Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Siddharth lived around the Niranjana River with five ascetics for several years. They were involved in extreme fasting and self mortification. He realized that all this fasting was making him physically weak. When you are physically weak, what good are you? Since he was on a quest for truth he wasn't going to stop with just one teaching. If a certain teaching proved to be false he was going to keep searching for the truth in spiritual matters and try something else.
One day while he out near the river he came upon a girl that was tending some her father's herds. She saw Siddartha. He looked like a skeleton from all his fasting and self mortification he had been involved in. She thought he was a holy man and it has been a custom in India from time immorial to give holy men something to eat. She had some milk and rice with her and she offered it to Siddartha. Siddhartha recieved a revelation. He had lived most of his life in total luxury in his father's house. He ultimately found that this was not the truth. Now he had spent six years in self deprivation. It became clear to him that this wasn't the truth either. He came up with the idea of the middle way. You can live a holy life with out living in the lap of luxury, and you can live a holy life with out depriving yourself from the good things of life. He accepted the milk and rice and broke his fast. As he ate it I imagine that he started to feel his strength come back. It was a good feeling.
His five companions saw him eat the little meal and thought that he was abandoning the ascetic life. They thought he was not serious any more about living the life of a sadu. They left him alone in Badgaya near the Niranjana River and went to a deer park in Sanarth where they were going to continue on with their rituals of self denial.
Siddhartha had come to a crossroad in his life. He wanted to know what the truth was. He crossed the river. It was shallow so it was easy to cross. He found a tree in a wooded area. He decided to sit under this tree and meditate until he found out what the truth was. He had done this before in other places around the Niranjana River, but nothing came of it. This time he was determined not to get up until the universe revealed to him what he should do and what this life was all about. He sat in meditation for 49 days. He would stop once in awhile to beg for food to keep his body going. Then he would go right back to his meditation.
Finally his wish came true after the 49th day. It shook him to the core. The revealations of truth came to him in wave after wave. This went on for a long time. For seven days after this experience he was in total awe of what had happened to him. He stayed in the area and contemplated all that had been revealed to him and continued to meditate. In time he went looking for his old companions and finally found them and convinced them of the new way he had found. After that he became known as the Buddha, the enlightened one.
The story of Buddha is still alive to this very day. It still inspires people even in our day and age. These are two reader boards that I found around Boghgaya. One is in front of a stupa that is believed to be built over the house of the girl who gave Siddhartha Rice and milk. Her name was Sujata. Some people doubt that this stupa is authentic. There is also another place in the Bodhgaya area that claims to be the house of Sujata. To come right down to it. These events took place many, many years ago. No one really knows where many of these historical sites are. There has been a demand by people touring these areas looking for history. The Indian people are not dumb. They are pretty enterprising. They fill the demand and these places popped up, and they bring in lots of money every year, and the tourists are happy that they have seen where certain events had taken place, even if it is not true at all. The 3rd picture is the sign on the school that I visited while I was there
This is my interpretation of what I believed happened to Siddartha 250,000 years ago.
One day while he out near the river he came upon a girl that was tending some her father's herds. She saw Siddartha. He looked like a skeleton from all his fasting and self mortification he had been involved in. She thought he was a holy man and it has been a custom in India from time immorial to give holy men something to eat. She had some milk and rice with her and she offered it to Siddartha. Siddhartha recieved a revelation. He had lived most of his life in total luxury in his father's house. He ultimately found that this was not the truth. Now he had spent six years in self deprivation. It became clear to him that this wasn't the truth either. He came up with the idea of the middle way. You can live a holy life with out living in the lap of luxury, and you can live a holy life with out depriving yourself from the good things of life. He accepted the milk and rice and broke his fast. As he ate it I imagine that he started to feel his strength come back. It was a good feeling.
His five companions saw him eat the little meal and thought that he was abandoning the ascetic life. They thought he was not serious any more about living the life of a sadu. They left him alone in Badgaya near the Niranjana River and went to a deer park in Sanarth where they were going to continue on with their rituals of self denial.
Siddhartha had come to a crossroad in his life. He wanted to know what the truth was. He crossed the river. It was shallow so it was easy to cross. He found a tree in a wooded area. He decided to sit under this tree and meditate until he found out what the truth was. He had done this before in other places around the Niranjana River, but nothing came of it. This time he was determined not to get up until the universe revealed to him what he should do and what this life was all about. He sat in meditation for 49 days. He would stop once in awhile to beg for food to keep his body going. Then he would go right back to his meditation.
Finally his wish came true after the 49th day. It shook him to the core. The revealations of truth came to him in wave after wave. This went on for a long time. For seven days after this experience he was in total awe of what had happened to him. He stayed in the area and contemplated all that had been revealed to him and continued to meditate. In time he went looking for his old companions and finally found them and convinced them of the new way he had found. After that he became known as the Buddha, the enlightened one.
The story of Buddha is still alive to this very day. It still inspires people even in our day and age. These are two reader boards that I found around Boghgaya. One is in front of a stupa that is believed to be built over the house of the girl who gave Siddhartha Rice and milk. Her name was Sujata. Some people doubt that this stupa is authentic. There is also another place in the Bodhgaya area that claims to be the house of Sujata. To come right down to it. These events took place many, many years ago. No one really knows where many of these historical sites are. There has been a demand by people touring these areas looking for history. The Indian people are not dumb. They are pretty enterprising. They fill the demand and these places popped up, and they bring in lots of money every year, and the tourists are happy that they have seen where certain events had taken place, even if it is not true at all. The 3rd picture is the sign on the school that I visited while I was there
This is my interpretation of what I believed happened to Siddartha 250,000 years ago.
Monday, January 25, 2010
KUSHINAGAR - This is the place where Buddha died. Just before he reached his 80th birthday he renounced his will to live any longer and proceeded on a journey with some of his faithful companions to Kushinagar. On the way he ate a meal of mushrooms and got sick from them. When they got to Kushinagar he first rested and drank some water near a river, then went to a park nearby. In the park he knew death was near so he had his cousin, Ananda make a bed for him between two sal trees where he laid down with his face toward the north. There he died.
I was able to capture three of the reader boards in the area.
I was able to capture three of the reader boards in the area.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
LUMBINI - This is the place where Siddarth was born. It is in the country of Nepal which is north of India. It is quite similar to India. They share the same religions and much of the same philosophy in life. Nepal is also a very poor country, and they also like to mix the old with the new. They have a monarchy unlike India, which is a democracy. I'm kind of like Anderson Cooper. In order for me to get excited about something I like to go out and see it, touch it and experience it. But unlike Anderson I don't like to smell it.
Years before I took this trip to India I started reading about the Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. This place called Lumbini in Nepal in the time of Buddha's birth was just a little park among a bunch of trees. There was a tank there. A tank is kind of like a swimming pool. It held water where people could bathe. Siddarth's mother was passing through this park in Lumbini where she stopped to take a bath in the tank. She was on her way to her parents house which was not far away. She was going there to have her baby at their house which was a custom in those days. While she was bathing she felt the pangs of labor coming on. She got out of the tank and went over to a nearby Sal tree and held onto one of its lower branches and delivered her child while standing and hanging onto the branch. This was also a custom at that time. This story has been embellished beyond belief by Buddhist writers down through the ages. But this simple story is basically what is believed to have happened at that time.
Now there is a building in this park in Lumbini. Inside there are bricks stacked by pilgrims throughout the ages that marks the spot where Buddha was born. There is one pile of bricks that has a stone the shape of a womb on it. This is the place recognized as the spot where Buddha was born. That is what I went there to see.
The very first time that I heard of Buddha was when when I was in elementary school. One of my teachers told the class about this man who sat under a tree and meditated and became a great teacher. He shaved his head and put snails all over it.
Later when I got a little older I saw a documentary about Buddha and it showed the tree inwhich he was enlightened under (acually a descendant of the origional tree). I made a vow to myself that someday I wanted to go to that place. I never thought that this vow would be fulfilled. Then later in my life I got the opportunity to live in an Asian country courtesy of the United States Government. The main religion of that country was Buddhism. While I was there I didn't have much interest in the religion although I did read something about it while I was there and was able to observe many things about people who were Buddhist.
Many things have been added to this religion. People have puffed Buddha up to be a god. He was really just an ordinary man who had a great gift to convey simple truths in a simple way. He had an engaging personality that attracted many people. He also had compassion on his fellow man.
I have never had any desire to become a Buddhist. It's just like any other religion, and I abhor organized religions. I believe once you organized a religion that you lose the essense of what it is supposed to be. But it is interesting to me to read about Buddhism and other religions and philosophies and sift through the teaching and separate what I believe is truth from what is false. Many people don't take the time to do this. But I feel it is neccesary for me to do.
There weren't many reader boards in Lumbini, but I did take pictures of a few signs that were there.
Years before I took this trip to India I started reading about the Buddhist sites in India and Nepal. This place called Lumbini in Nepal in the time of Buddha's birth was just a little park among a bunch of trees. There was a tank there. A tank is kind of like a swimming pool. It held water where people could bathe. Siddarth's mother was passing through this park in Lumbini where she stopped to take a bath in the tank. She was on her way to her parents house which was not far away. She was going there to have her baby at their house which was a custom in those days. While she was bathing she felt the pangs of labor coming on. She got out of the tank and went over to a nearby Sal tree and held onto one of its lower branches and delivered her child while standing and hanging onto the branch. This was also a custom at that time. This story has been embellished beyond belief by Buddhist writers down through the ages. But this simple story is basically what is believed to have happened at that time.
Now there is a building in this park in Lumbini. Inside there are bricks stacked by pilgrims throughout the ages that marks the spot where Buddha was born. There is one pile of bricks that has a stone the shape of a womb on it. This is the place recognized as the spot where Buddha was born. That is what I went there to see.
The very first time that I heard of Buddha was when when I was in elementary school. One of my teachers told the class about this man who sat under a tree and meditated and became a great teacher. He shaved his head and put snails all over it.
Later when I got a little older I saw a documentary about Buddha and it showed the tree inwhich he was enlightened under (acually a descendant of the origional tree). I made a vow to myself that someday I wanted to go to that place. I never thought that this vow would be fulfilled. Then later in my life I got the opportunity to live in an Asian country courtesy of the United States Government. The main religion of that country was Buddhism. While I was there I didn't have much interest in the religion although I did read something about it while I was there and was able to observe many things about people who were Buddhist.
Many things have been added to this religion. People have puffed Buddha up to be a god. He was really just an ordinary man who had a great gift to convey simple truths in a simple way. He had an engaging personality that attracted many people. He also had compassion on his fellow man.
I have never had any desire to become a Buddhist. It's just like any other religion, and I abhor organized religions. I believe once you organized a religion that you lose the essense of what it is supposed to be. But it is interesting to me to read about Buddhism and other religions and philosophies and sift through the teaching and separate what I believe is truth from what is false. Many people don't take the time to do this. But I feel it is neccesary for me to do.
There weren't many reader boards in Lumbini, but I did take pictures of a few signs that were there.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
READER BOARDS OF KAPILVASTU - THE PLACE WHERE SIDDARTHA, WHO BECAME THE BUDDHA, GREW UP. THE FIRST FEW READER BOARDS ARE ABOUT THE MONESTARY COMPLEX NEAR THE CHILDHOOD HOME. THE NEXT ONE IS BROKEN INTO TWO PARTS. THEY RELATE TO THE CHILDHOOD HOME.
It wasn't until I got back to the states and started reading some things about the places I had been to, when I found out that there are two Kapilvastu's. One is in Nepal, and the other is in India. Why should India be left out of all the tourist dollars that there is to be made from unsuspecting tourists from other countries coming to the region every year thinking they are seeing an authentic historical landmark? It doesn't matter. Whether is it a real historical landmark isn't relevant. The fact that the drivers and the guides made their daily wage is. I don't mind that at all. They work hard for what little money they get. The fault would lie in the corrupt movers and shakers of the country whose scemes ands traps we all fall into when we go there. The drivers and guides have a hard job to do, which is often not always rewarding. I appreciated all their service and I put no fault on them at all.
I have read in almost every guide book on traveling to India that English is widely spoken everywhere you go in India, no problem! Well, English is spoken pretty good in Dehli. Once you get out in the boon docks of India, these people think that they are speaking English. I would beg to differ. When I got to the Kapilvastu in India I was met by a guide who I couldn't understand. He would go on and on about stuff, but I could make no sense of any of it. Every once in awhile he would say something like; 'monastery', 'Buddha',or 'American dollar' that I could understand. Other then that I understood nothing. To this day I don't know what he said about anything. Fortunately I took pictures of the reader boards infront of these landmarks. Now I can read them and see what this place was, or at least what it said.
I guess somebody who was an archeologist found a stupa that had an urn that held ashes, and there was something that said 'Kapilvastu' on it. After that it was established that this was the childhood home of Siddartha, the Buddha. Meanwhile the people of Nepal found a place not too far from Lumbini where they claim is the childhood home of Buddha. It even has an eastern gate. The eastern gate is the place where Siddartha left when he went to become a homeless sadu. The Kapilvastu in India doesn't have an eastern gate. I remember when the driver and I went to the childhood home I was looking around the place that I assumed was the house. It was nothing more then the foundation of the house which was in complete ruins. I asked the driver, (there was no guide there) which way was east. He had no idea what I was asking. I spent quite a bit of effort using hand jestures waving my arms in the air pointing in each direction. He didn't understand. So, I took alot of pictures of the ruined house hoping that I would evenually find out the story about it and where the eastern gate is.
It wasn't until I got back to the states and started reading some things about the places I had been to, when I found out that there are two Kapilvastu's. One is in Nepal, and the other is in India. Why should India be left out of all the tourist dollars that there is to be made from unsuspecting tourists from other countries coming to the region every year thinking they are seeing an authentic historical landmark? It doesn't matter. Whether is it a real historical landmark isn't relevant. The fact that the drivers and the guides made their daily wage is. I don't mind that at all. They work hard for what little money they get. The fault would lie in the corrupt movers and shakers of the country whose scemes ands traps we all fall into when we go there. The drivers and guides have a hard job to do, which is often not always rewarding. I appreciated all their service and I put no fault on them at all.
I have read in almost every guide book on traveling to India that English is widely spoken everywhere you go in India, no problem! Well, English is spoken pretty good in Dehli. Once you get out in the boon docks of India, these people think that they are speaking English. I would beg to differ. When I got to the Kapilvastu in India I was met by a guide who I couldn't understand. He would go on and on about stuff, but I could make no sense of any of it. Every once in awhile he would say something like; 'monastery', 'Buddha',or 'American dollar' that I could understand. Other then that I understood nothing. To this day I don't know what he said about anything. Fortunately I took pictures of the reader boards infront of these landmarks. Now I can read them and see what this place was, or at least what it said.
I guess somebody who was an archeologist found a stupa that had an urn that held ashes, and there was something that said 'Kapilvastu' on it. After that it was established that this was the childhood home of Siddartha, the Buddha. Meanwhile the people of Nepal found a place not too far from Lumbini where they claim is the childhood home of Buddha. It even has an eastern gate. The eastern gate is the place where Siddartha left when he went to become a homeless sadu. The Kapilvastu in India doesn't have an eastern gate. I remember when the driver and I went to the childhood home I was looking around the place that I assumed was the house. It was nothing more then the foundation of the house which was in complete ruins. I asked the driver, (there was no guide there) which way was east. He had no idea what I was asking. I spent quite a bit of effort using hand jestures waving my arms in the air pointing in each direction. He didn't understand. So, I took alot of pictures of the ruined house hoping that I would evenually find out the story about it and where the eastern gate is.
READER BOARDS OF JETTAVANNA, THE PLACE WHERE BUDDHA SPENT 24 RAINY SEASONS
Before I left home to travel in India I had the idea to take pictures of the reader boards that I knew I would eventually encounter. Everytime I came upon one I would take a picture of it. They come in handy now that a few years have passed since I was in India. Since I am writing about all my travels I am constantly doing research on the places I have been. Now that four years have passed since I traveled to India, I am now interested in what all those reader boards say, so I'm posting them online now so I can click on the picture and zoom in and finally read them. While I was touring I wasn't in the mode of reading these reader boards. I was mostly interested in taking pictures and trying to listen closely to what the guide was telling me about what I was seeing on the tour. I would get back to the hotel after the tour was over and write down all that I could remember of what the guide said about the particular landmark I saw that day. Then I would read the itinerary and do some light reading on the next place I would be going to the next day. If there was any aspect of the next place I wanted to see, I would make sure that I would mention it to the guide and he would be glad to accomodate my request, which is his job. When you are touring it can sometimes be grueling because you are constantly on the go. It is sometimes hot and uncomfortable. You are in a foreign place. People see that you are an American and think you are rich so they bring out all the poor and handicapped to stand in front of you and beg. You get so tired of everyone trying to get a little money out of you. Sometimes I have gotten very blunt with some people. Traveling is exciting, tiring and sometimes alot of things are going on at the same time. So you have to make the best of it while you are there because you may never have the opportunity go there again.
Before I left home to travel in India I had the idea to take pictures of the reader boards that I knew I would eventually encounter. Everytime I came upon one I would take a picture of it. They come in handy now that a few years have passed since I was in India. Since I am writing about all my travels I am constantly doing research on the places I have been. Now that four years have passed since I traveled to India, I am now interested in what all those reader boards say, so I'm posting them online now so I can click on the picture and zoom in and finally read them. While I was touring I wasn't in the mode of reading these reader boards. I was mostly interested in taking pictures and trying to listen closely to what the guide was telling me about what I was seeing on the tour. I would get back to the hotel after the tour was over and write down all that I could remember of what the guide said about the particular landmark I saw that day. Then I would read the itinerary and do some light reading on the next place I would be going to the next day. If there was any aspect of the next place I wanted to see, I would make sure that I would mention it to the guide and he would be glad to accomodate my request, which is his job. When you are touring it can sometimes be grueling because you are constantly on the go. It is sometimes hot and uncomfortable. You are in a foreign place. People see that you are an American and think you are rich so they bring out all the poor and handicapped to stand in front of you and beg. You get so tired of everyone trying to get a little money out of you. Sometimes I have gotten very blunt with some people. Traveling is exciting, tiring and sometimes alot of things are going on at the same time. So you have to make the best of it while you are there because you may never have the opportunity go there again.
Friday, January 22, 2010
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