 AM, having one of the best night's sleep I'd had of the trip. Nice hotel with hot water and AC.
Gotta run. Bus is here to go back to Sarnath.
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