Vipassana Retreat

Robert told us before we began the intensive meditation retreat that we would love it, hate it, and learn and great deal about our minds. He was right. There were moments of blissful meditation and others that were extremely frustrating and sometimes painful (he pain is just from being seated so long). I experienced much, ranged from very pleasant to very unpleasant. And afterwards I was (and still am) mentally fatigued.

Tomorrow is a large Hindu festival Durga Puja and Bodh Gaya is in its prime. We meditated under the Bohdi tree tonight and there were monks from countless regions and traditions differentiated by the color of their robes and other characteristics. There are many pavilions set up to the goddess Durga, the colors are vibrant.

The week ahead is going to be quite demanding, I have 2 papers(one on Vipassana, and the other on 'No-Self' for philosophy) and a Tibetan test. Thursday afternoon I am taking the train to Varanasi with three others since we have a three day weekend.

Week II in the Vihar

Nice to hear the comments I really like reading them, thanks. Brittany, your question in a very interesting one. Technology and Buddhism is a new issue that many monastic communities are having difficulty with. Many monks use technologies but hesitantly. Since email wasn't an issue in the day of the Buddha there is no definitive answer. The more progressive movements incorporate moderate communication, but ask questions like: What is being sacrificed to make time for the internet, is a computer the best mode of communication to support relationships, I'm I aware of whee I am when on the internet, etc? The more conservative schools of thought just got used to writing knowledge down, so they are more precocious (information was passed down orally, and almost impeccably, for hundreds of years). The Abbot of the Burmese Vihar does in fact have a TV, with cable, he told me his favorite channel is National Geographic. So, in short, there is no problem with me using a computer if it does not distract.

This week has gone by with me leaving the Vihar very little, there just is not time. However, my tailor invited two students and I to his house for a small meal and to meet his family. His family is Muslim, there is no way to tell except to ask, and many members of his extended family live together. There are eight bedrooms. We never did meet others members of his family because the women who cooked do not traditionally come out when male guests are being entertained. It was very interesting and also a lot of fun.

This weekend I am going on a 48 silent Vipassana retreat at a nearby monastery. I am very excited about it but I have to get ahead on my work and it is difficult enough to keep up. Classes are going very well, I especially like my Tibetan teacher from Nepal. His name is Punya. Speaking of which I have class in twenty minutes so I will try to go into greater depth about the classes early next week.

Ghale Phe (means 'Go slowly,' common Tibetan statement for Goodbye)

First week is over

The days have been blurring together due to the amount of activity, all of which has been great. Tibetan is going very well, there are only 4 of us in the class so we are able to move quickly and effectively. I have learned the alphabet and began to say simple sentences with about 25 vocab words at my disposal. Philosophy is moving slower but is fascinating. It is truly different from Western Philosophy courses. I have to rethink many underlying concepts that western thought has conditioned me for. Including but not limited to our conception of our time as meaningful and limited. On the Indian subcontinent this is thought about in a drastically different way creating interesting arguments (or justifications) for their way of life.

I was disappointed to find out that I could not ordain as a Theravada monk with some of the other members of my class. The Vihar/Monastic community could only accommodate a certain number and I was one too many. Originally it seemed strange to be considered a monk for a week and then go back to a layman's status. However, this is a common trend in Theravada traditions which include Sri Lanka and SE Asia, they allow laypeople to ordain as many as seven times (although this is highly unusual). It raises the merit of the layman/woman considerably to take robes for even this short of a time. This is not the norm of the Mahayana traditions (Tibet, Mongolia, etc.); here the custom is to become ordained for life. Anyways it would have been a highly unique experience and an additional asset for mindfulness practice. Being a part of the lay community will bring along a good deal of new experiences as well. As I layman I will earn merit by looking after the monastics and making donations, etc. Their is an extremely rigid class divide so this next week is sure to be an interesting social experiment.

I am starting to broadly consider what I want to do for my Independent study period. I have many ideas but it is harder to narrow them down to something possible, practical, and interesting. The Director of the program gave a history tour of the Mahabodhi temple this morning which was great, I took a lot of pictures.

Getting into the routine

Hey everyone! So the title says it all. I'm starting to get into the routine of being in Bodh Gaya. My average weekday consists of Yoga at 4:30. Meditation at 6:00. Breakfast at 6:30. Tibetan Language at 7:30. Off period at 9:00, so far I have used this time to read, take a nap, or sit in on the history class. Tea at 10:00. Philosophy at 10:30. Tibetan conversation practice at noon. Lunch at one. A nice break for homework follows until Tea at 4:00. Meditation at 5:00 and dinner at 6:30. My body is struggling to acclimate to the hours of sunlight but it is happening. Outside of this arduous schedule I walk the 5 minutes into town daily to go to the Mahabodhi temple and run errands. Ironically, since everything is roughly two-thirds cheaper I spend more money (in US dollars) than I would traveling throughout Europe or the US. Anyway it is past my bedtime and I'll send another post by this weekend. Miss you all.

Getting settled in the Monastery

Getting to Gaya was quite a day. I would not have been able to negociate the porters the timetables and crossing at least five active sets of tracks without an experienced faculty. After the comfortable ride which lasted 16 hours we took cabs into Bodh Gaya, which is about 30 minutes south.

The Vihar is amazing; we are unusual guests, but the staff is very kind and our room are very nice. They are equiped with bookcases, twin sized beds, clothes lines, and mosquito nets. The compound is filled with chickens, dogs (a new puppy) and a roosters that wakes us up consistently at 4:30. Even this new environment reminds me of home. I met a Buddhist nun who is Erin Berman's advisor at the University of San Diego, she is here on sabatical to start the first Tibetan Nunery in Bodh Gaya. Also there is a Shambala book store right down town. The meals are all cooked on site by staff, all vegetarian, and we all eat in the dining hall, which along with the mediatation hall and the library, doubles as a classroom. We have had many meeting as a group discussing a range of aspects to our new life here. Twice a day we gather for tea. This is a very condusive environment to clear the mind.

The town teams with water buffalo, hogs, goats, and more which, according to my new friend Suriya, are everyone's. Everyday I take the five minute walk to the Mahabodhi Temple in the downtown area. With other students or by myself. The temple is best before 6. It is difficult to know whether friendships with locals are genuine or not, Robert as told me many stories of very well spoken people who will later ask for money for school books and buy a motorcycle. But back to the temple it consists of a large stupa we can see from the roof of the Monastery and a shrine behind that holds the living Bodhi tree. Bodhi refers to awakening the spieces of the tree is 'Peeple,' I think I spelled that wrong. Mahabodhi is a sacred Hindu site as well because Hindu people recongize the Buddha as a form of Krishna, I think, ever since Buddhim waned in popularity in India.

I have been doing a lot of shopping downtown and so far I have ordered a Kurta, a robe, and a bag from the local tailor. I have the Kurta so far and it is very nice. It is difficult to convice myself that I don't need to see everything in the first week, but I'm trying. I went to an 80ft Buddha statue made by a Japanese temple that was breathtaking. Also I walked into a Tibetan monastery with a prayerwheel that reached the ceiling. Very cool.

Today was my first day of classes. I had yoga at 6, breakfast at 7, Tibetan at 8:30 which will be great (there are only 5 students in the class), tea at 10, philosophy at 11 and lunch at one. All I know about my classes is that I will love them. I'm also starting to brain storm about a good independent study project, Likshake (the Tibetan Nun mentioned above) told me about the Tibetan process of philosophical debate which sounds interesting. I cannot imagine ever getting bored of life out here. Oh, and today I shaved my head. And one more thing my mailing adress is Thomas Larson
c/o Burmese Vihar
Bodh Gaya, Bihar
824231, India
if anyone wants to send a post card, packages are a little more complicated. I'll send another message shortly.

Heading to Bodh Gaya

In India everyting is more alive, including the people, because life isn't a given, a guarantee. Instead life feels more temporary more for today. The drivers of rikshaws, bikes and cars are fearless. The concept of lanes has been absolutely disregarded by India. Like ants many carry loads more than twice their size behind them. The ally ways in the Bazaars of Old Delhi are narrow, vibrantly colorful, extremely fast paced and wet. My nose quickly goes from delighted to disgusted and back again. Yesterday we visited the largest Mosque in India, a walled plaza with room for 25,000 to simultaneously pray. This Mosque also is the possessor of one of the 3 remaining hairs of the Prophet Mohammad, which we saw, and an imprint of his foot in marble, the right one. The left resides in Istanbul. We left the Mosque and began to walk single file into the the maze of ally ways which comprise the financial center for Old Delhi, the sixth city built in Delhi by the Mughuls in the 17th century. The street was the wealthiest street in India. The electrical wires hang low over the ally (barely the width of a bike lane in Boulder). The shops were mostly jewelers but the there were quite a few shops retailing costumes of Hindu deities for festivals, and plays. Off the main street Robert led us to a Jain Temple. This extremely wealthy but small temple is devoted to a contemporary of the Buddha who attained a spiritual awaking analogous to that of the Buddha but with several distinctions. In a sharp contrast to the Mosque the walls were covered with solid silver, gold and some statues were even cut out of raw diamond. All temples, to my knowledge only have one source of income, charity. Jain emphasize and adhere to nonviolence and not taking any life. They are strictly vegetarians and find that being a merchant is the most appropriate way to support themselves. The Jains, Robert told me, control the Bombay diamond industry. This afternoon we went clothes shopping and I was as indecisive and overwhelmed as I am shopping in America. I got two long Kurtas and three pairs of pygamas (baggy pants with a drawstring).
Today I pack and catch the train to Bihar, in the opinion of many locals in is the equivalent of our wild west or our far south. The city has been a great experience but I could not spend to much time here. I have never once felt threatened in any way and that is a true testament to the nonviolence of the Indian people. I can only imagine the violence that would ensue if Americans were reduced to similar levels of desperation. So many religious tradition coexist in this city with little intolerance. I don't know when I will be back on a computer but I will write next from Gaya.

Day two in Delhi

Flying to Delhi was the extremely comfortable. I slept a few hours after a great Indian, all vegetarian meal. The fast pace of Delhi set in very quickly when leaving the airport. The hotel is in Connaught Circle which is characterized by British layout and architecture. The pverty is astounding. Mothers watch their children from the street corner chase after tourists for blocks. The street is unkept and dirty. Beggars on all sides wait and watch for confused faces so that they can lend an expecting hand. A funny thing happened to me yesterday, funny and horrifying. As a group of 4 other students and I walked through a public park, Palika Bazaar, a shoe shiner came up to me and pointed out that my shoes were dirty. There was a piece of poop on top of my right shoe! The man offered to clean it for me, I declined the offer and wiped it in the grass. Only when I walked away did I realize how convenient the man's timing was. The group and I laughed it off and I wasn't too broken up about it, just surprised. We continued to find a nice spot for lunch. Later I learned that this in fact what a scam, although relatively unusal.
Very friendly people come up and talk to us often and so far about half have ended up trying to sell us something. It offends me a little if I think I have made a friend and find out that he or she is a salesman. Children beggars, however, are the most difficult to turn down because they are very cute. One girl, maybe 5, walked with me for a few blocks trying to hold my hand, that was hard. My friend Jon gave her bread and an orange but she didn't seem to be too grateful. That was a sign to me that the situation was a bit fishy. Only Rupees are wanted in many cases. Later two friends and I sat in a large park, it was beautiful and calm, it is not the case that beggars come up everywhere.
We got slightly lost going back to the YMCA tourist hostel; this part of the city is based off a central circle so the streets are all at different angles. Finally we made it to Sansam Marg street (don't quote me on the name) around 6 pm mostly because of the help from locals. After dinner at the hostel a large group, maybe fifteen, went to the largest Sikh temple in Delhi, which was a short walk. It was a great experience. A Sikh working at the temple was kind enough to give us a tour, which was very difficult to understand. We all wore head garb because it is one of the 5 Ks of Sikhism (compare to the 5 laws of Islam). The temple was magnificient, all white and black marble. We checked our shoes at the door and sat in on a nightly ritual. The decorative architecture alone was an amazing site, especially a mosaic of mirrors forming flowers. Sikhs sang and kissed the floor. We all sat on the carpet. Sikhism is an amazingly tolerant religion preaching equality and compassion for all life. I'm interested to learn more.
Today we took a tour bus around to many of the popular sites of Delhi including the parliment building, a Muslim Mosque built in 1193, a temple known as the Lotus temple, and a tomb built in the 1500's (it is considered to be the predecessor of the Taj).
So far it great here, tomorrow we will be buying all our fabrics for clothes. Bye-

On my way to Delhi

Wow! London flew by quick. Its been great. The past two days I have been going through some orientation with the group and recieved a lot of information. All the focus is on flying to Delhi tonight, we leave around 5:30 London time for the airport and we arrive tomorrow around 11:00 am. London has provided the group with time to get to know everyone, time to see some nearby sites, time to go to a few pubs and time to learn the basics of what our stay in India will look like. Robert (the program director) mentioned the difficultly in balencing the monastic life and the university life. However most of the talk is about travel logistics. Anyways on the run right now, I'll be in touch after we get setttled in Delhi.

London

It's a beautiful evening in Russell Square. I made it safely to Heathrow with my backpack this morning at 11:15 (6:15 Boulder time). So far I have been off and on three trains and I have arrived at the Celtic Hotel. It is clean, cozy, tall and skinny. The program director, Robert Pryor, greeted me at the door and giave me some preliminary information about our short stay in London. The plan is to wake up at 7 for breakfast and head over to the University of London for orientation all day except for one interruption, to do some preliminary reseach and study at the British Museum which is a block away. One of my roomates, John from Vermont, and I browsed through the musuem already this afternoon, it is beautiful. The clock exhibit was especially fascinating. Dad, did you know more reliable time devices were a function of latitude in the 1800's? Haha. John and I are going to go back to the Celtic soon to recruit more programees for dinner. Anyways just wanted y'all to know I made it safe and jetleg hasn't caught up with me...yet. More to come soon (when the interesting stuff starts to happen).