Hello from Pune (28/10/07)

Hi Chaps,

Today finds me in Sunny Pune.

After Sanchi and Bhopal I trained it down to Nagpur (means Snake City). Nowadays
known as Orange City and very juicy they are too. Train delayed three hours - not too bad really - can be a lot worse.














I spent three days in Nagpur exploring archaeological remains of a monastery, stupa and small college patronised by Nagurjuna no less. It's said he experimented in Chemistry here - Alchemy perhaps? Looked like a mini Nalanda.

I had the guided tour of the area by Dhamma Mitra Kapil and our friend from Bodhgaya Dhamma mitra Sheilesh. What a lovely suprise to see him here, such a positive and helpful guy.

We toured the Nagaloka College - a great TBMSG institution, which trains 40 youngsters per year in Buddhist studies during a one year intensive course. About forty students per year attend from all over India.


















I was asked to give "short" talk to which I obliged, although with question time it ran into 2 hours! The students were very interested in life in the West and the benefits of Buddhist practice. I gave my talk an emphasis on the benefits of "taking responsibility for our actions" - at the request of the Head Teacher.
















We also visited the Hsuang Tsang retreat centre (funded by Taiwanese donors). A magical spot in the heart or rural (Jungle) India. A fantastic stupa/shrine room with amazing acoustics. Tigers are common in the surrounding hills and have been seen on the centre land (though not recently thank goodness!). Beautiful lakes close by.

Dinner at Kapil's home (cooked by his younger sister) has added a touch of real life India to the trip. Great hospitality.

An overnight train to Pune was free from excitement apart from one informative passenger who wanted to initiate me into the secrets of his personal religious philosophy "all is one, god is all, god in everyone". He carried on and on until the Indian Doctor next to him said "For heaven sakes man, give the guy a break, you've said the same thing at least ten times!"

When the "informative passenger" popped to the loo, I quietly thanked the Doctor and we shared a friendly understanding for the rest of the trip. He had visited Cambridge several times with his job in tropical medicine.

I am recovering from an ongoing low level cold (hence the Oranges). I am a bit tired from all this non-stop travel and am looking forward to a quiet one week retreat before starting over.

Love to All,
Jayasiddhi

Hello from Bhopal (23/10/07)

Hello me Chucks,

Sad goodbyes to Paul and Padmadeepa at Gonda railway station. Alone on a busy platform in a very strange country - gulp!

I've now experience the 2AC overnight sleeper train! Great way to meet people. Air con a little to cold for me. Got a crick in my neck! Meet a couple of very nice railway engineers. Lots of discussions about marriage, divorce and sex! The Indians are not always so reserved as I was led to believe.














A mid price hotel in Sanchi was a pleasant little treat after our cheaper accommodation to date. The Sanchi Stupa site is a real Jewel. I had the extensive site mostly to myself without any hassle from beggars, hawkers of pushy tour guides. Meditated at the big stupa, explored ruined monastery complexes and great little temples. A very relaxed and enjoyable day.

Today I traveled to Bhopal by local bus, sharing a back seat designed for 4 with 6 other people! So many people and rice sacks. No goats or sheep though. Local people smile and point and test out their English skills on the lone tourist. Friendly and enjoyable banter. Playing with the kids.

I have really pushed the boat out in Bhopal to celebrate the end of the first leg of my journey. A three star hotel with 24 hour coffee bar, broadband (!), a bar, two restaurants and small shopping mall. A fridge and colour TV in my room. Room service. Air con that works, a bath and private balcony with views of Bhopal's extensive lakes. All for 30 GBP. A lot of money in India, but a very dingy bed and breakfast in England.

A memory from the train journey:-

The bloated cow lays leaking body fluid into the baked earth
A mangy stray approaches nonchalantly and bites into the throat - just to be sure
After a few minutes of hungry chewing he trots off and then returns a few minutes later with his pack
A couple of larger dogs work the throat and face, peeling back layers of skin and fat
Smaller dogs look on casually with a patience which is humbling
Bright red muzzles on a sunny afternoon.

India is a vivid place. A little like loosing your sunglasses in the mid day sun. It's difficult to know where to look in order to minimise the intensity of experience.

Love to all.

Jayasiddhi

Hello from Nepal (21st November 2007)

Hi All,

Friday. We have crossed over the border (no hassle, no fee and no queue) and into Nepal (The Peoples Republic of Nepal as the graffiti over the border post informs us).

We have spent one night in a Korean monastery in the Lumbini temple complex. The monastery is quite new and is in the process of being expanded. It is very clean, smart and has a simple renunciate feel to it. Great Digs.

Lumbini (the Buddha's birthplace) is very well developed. The archaeological site is surrounded by a large walled complex. Inside the complex there are many monasteries and temples from lots of different traditions. The small village of Lumbini is firmly outside the wall and you do not get to see much of local life from here.

The complex is clean and well organised with paved roads and maps connecting everything together. It's kind of cool and also a little weird, a little bit like a Buddhist theme park. Could be in the US! (almost).

Last night spent in Sinouli (India) on Nepali border. A really dusty noisy polluted little town. Felt like the wild west. The Hotel was quite poor with mold and vermin droppings on the sheets. we took the deluxe rooms with TV and Air Con (both broken). We had to get up in the night to hide our biscuit stash, clothes and other edibles from the mice.

Saturday. Kapilavastu (Northern India).
The place where the Buddha was raised.A large stupa and beautiful lotus pond. A very well maintained site. A bit of a whistle stop tour, but time for a short puja and offerings.Driving to Kapilavastu from Lumbini should be a quick affair - there is an almost direct road. Unfortunately, due to political disturbance from the Maoist rebels this border crossing is currently closed due to regular shootings and attacks on the border guards. We realise later why we were advised

to sleep on the Indian side of the border. The large towns and cities are relativley safe for foreigners, but rural areas still present a slim chance of trouble and possible kidnap.

Sunday. Shravasti. The Jetta Grove. a wonderful park where the Buddha spent many of his rains retreats. A very beautiful and atmospheric place, helped by a glorious sunset over a massive Buddha image on the horizon. Our tour coincides with a visiting minister and political rally. Lots of noise and people outside of the park itself.

Monday. The anniversary of the day of Dr Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism and also the day of a Hindu river goddess festival. Lots of floats and music and fireworks and quite a lot of drinking and singing. We have to get to Gonda to catch two trains. Our driver warns of possible road closures and mild civil unrest (fighting due to drinking and possible religious clashes) so we arrive at the station early. This is the first time a see a cow walking down a railway station.

Three busy weeks of pilgrimage come to an end. Padmadeepa and Paul are making their way home via Delhi. I carry on my adventure alone to Bhopal (for the Sanchi stupas complex) then to the TBMSG/FWBO centres in Nagpur, Pune and Bhaja.

We are all in good health and spirits. So much to say ....so little broadband!

Love to All,

Jayasiddhi

Hello from Bodhgaya, India (9th October 2007)

Hello me Ducks,

Wow what a place. One week here and still getting blown away by it all. The sounds, sights (and smells!). Its a very crazy place, but it kind of grows on you.

Arrived at Delhi airport and was kidnapped by a crazed rickshaw driver. After a very hairy rider around South Delhi we eventually convinced him to take us to our hotel, but it was hard work (and it cost us). You have to learn quickly here. Haggle hard. Set a fixed price and then be firm. Very un-English.

People are very friendly. The beggars are difficult to deal with, it's so hard to know how to respond for the best. I set off a small riot today by giving out a bag of sweets to some kids in a local village, hundreds of kids just appeared out of nowhere and there weren't enough sweets to go around. I just had to drop the bag and run. You have to learn quickly here.

Had a great couple of days in Sarnath, the place of the Buddha's first teaching. We stayed at Dr Jain's Paying Guest House. Great food and hospitality. Met up with our local Order member Dh.Shantigosh on the small piece of land the FWBO/TBMSG has there. We had tea and biscuits and met some of the local mitras.



The FWBO/TBMSG site is very central to Sarnath and almost opposite the main stupa, which marks the spot of the Buddha's first sermon.

Varanassi was a real hard experience. The worst pollution I have ever experienced, thick choking smog (a mixture of exhaust fumes and more exhaust fumes with a little burnt cow dung thrown in for good measure).

A boat trip on the Ganges was interrupted by torrential rain. It started with big hard blobs of rain - like marbles or small golf balls, then it just opened up. We sheltered with our boatman, some street hawkers and other passers by in a temple dedicated to a local river god, sited on the gats. We were the only tourists in sight, but we were treated with warm hospitality and hot chai (sweet milky tea).

I managed to upset the temple Brahmin with a mix up over a mis-placed camera and things turned a bit nasty for a moment, when I received a vitriolic telling off from our now less than hospitable "host". Our boatman/guide laughed off the incident (although I have to say it shook me up a fair bit). Theft can be a serious business in India (public beatings are not unheard of) and the possibility that someone sheltering in the temple was a thief had caused quite a lot of excitement and not a little mistrust.

We ended the evening being lead through the tiny back alleyways of Varanassi, in the pitch black (a powercut) by two street hawkers who we didn't know. At one point we ended up in a dead end. Paul, Padmadeepa and I looked at each other and couldn't help wondering if it was a set up or a mugging. Fortunately, we were just lost in the dark and eventually found our way to the silk shop they had been trying to steer us to. We managed to extricate ourselves from our very happy salesman eventually and tipped our hawkers to take us back to a cafe we knew from earlier so that we could arrange to meet up with our driver.

By now the storm had passed and the rainwater (with less savory stuff floating in it) was just below our knees as we waded our way down the streets. We survived our little adventure, wet, filthy, tired and very relieved.

Today is our last day in Bodhgaya, the most important Buddhist Pilgirmage site and the place of the Buddha's Enlightenment (the Vajrasanna). A wonderful place. So much atmosphere, packed with pilgrims from all over the world. A very moving experience.

Outside of the main temple there is much to see here, so many temples representing Buddhist traditions from the world over, and places of significance from the Buddha's life, such as Gaya Head, where the Buddha delivered "the Fire Sutta". We were shown around by Dhammamitra Munish an excellent tour guide.

Puja under the Bodhi Tree at 6am this morning. Fantastic! So many people, so much noise.

Lots to say. The food is OK. We are all in good health and good spirits. Cash is bit hard to get hold of. Trying to get cash from ATM's is a joke. If you come here, bring travellers cheques (Dollars or pounds). Being in India is often a taxing and tiring experience. But worth it.

I offered Tsultrim's kata (white scarf) at the Bodhi tree.

Hope you are all well.

Love,
Jayasiddhi (mosquito bitten but fighting on).

March in Support of Freedom for Burma

On Thursday September 27th, around 70 people from various groups and backgrounds met at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

This was to show our support for the people of Burma in their peaceful protests against repressive government.

Local BBC Radio and Television were in attendance, and recorded the chanting of the traditional pali "May all Beings be Well".

Those gathered then formed a silent procession to the Cambridge Guild Hall, lead by the organiser Dharmachari Vajrapriya. We then collected signatures for a petition to be submitted to the Burmese Embassy in London. Some people then meditated on the street as a mark of solidarity with the people of Burma.



If you are interested you can sign a petition on-line and send details to your friends. The address is:-

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/h.php/?cl=20600317

At the time of writing, over 177,000 people have registered their protest.

Goodbye to Gampo Abbey

Hello All,

This is my last post from Gampo Abbey. It's really hard to believe that I have been living here for just under seven months. Time really does fly when your having fun and also when you have a full schedule. I feel like have had both.

I feel a strong sense of gratitude to everybody here at the Abbey for making me feel so at home. I have made many good friends here and I hope these contacts continue into the future.

My meditation instructor, Jerry has been very helpful, bringing me right up against my own "stuff", face to face, so to speak. This has felt uncompromising and very challenging at times. Just what I needed. Jerry has shown a lot of warmth and compassion. Thank you.

It's great that this place exists at all. Much of this is down to the founder (Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche), Ani Pema Chodron (resident teacher, author and generous benefactor) and the other monastics here (especially, Ani Palmo, Ani Migme and Lodro Sangpo) who have devoted decades of their lives to making this place work.

I have learned a lot about myself from living here. I have also learned a lot about Tibetan Buddhism, the Karma Kagyu lineage and aspects of Tibetan monastic life. I have also learned the importance of trying to keep an open mind in new situations and being open to different approaches and points of view.

My two fears when coming here were my ongoing problem with back pain and a morbid fear of having to eat with chopsticks. The back was painful at times but has loosened up during my time here. It was never unbearable and I feel a stronger faith in my meditation practice by working through it. The fear of using chopsticks soon went. I rarely dropped food (although I did drop an entire bowl) and would eventually look forward to eating porridge with chopsticks.

My last few weeks here have been a time of great joy. The summer season has continued and the "In House" retreatants have come and gone at a regular pace. It's been really enjoyable meeting so many different practitioners.

I passed on my job to Lisa a couple of weeks ago. She picked it up very quickly with minimal training and this left me some time to relax a little more and spend some more time showing tourists around the Abbey.

I have enjoyed walks into Pleasant Bay for ice cream and exercise, swims on the beach and hikes into the beautiful wooded Cape Breton hills. I have seen moose, Gardner snakes, fox, chipmunk a plenty, whales, seals and golden eagle.

We had an Order Member from Mexico come here in August for a solitary retreat. His name is Kavindu. It was lovely to meet another OM out here in Karma Kagyu land and we spent some time together when he arrived and again just before his departure. What a delightful guy.

Yeshe, a temporary monk who had been here a couple of years, left just recently. I was sad to see him go and had really treasured his company. He had taught me the office job when I first arrived. A very kind and thoughtful chap. We had a communal "leavers choice" movie night together. We both chose Monty Python's "Life of Brian". I had a great laugh watching this and it made me feel quite homesick (considering it was set in Israel and filmed in Tunisia). I certainly came out of the movie feeling very "English".

I have also been on solitary retreat myself for the last six days in a cabin called "Cliff Hanger". With high winds at times, I was unsure if it was hanging on or hanging off, as it swayed in the breeze. The views were spectacular, both for sea, coast line, eagles and sunset. My meditation practice finally clicked into gear (perhaps 6 months fairly intensive preparation helped a bit) and I had a great retreat. I really enjoyed reading "A Yogi's Joy" by Sangharakshita. A great read and very inspiring.

I am now into my last couple of days and have started thinking about practical stuff, such as washing my clothes and inspecting the dust under my bed (I knew I shouldn't have left it so long).

Love to All,

Jayasiddhi

Cancer Society Sponsorship

Thanks to all of you who sponsored me for the Cancer Society walk all those months ago. The event was great fun as well as being for a very worthy cause. It's great that Gampo Abbey supports this local event each year with their enthusiastic participation.

Particular thanks to the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order in Letchworth for their kind donation of 100 GBP. The final total raised was 225 GBP ($479CAD). Thank you all for your generous support and many thanks to Jayamuni for collecting up the money on my behalf. May you all be well!