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.