Bodh Gaya: Long Life Prayer Gathering

(photo from http://www.kagyuoffice.org/) Caption: His Holiness Dalai Lama, His Holiness Sakya Trinzen and His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa and eminent leaders of all the main lineages of Tibet gathered in Bodhgaya to offer prayers for peace in the world. On January 25th, the assembled religious leaders made prayers


Mahabodhi Temple
OH MY GOODNESS!
I have never seen so many Buddhist temples, monks, nuns, other worshippers, and things Buddha-related in such a small area.! It would take days just to visit all the temples here, and it's interesting to see Buddhism expressed in so many different cultures --there are Thai, Taiwanese, several Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, Bhutanese, Cambodian temples, not to mention the big temple, Maha Bodhi, which is Sri Lankan. I've really only gotten a chance to look around breifly, and in my alternately exhausted and excited states, I have only fragmented impressions of this place. The energy is so alive. You can't even stop too much, because there are people walking steadily everywhere, doing recitations.

And despite rumor, His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived today, though who knows? No one really knows when he really arrives until he appears though. Security and all. I had really not understood when I set out for here what exactly this event is. It's a ceremony in which all the high lamas from around the world (and anyone else) have been called to join in prayer for long life for His Holiness. Everyone's getting prepared. Excitement is all.

Our company of 4 turned into 7 last night, when the elder nun in our group recognised a relative of hers, a young Tibetan who's been living in Spain for some years. He, his friend (who's from Nepal but will be coming to Berkeley to settle), and his uncle ( I believe) decided to travel with us, and so we had a lively party for our pilgrimage, which had us waiting for our train at Mughalsarai at 3:30 am. It's occurred to me just how fun travel in general, bur particularly Indian train rides, can be when you're in a group. You stress less because others are there to watch you back and your stuff and help you figure things out. And as typical of Asians, you pool your resoures together (e.g., berths) and make your trip very cozy indeed. One of my other favorite rides was the one-hour trip to Palghat with Deepak, Shobhana, Nyima and Kyizom. It was so relaxing and playful, which is obvious from the wonderful portraits.

Anyway, Bodh Gaya is gray and cold, with rain here and there. Makes me moody, but the brisk air is sobering. Looking forward to visiting a bunch of temples tomorrow and the prayer gathering,, as well as just walking around, getting lost in my personal prayers, walking off some of my baggage.