on the road: bodh gaya and benares

left patna after several days, bus to bodh gaya (a center of buddhist worship, the place where siddhartha gautama (5th century bce) achieved enlightenment after six years mediating in a nearby cave, malachala ).

although hardly enough time, i was there for three days. everybody knew of simon's program for tibetan studies for american students. before simon emailed me, i had found the tibetan monestary (one of four, and two more under construction) where he studied and the burmese vihar where he stayed. everyone in town seemed to know the teacher robert and his program. i also spontaneously met two friends of his, vinay and his brother. vinay runs a booking agency, and supports eleven people from his work. he is sad he cannot save any money. his brother studies computer work in delhi.

a consistent image of india, in both cities and towns, is emerging. noise, kinetic movement everywhere. thousands of small businesses (in the sense that the owner/operator is one and the same, although the equipment may be rented, as in the case of tuk-tuks, either storefronts or street vending. although very dusty, and people drop their trash anywhere, the cadre of street sweepers comes throughout the day, and with shovels, moves the trash to hand pulled carts or very small motor trucks. the shopkeepers are forever sweeping, using long brooms made of rice straw, as are the people in front of their houses. it is dirty, but very tidy, if you look long enough.

there are an incredible number of people, and there is a cultural commitment to making sure everyone works. it doesn't cost much to eat and live minimally, somewhere around rs54,000 ($1000) for a family of four, per annum. no savings, no car, simple housing (one or two rooms, dirt floor, 4-8 people in the extended family living together). there is also a communal commitment to helping one another. social security is provided by the people to one another, less so the government.

a nation of religious pluralism, many hindus (65%) and many muslims (also called mohammedians, around 35%). no jews, except in mubai which i will not visit. a few christians.
the concepts of karma and dharma seem deeply embraced. i have been speaking with many regular folks i meet (a little english, and off we go). when we do something, it will return to us. if i do evil, so it will be. karma. within this life, and also from previous lives and to the next life. reincarnation is a bedrock belief. dharma, as i understand it, is an acceptance of what our individual circumstances are. if i get polio and am a cripple (and there are a number of polio cripples, although immunizations are banishing that disease), it is my karma. i do not get the impression this is simple surrender, but rather acceptance. simon's impression from his four months in india was that the people were happy, and there is nothing in my experience or conversations that does not reinforce that view.

if there are scoundrels and thieves, i have not met them yet. i am a cautious traveler, having been in a small number of non-western countries before. although i walk off the main streets, i don't go in blind alleys. yet. in bodh gaya, i stopped at my first food vendor on the street, and struck up conversation with a buddhist from bengal (a monk for 12 years when he was young). he advised me on food and then helped translate. and then, un requested, he paid for my meal. today, a tuck-tck driver took me around the largest university in asia (benares hindu university). we stopped for chai (tea, coffee, milk and sugar) but i only had a rs500 bill and he could not change it. the young fellow next to me paid for our chai. on the night train from bodh gaya to benares (also known as varanasa), i found myself in conversation with a advocate (lawyer) and commerce graduate. easy conversations (i think indians enjoy using their english skills), he negotiated an auto tuk-tuk (an early learned skill) and then gave me his mobile number with instructions to call him with any questions or problems. a nation of scoundrels!

i am slowly eating street food. so far, only if fried or cooked on a hot skillet. it is very tasty, and not spicy, i do not have to request no spice. i will keep to bottled water, though. far, no gastrointestinal protest.

i have discovered guest houses (simple bed, toilet, shower, chair and table) but no television or lobby, usually no restaurant. cost: rs 300-400/ night ($6-9). a hotel with all the above amenities costs a minimum of rs1000 ($22 and a fixed price) and up to rs10,000 ($222) for something moderately fancy. quite frankly, i am most comfortable in very simple accomodations, not because i am cheap, but because it is where i am comfortable.

yesterday i walked along the ma ganges (the mother ganges river), passed many ghats, stairways leading to the water. benares is a very religious town, one of the oldest in the world (parallel to ancient mesopotamia on a time line) and a center of hindu worship. there were two burning sites where wood pyres are built, one at a time. the wood is purchased or donated (for the very poor), sacred fire is purchased (from a designated keeper of the fire, a position that is handed down through only several families for generations). it is possible to see the outline of the body in the flames as it is consumed. the entire process takes several hours, the flames are sweetened with spices, and pieces of the burned wood are taken home by the family. there are 200-400 burning daily, and the sites run 24 hours.

several centuries ago, it was common for the widow to throw herself (or be thrown) onto the burning pyre, but that practice has been outlawed. in fact, woman are not part of the ceremony now, nor do they accompany the body from town or village to the burning grounds. as it was explained to me, too much emotion, wailing and crying. the eldest son has his head shaven except for a small tassel in the back, and dresses in a white gown. i don't think they do much with death certificates and autopsies in india.

i will now find someplace to meditate, then a quiet spot to read (good luck finding something like that). tomorrow i will take a guided tour from the guest house owner on his motorcycle, and see the usual temples and sites that the tourists see.

again, the indian people i am encountering are simply lovely.