Bodgaya

Had a wonderful day visiting the site where Boudha meditated until he was so thin that a passing princess, who wanting a child promised God she would help anyone who needed it if only he blessed her with children, and so he did. On seeing the yet unenlightened Prince Siddartha starving beneath the tree she made a porridge with her breast milk and offered it to him. Siddartha did not want to eat until he had achieved enlightenment, but knowing that he could not refuse as he believed to refuse would go against the Universal order he took it and ate. Once he had finished the energy produced enabled him to get up and walk further. It also gave him the energy his body needed to eventually gain enlightenment a couple of kilometers away under the Bodhi tree, the site of which is now a massive complex containing a beautiful golden Buddha and a shrine wrapped around a Bodhi tree. This story reminds me of something I read during my summer of learning. It basically said the same thing. If you see  a £1 coin lying on the ground you should not feel guilty in picking it up. Likewise if someone offers you something you should not be embarrassed to take it. If you do not take this offer from the Universe it will assume that you are not ready to receive any other gifts it will send your way and will therefore not send any further abundance your way. Remember energy follows thought. Buddha knew this and had to accept the milk of human kindness in order it turned out to achieve enlightenment shortly after.  

There are a lot of monasteries around the Mahabodhi Temple donated by countries all over the world. There are thousands of pilgrims again from all over India and the world. We are definitely in the minority and people just come over to talk to us. Or if they can't speak English they just stare. I get a lot of looks because of the red colour of my hair and my blue eyes. If they can speak English they will comment on them. It's funny as we stick out like sore thumbs and they are amazed that we should be into Buddhism. Inside the complexes it is very peaceful. Outside it's a different matter. There are beggars everywhere, young and old and some terribly disabled. We give money to some but it's impossible to give to all as there are so many. The ricksaw drivers hassle you constantly, rather like the Taxi drivers in Bali. They see you refuse one then come straight over and ask you again. It starts to get rather annoying. I feel we should get T shirts saying 'thank you but we would rather walk'.

There are a lot of stalls, all selling garish souvenirs and mostly all have the same stuff. But there are also stalls selling old Tibetan artifacts. I found a real thighbone Chod trumpet, embossed with turquoise and coral. Just like the one I saw in Goa. It's like the Universe keeps presenting them to me, is it trying to tell me to devote time to Chod practice ? It was beautiful if rather grim. We looked at it but I decided I would stick to the lovely metal one given to me by Chhewang as I will always treasure that. Then we found some really old Mala's- Tibetan prayer beads. We bought one made of Amber and each bead is embossed with Turquoise  and Coral, it's beautiful and as soon as I picked it up I knew it had been loved and cherished. I am so pleased to be the next owner and I will cherish it also for the time it is with me.

So tomorrow we leave here for Delhi then home on Wednesday.  This has been a fantastic journey once again. The Universe has opened its doors for us and we have enjoyed every minute. From being with the Tibetans around the Stupa to the madness that was Varanasi, to the peacefulness of the temples here in Bodgaya. Time seemed to stand still. Now it's catching up with us once again and soon we shall return to our normal lives. But I would like to think that a little of all the places we have visited shall stay with us.