Of course many of the people were most interested in the pilgrimage aspect of the visits to the sites where the Buddha lived and taught and to pay their respects to the teachings, see relics of the Buddha and to "Make Merit" by giving robes, supplies to monks and money to less fortunate people. Generosity is an important part of Buddhism but the generosity must be characterized by "Giving and Expecting Nothing in Return" or it is not considered generosity or "merit".
Many of the "foreigners" had also studied with Ajan Sujin 30 years ago so this was a mini reunion in some sense. Some feel that pilgrimages should be a struggle and travel in India sure provides that condition most of the time.
The tour was from Oct 14th to 28th and we arrived a day early as we waited too late to take the flight with the tour from Bangkok. The first night we stayed at the Clark International Hotel (a 3 star rating) in Karol Bagh, a section of Delhi. It was clean and had a nice breakfast. The next day we then moved to the 5+ Star brand new Crowne Plaza Today in Gurgaon south of Delhi to meet the Thai group. This hotel is luxury over the top, especially considering the contrast of most of the rest of Delhi. It took the porter 5 minutes just to explain all the features of the room - remote controlled automatic dual curtains for the picture window, remote controlled blinds between the picture window of the all-glass bathroom, a huge TV and Bose radio set. Ironically the Internet cost about $30/day there and was free at the 3 star hotel! This hotel negated the struggling aspect of our trip but other hotels were not so star studded.
On the 14th we were to meet the other 128 members of our tour for dinner after their flight from Thailand, but in typically Indian manner it was late and 22 people from the tour were bumped from the Air India flight due to overbooking. It didn't help that they had 200 boxes of food, robes, bags and supplies which we were to give to 120 monks in Sarnath.
The next morning we met up with the tired 22 bumped members who took off at 3 am Thai time in what they described as some old plane dug up to get them to Delhi (4hr flight - or is it fright?). We then headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Almost every tour visits the Taj Mahal and we visited it 6 years ago. This year we arrived in Agra so late that we would only have had an hour at the site, so we opted for the opportunity to have an English Abidhamma discussion with Ajarn Sujin. Since there were about 10 foreigners and maybe another 5-10 Thais who would participate in English discussions we were always grateful when time was set aside for us farangs :-) . I can understand 80% of the Thai discussions but speaking everyday Thai and understanding Dhamma in Thai is a whole different vocabulary. Recordings of lectures by Ajarn Sujin were played on the bus so little by little we could ask Thai friends to translate words we didn't know. Ajarn Sujin lectures to the Thais, but waits for questions from us before talking, so the dynamics of the English vs Thai sessions are quite different.
We visited 6 Buddhist sites depending on how you count .....
SRAVSTI:
Ananda Bodhi Tree
The Buddha meditated under this tree for a night. It is believed that the tree blesses devotees who meditate under it.
Jetavana Grove
The Buddha and his disciples spent many rainy seasons at the Jetavana Grove.
LUMBINI, Nepal:
Birth place of the Buddha
KUSHINAGAR:
Mahaparinirvana temple Place where the Budda died
Ramabhar stupa where the Buddha was cremated
Dhamekh Stupa, Deer Park
We also visited the tourist sites: Ganges River, Varanasi and the Taj Mahal, Agra
Click the picture below to see a slideshow of our trip.
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| India 2007 |
Finally some thoughts about India:
India has to be one of the most diverse and challenging countries to visit. It constantly challenges one's sense of normalcy compared to our western culture or even Thai culture. There is no doubt that India is developing, but at a pace so slow it seems imperceptible. Everywhere you look there is construction - roads, houses, etc. but completion seems a long way off. Roads are dug up to run Internet fiber optic cables when there are no water or sewage systems! India resists using large machinery in order to use local labor which is good, but sometimes the quality and pace of work seem untenable and the handmade new roads are very uneven.
Pollution is a big problem despite many signs such as "Keep our City Clean" and "Protect Our Environment" , but there is little evidence that it is taken to heart.
Plastic - a big problem for India - is seen everywhere as garbage bags. I suspect that before the advent of plastic, natural products such as leaves, bamboo, etc. were used as packaging but now that plastic is used it never disappears. The result is garbage everywhere.
Another thing that is striking is the chaotic situation on the roads. When going down any road there are not only cars, but walking/sleeping cows, donkeys, camels, goats, dogs, bullock carts, rickshaws, buses, donkey carts, tractors with and without trailers, trucks, and lots and lots of people. Now, any of these vehicles could be traveling or sitting anywhere in the road and going in any direction. (I hope to post some videos to give you a sense of the situation). So when I say that we could only average 25 mph on any trip it was not just the pot holes in the roads but the conditions on the roads too! Driving is a constant game of chicken where painting lines on a road is a complete waste of money. The best analogy I could use to describe their methods is that they drive just like a flock of sheep, constantly jostling for position as they move.
Then there is the noise pollution. Painted on the back of all trucks and most other commercial vehicles are signs imploring other drivers to honk their horns as a way for the driver in front to know they are approaching. The horns are loud and louder, and basically continuous. I call it the Indian acoustical navigation system.
What is interesting is that no one appears to think this is unusual or upsetting! :-)
I suspect many of these problems are a result of taking basically a rural population and putting them into a 21st century world of technology and materials.
Everyone should visit India in their life time - you will learn a great deal about yourself and your own culture by the contrasts!
Tom
(with lots of help from Beverly !)
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