Day 17 – 25/11/2012 Sunday – KL Transit

Morning call was at 6 am but we woke up at 5:30am. We had breakfast at 6:30am. I wondered what could be happen today. After breakfast we had a team meeting to summarise our India trip. Thay TH sat there alone to let people comment on him. This reminded me of the communist. They put Thay TH on the table. I felt sorry that I led him into this situation. When it came to my turn to speak up, I thanked him for his support throughout the trip. Thay TH apologised for whatever he had caused the group unhappy or over spending. He listened attentively to our comments. On his face, there wasn’t any unhappy facial expression even though some of the comments were harsh or blamed him for being guilty. My heart bled. I began to wonder what was the meaning of pilgrimage. To me pilgrimage is in our heart, how we treat others, how we reflect in our mind, how to pilgrimage in our mind, pilgrimage is the transformation of our mind as well as our body to evolve into loving-kindness and compassion beings.

Today I had learnt a big lesson from Thay TH, that is- toleration and acceptance. I had seen a live Maitreya Buddha who was sitting in front of us. I have much to learn from him.

After the meeting, we went to the India National Museum again to pay respect to Buddha’s relics. This time my emotion was even stronger. I sobbed for what Buddha had predicted (The Surangama Sutra) the end state of the Dharma period had become reality. I sobbed for the teacher that I thought he would be the one, but he disappointed me. When my eye caught onto Thay TH’s serene face, I could still see hope in Buddhism.

We had lunch at the Ashok Country Resort for a buffet lunch. After lunch we proceeded to the airport. Thay TH sent us off. I wished him good health and happiness on the Dharma path.

Fong said let’s leave the negative things in India and we shall move on.

Day 16 – 24/11/2012 Saturday – New Delhi

Today we woke up at 5:30am and had breakfast at 6:30am. We went to a rock edict written in Brahmi script was a first person message of Ashoka, in Srinivaspuri near Kalkaji temple, close to Bahapur village in South Delhi. After this interesting event, we visited Akshardham temple. A handful of people went in the temple and none of us enjoyed it because of ........ We did a quick tour and went out. On the way out we bought some amla candies and medicine. 

We went to the India Gate and took some photos.

On the way back to the hotel, our tour guide took us to 3 shopping places: a place that sold silk, a place that sold all sort of handcraft items and a market place selling electronic stuff. Fong bought a backpack and we bought some international adaptors. Tam Chanh’s family disappeared all of a sudden. Thay TH was walking to and from to look for them. Tam Chanh’s family was in a clothes shop waiting for his suit to get altered. He should have let us known where he was so we didn’t need to get worried. We all stood there under the hot sun and waited for his suit to get altered.

I apologized to Thay TH that I have brought him all these troubles. I was truly sad and disappointed.

Day 15 – 23/11/2012 Friday – New Dedhi

Wake up call was at 6 am and today we woke up at 5 am. We had breakfast at 6:45 am. We were supposed to have breakfast at 6:30am, somehow the kitchen was not ready. We headed for the airport to go to New Delhi at 8 am. We departed at 11:30 am and arrived at 12:50. We had lunch in our hotel at 2 pm. After lunch we rested.

Varanasi airport

Day 14 – 22/11/2012 Thursday – Varanasi

Again wakeup call was at 4am but we woke up at 3am. This morning we went to the Ganga River. We watched the sunrise, chanted and offered our hair into the river. MK shaved his hair by Thay TH and Thay TC, and offered it to Lord Shiva. MK took us for more shopping and visited Sarnath Museum. We went to the Deer Park to meditate and the Thai Temple which was close by.

Today I didn’t feel like writing at all. 

Our hair and vows

Ganga River

Deer Park

Text from Sarnath Museum:

"Buddhism: It is original form Buddhism was a socio-religions reform movement against prevailing rituals and corrupt practices. It was simply a code of conduct for leading a simple life free from misery. Later on people started worshiping Buddha as God. Initially Buddhism worshipped only in symbolic form like wheels, empty throne, foot prints, stupa, etc. this phase of Buddhism is known as Hinayana where is a follower aims, at his own nirvana by his own efforts. Subsequently it was believed that a follower could attain not only nirvana, but Buddhahood also and could also help other to attain nirvana. This phase of Buddhism came to be known as Mahayana. By this time people started worshipping Buddha in human form. As time further progressed, it was felt that a common man cares more for material prosperity in this world than for the nirvana preached by the religion. So a new element of eternal bliss (mahasukh) was added to the concept of nirvana leading to Vajrayana form of Buddhism. For accomplishment of desire, it approaches psychic resources of the man through a combination of mantra, magic, yoga, etc. Vajrayana introduced a large number of gods and goddesses including the Saktis."

Elephant, lion, horse and bull with intervention wheels suggesting the ever active potency of law dharmachakra.

Four lions in four directions represent influence of Sakya Sangha.

Day 13 – 21/11/2012 Wednesday – Bodhgaya

Today I woke up at 3:30am. We all met at the lobby at 4:30am. We walked to Maha Bodhi Temple to meditate and chant. We walked back to the Hotel for breakfast at 9am. We had our breakfast and headed to Varanasi. We stop at a roadside rest shop. We had lunch there. We bumped into another car accident.

  Car accident

Silk shop

MK took us to a silk shop then another souvenir shop at Varanasi since Thay TC wanted MK to take the group to some shopping malls.

Day 12 – 20/11/2012 Tuesday (Chhath Morning Festival) – Bodhgaya

Fong and I woke up at 3:30am. At 4:30am we walked to the Maha Bodhi temple and at 5:00am we were inside the Maha Bodhi temple. Thay TC cut 3 small bunches of our hairs and chanted. People urged us to leave since we were inside the temple a bit longer than others. We went to meditate under the Bodhi tree where Buddha’s foot prints were commemorated. We chanted at the place where Buddha spent his second week after he enlightened. Thay TC talked about Buddha’s enlightenment and the seven weeks that he spent after he enlightened. Thay TC also helped us to take the three refuges again at a Bodhi tree where the two lay-people asked Buddha for refuge.

At 6:30am we walked back to our hotel for breakfast. We started our journey to Kukkutapada mountain at 7:45am. At the foot of this mountain, we stayed for few minutes then left. After this, we moved onto Uruvela. 

We went back to have lunch and Thay TC said we would meet at 4:30pm to go to the Maha Bodhi Temple. I told Fong I am not going to waste any of my time on afternoon naps. I went to the temple by myself at around 2pm. I was lucky enough to have the whole temple all by myself for at least 20 minutes. I meditated alone inside the temple until people started to come. I went outside and sat under the Bodhi tree. A Tibetan practician gave me some 7-gems. I happily accepted it. I also found two baby Bodhi trees under where I sat. I was thrilled. I sat under the tree up to 4:30pm and couldn’t see any of our group. I continued to meditate until Chanh Hue and others came. I joined them and waited for Thay TC. Thay TC went to a different way and we sat under the tree by ourselves. Thay TH came and we went back to the hotel together for dinner.

After dinner they did more shopping.

Metta from a young monk

He wants to take on people’s worry

He wants to take on people’s sickness

He reaches out to people

He reaches out to light up people’s lamp

He wishes I am well

He wishes I am healthy

I am grateful

I have met someone like him

Xuan Zang’s memorial

A great Chinese Traveller,

A great Buddhist Practitioner

With his determination and perseverance

Seventeen years of journey to India

The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions

Gives great value to modern historians and archaeologists

Without him we don’t have the beautiful Heart Sutra’s translation

Without him there wouldn’t be Buddhist holy sites for pilgrimage

Although he translated many, many sutras

But we only need a few

We can see his great compassion

For people’s different requirements

Without him many Buddha’s teachings would have gone missing

Without him Buddhism will not be the same.

Uruvela

This place has no King Asoka’s Pillar

This place has no archaeologist recognition

This place was built by the Tibetans

Do all these matter?

I come here to pay respect

To a great prince Siddhartha

Who struggled for all of us

To find a way to overcome

The sufferings from birth, age, sick and death.

Kukkutapada Mountain

This place has no King Asoka’s Pillar

This place has no archaeologist recognition

A Stupa was built by the Tibetans

Do all these matter?

I come here to pay respect

To a great Buddha’s disciple Maha Kassapa

Who was the father of the Sangha

Who was a strict observer of the austerity practices

I don’t care if the story of Maha Kassapa is still waiting for the next Buddha to come

All I know, he was one of the great disciples of Buddha

I admire and sincerely

Prostrate to Maha Kassapa

At the foot of the Kukkutapada Mountain

Day 11 – 19/11/2012 Monday (Chhath Evening Festival) – Bodhgaya

The Bodhi Tree

Maha Bodhi Temple

I woke up at 3:50am while our wakeup call was at 5:00am. Fong and I went to the Maha Bodhi Temple at 4:10am. We did three steps and one bow around the Bodhi Tree and the Temple three times. I just could not come to Bodh Gaya and not pay respect to the Bodhi Tree. After the 3 steps and 1 bow, Fong told me that her body was no longer aching and that she felt light and fit to go again. It was amazing!

Today Thay TC took us to the Maha Bodhi Temple just introduced the temple to the group. After walking around the temple we went back to the hotel for lunch then did more shopping.

Day 10 – 18/11/2012 Sunday – Bodhgaya

Sujata Stupa

 Phalgu River

Although our wakeup call was at 5:00am, I woke up at 4:00am. The day began as Thay TC took the group to a local garden. We then went to visit Sujata stupa and a school close to the stupa. MK told Thay TC about the this fraud school and to be careful about how the local people have created this place to con many tourists, but Thay TC didn’t listen. He went with them and asked the group to donate. We walked on the Phalgu River to follow the footsteps  of the Buddha who had walked 2500 more years ago. We then visited Vietnamese temple, Chinese temple, Thai temple, Tibetan temple, Japanese temple to visit the big Buddha, Bhutan temple then we went back for lunch at our hotel. After lunch we had some rest then we went to a school (Surya Bharti School) which was administrated by a Japanese lady. We did our usual stuff – donate money. Fong and I donated a fair bit of money and Someone was not happy about this. He said we should only donate wholeheartedly when it’s a Buddhist school, not a school that teaches Hindu children. He said Hindu destroyed Buddhism which is the reason why we should not support it. I told Thay TH and Hue Dung that I donated because I believe education is essential to Indian children. This school teaches science, maths and their local language. I don’t care if it’s a Buddhist school or not. The only thing that matters this school helps the local children to come out from poverty. Hue Dung totally agreed with me. He also supported this school. If I discriminate what I donate then I have lost my purpose. MK took us to two shops. The first store belonged to the Japanese lady who everyone bought an India dress from her – 500 rupees. Second shop was selling sandal wood and other gem stone malas. Fong and I bought a long sandalwood mala so we could break it into four wrist malas. After some expensive shopping, we went back to our hotel and did further street shopping with Thay TH. 

Surya Bharti School

Day 9 – 17/11/2012 Saturday – Bodhgaya

Wake up call was at 4:30am and breakfast was at 5:00am. By 6am we left the hotel for Vultures' Peak. 

Vultures' Peak

On the way to Vultures’ Peak, Chanh Hue requested to do three steps one bow from the foot to the top of the hill. We chanted, took refuge to Triple Gems, observed the five precepts and made our own vow for the hair cutting ceremony. We meditated until a large group of Sri Lankan Buddhist arrived. Fong and I bought some postcards. In a set of postcards, I found a booklet of taboo postcards. I told Fong these were the most horrible stone carvings I had ever seen. I destroyed the booklet when we got back to the hotel.

On the way down, we visited Sariputra's Cave and Ananda’s cave. In front of the Ananda, Thay TC said the large stone at the front entrance was the stone which Devadatta used to harm Buddha. Thay TH bought me a bag of Amla fruits. They tasted so nice. I missed all these tastes.

Thay TC also said that when Buddha had looked down the rice fields from the top of Vultures Peak, he took that as an inspiration when he designed the monk robes.

Monk’s robe

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/robe_txt.htm

According to the Pali tradition, six kinds of cloth are allowed for making the upper and outer robes: plant fibres, cotton, silk, animal hair (e.g. wool, but not human), hemp, and a mixture of some or all of them. The Buddha recommended that the robe design should be cut in the pattern of the Magadha padi-fields.

Thay TC also talked about Prince Ajatasatru’s story – King Bimbisara’s son. From Prince Ajatasatru, we may learn how to repent on cause and effect; need to create new good karmas to help our old bad karmas; need to know our own faults; and take refuge to Triple Gems and observe five precepts.

We also visited the Bimbisara Jail where Prince Ajatasatru imprisoned his father; Jivakarama hospital where Jivaka worked. He was the physician of Buddha’s time.

Nalanda University

Xuan Zang Memorial

We got back to our hotel for lunch. After lunch we visited the Nalanda University and Xuan Zang’s memorial. It was my second time visiting Xuan Zang Memorial and it was still very emotional. I had strong feelings about this place. Xuan Zang is a monk who I admire very much. I thank him for all he has done for Buddhism; I thank him for his beautiful translation in the Heart Sutra; I thank him for setting a role model in courage, perseverance and determination for others to follow; I admire him for his courage, perseverance and determination; I admire his fearlessness; I admire him for all he had done in Buddhism. How could someone deny his great work in Zen/Thien/Chan? I paid my total respect and gratitude in front of the most Venerable Xuan Zang with my wholehearted; I vow to have his courage, perseverance and determination on my Dharma path.

We travelled from Rajgir to Bodhgaya. The bus trip shouldn’t take too long; however, we took more than three hours to wait for the road to clear as there was a car accident. There was one person killed and we waited from 3pm till 6:17 pm in the middle of the road. We checked into our hotel, had dinner and rested.

Day 8 – 16/11/2012 Friday Sunny – Rajgir

Wake up call was at 4:30am and we woke up at 4:00am. We had breakfast at 5:00am and left for the day at 6am.

We first went to Amrabali house. Today this place has become a school for the children.

Amrapali was a beautiful prostitute who was visited by people of the higher strata like kings, generals and statesmen at Buddha’s time. Following the Buddha's teachings she became an arahant. She is mentioned in conjunction with the Buddha staying at her mango grove, Ambapali vana which she later donated to his order, and wherein he preached the famous Ambapalika Sutta.

Amrabali house

We then went to Vimalakirti house. We walked into a village to find Vimalakirti’s house. It was on a little hill and had a huge Bodhi tree.  Vimalakirti delivered a great sutra in Mahayanist – Vimalakirti sutra. 

Vimalakirti house

We went to the Buddhist second council at Balukaram - Vaishali. It is now left with a huge Bodhi tree and an abandoned well. This place is now a Hindu temple. King Kalashoka is known chiefly for the meeting of the second Buddhist council.

The Second Buddhist Council

I had my first Chai at a petrol station. MK bought two cups of Chai for me – one for Thay TH and one for myself. Ahhhhh…. the chai tasted so good!

We had lunch at the hotel. After lunch we went to the Tapodarama hot springs where Co Xuyen had water blessing from a Hindu priest. We walked pass the Pippala Stone House before we arrived at the Saptaparni Cave where the First Council was held at Rajagriha. Rajagriha was the capital of Magadha, which was one of the four great kingdoms (in addtition to Kosala, Vansa, and Avanti) in ancient India. It was quite a climb. Co Tu Minh and some other women were very tired. MK found some Nim trees. I took few leaves from MK.

First Buddhist Council

Our last destination for the day was Bamboo Grove.

Bamboo Grove

Thay TC told the group about Bimbisara’s third wife. He said:

Bimbisara’s third wife was a beautiful woman but died early. King Bimbisara wanted to build a stupa for her and it would cost a lot of people’s tax. People disagreed with the King. So they requested Buddha to solve this problem. Buddha suggested to the King to do three things:

1)         Offer Dana to the sangha/the needed one

2)         Offer her dead body to Vultures

3)         Use own cultivation and dedicate merits to the dead

That was how Vulture Peak came to Buddha’s story.

The internet version of Bimbisara’s third wife is totally different from Thay TC’s version. http://www.indianetzone.com/34/kshema_queen_king_bimbisara.htm

Kshema

Kshema was a beautiful queen of King Bimbisara. Although he had often urged her to meet the Buddha, she had always refused. Knowing that she was attracted to beautiful things, the king arranged for poets to compose poems about the beauty of the Bamboo Grove where the Buddha was staying, and had performers in the court sing these compositions.

Fascinated by the poems, she decided to go to the Bamboo Grove and see its beauty for herself. While admiring the scenery there, she caught sight of an especially beautiful maiden, standing beside the Buddha and fanning Him. Kshema observed that the maiden was more beautiful than she and, drawn to look closer, she moved nearer and nearer to the Buddha.

Actually, the beautiful maiden was just a vision created by the Buddha with His supernatural powers. While Kshema was gazing at it, the maiden was transformed into an old woman with broken teeth, grey hair and wrinkled skin. She appeared to grow weaker and weaker and finally collapsed and died. Kshema was startled.
Then, the Buddha said, "Kshema, beauty is impermanent." Then and there, Kshema realised this fact of life.

The Buddha added, "Those who are slaves to desires are like spiders entangled in the webs they have made for themselves. Those who are free and have destroyed attachment to desire, do not delight in the pleasures of the senses."

On hearing these words, Kshema became an Arhat and with the king's consent, entered the Order of Nuns. Later, she became the chief woman disciple of the Buddha. Well known for her wisdom, she often helped the Buddha in instructing the nuns.

Vulture Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griddhraj_Parvat)

Before we reach the top, there is a cavern in the rocks, facing the south, in which Buddha sat in meditation. Thirty paces to the north-west there is another, where Ananda was sitting in meditation, when the deva Mara Pisuna,(2) having assumed the form of a large vulture, took his place in front of the cavern, and frightened the disciple. Then Buddha, by his mysterious, supernatural power, made a cleft in the rock, introduced his hand, and stroked Ananda's shoulder, so that his fear immediately died. The footprints of the bird and the cleft for (Buddha's) hand are still there, and hence comes the name of "The Hill of the Vulture Cavern."

Day 7 – 15/11/2012 Thursday Sunny– Rajgir

Wake up call was at 5:00am and we woke at 4:00am. We had breakfast at 5:30am and checked out at 6:00am. Today we headed for Patna. We went passed Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge.

Mahatma Gandhi Setu is a bridge over the river Ganges connecting Patna in the south to Hajipur in the north of Bihar. It was the longest river bridge in India at the time of its construction 1982. Its length is 5,575 metres and 48 pillars to this bridge.

This bridge led us to the Buddhist 3^rd council at Asokarama in Pataliputra. It is now left as a garden and some ruins. On the wall there were pictures of many Buddhist places. Fong took photos of all of the pictures. This was not the first time I came to this place. Back in December 2011, one of our group members didn’t want to pay for the entrance fee, so we didn’t enter the garden.

Ashoka called the Third Buddhist Council, the teachings were reviewed and a new, purified collection was set forth. Nine missions of arhats were sent out to spread the dharma into different areas of India and across its vast borders into other countries.

We went in Patna central and went up to a Goka (a water reservoir). It gave us the best view of Patna. We took some photos. It was a steep climb.

Next we went to Patna Museum to see Buddha’s relics according to Thay TC. We had our lunch at Raj Ra Soi (Chinese) restaurant at Patna. After lunch we went back to our hotel for dinner.

Day 6 – 14/11/2012 Wednesday Sunny – Vaishali

Wake up call was at 5:00am. We departed our hotel at 5:15am. We arrived at the Mahaparinibhana temple at 5:40am and it opened at 7:00am, so we waited outside. Today we were going to offer a long robe to the 6.1m long statue of the reclining Buddha. I bought some flowers to offer to the Buddha. I shared with some people. There was a boy who gave Teresa a flower and she was in tears for this, I was glad that it touched her heart. Once the temple opened, we held the robe above our shoulders and walked mindfully into the temple. We walked around the reclining Buddha three times then we chanted and meditated. At around 8am people started to arrive and we went outside to circle the Nirvana Stupa three times. We then went to the Burma temple next to the Mahaparinibhana temple. We went around the stupa at the Burma temple then visited the chief monk. Thay TC wanted to connect up with the Burma monk but he didn’t get anywhere. We went to the temple shop. The whole group bought a lot of the sandalwood malas for RS450. Thay TH got 4 sala trees from the Burma young monk who helped us to get the robe. I was surprised that Thay TH could get the robe as it was required to be organised beforehand.

Robe offering

We had breakfast after this big event. We checked out and went passed the Kakuttha River.

Kakuttha River was where Ananda got water for Buddha. Here is the text from the Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Venerable Ananda answered the Blessed One: "But just now, Lord, a great number of carts, five hundred carts, have passed over, and the shallow water has been cut through by the wheels, so that it flows turbid and muddy. But the Kakuttha River, Lord, is quite close by, and its waters are clear, pleasant, cool, and translucent. It is easily approachable and delightfully placed. There the Blessed One can quench his thirst and refresh his limbs."

But a second time the Blessed One made his request, and the Venerable Ananda answered him as before. And then for a third time the Blessed One said: "Please bring me some water, Ananda. I am thirsty and want to drink."

Then the Venerable Ananda answered, saying: "So be it, Lord." And he took the bowl and went to the stream. And the shallow water, which had been cut through by the wheels so that it flowed turbid and muddy, became clear and settled down, pure and pleasant as the Venerable Ananda drew near. Now let the Blessed One drink the water. Let the Happy One drink." And the Blessed One drank the water.

We went to the Cunda’s house. Thay TH lent me his red onyx mala to wear for one year. I was surprise because he wouldn’t let anyone touch his mala and now he placed over my head. He wanted me to be healthy. He told me he has chanted many thousands of Medicine Buddha mantras. I thanked him and started chanting Medicine Buddha’s name using his mala.  He must have overheard what I told Thay TC about my bowel problem. I had to tell him because I was not at some food offering chanting and dismissed before anyone at the dining table. 

Buddha’s alms bowl stupa at Vaishali

We went passed the Buddha’s alms bowl stupa at Vaishali. MK said it had gone missing. Thay TC insisted the bowl went to China through Bodhidharma, as be handed it down to the Sixth Patriarch. However, in the Buddha’s story, this bowl was given to the Vaishali people as a farewell gift from Buddha. Does it matter where it went? We are not an archaeologist or history writer. We are just a pilgrim to follow Buddha’s footsteps. Why debate on this issue? Hue Dung also had his own idea about the bowl from Bodhidharma.  In the Maha parinibbana Sutta,

Buddha’s last instructions for the community of bhikkhus:

Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

So, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness.

Based on what Buddha’s last instruction, why would the Buddha or Buddha’s disciple use the Buddha’s alms bowl as an external refuge?

After the trip I have found the following websites regarding with Buddha’s alms bowl at Vaishali:

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/553574-the-buddha-s-alms-bowl.html
http://chandrashekharasandprints.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/buddhas-original-alms-bowl/
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-23/patna/30550813_1_vaishali-lord-buddha-kabul
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/buddhas-begging-bowl.html
http://archives.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/021110/dmag14.htm

The Ananda Stupa and Asokan Pillar

Next we went to the Kutagarasala Vihara where the Ananda Stupa and Asokan Pillars was erected (refer to appendix for the Ratana Sutta which was chanted by the Buddha, and as a result of which the famine, epidemic disease and fears that gripped Vaishali disappeared.) for the 500 women requested to become nun at Buddha’s time. A stupa at Kolhua honours Buddha's last sermon and announcement of his approaching nirvana. This is the only Asokan Pillar in India which hasn’t been damaged. The lion faces north, the direction Buddha took on his last voyage. Nearby there is a tank where it is believed some monkeys offered honey to the Buddha.

We went to The Maha Pajapati Nunery at Vaishali. We met the abbot Thich Nu Khiet Minh. We chanted and she gave us a dharma talk on the four Buddhist holy places. She told us that she originally followed HT Thich Thanh Tu but was not her path. She explained why she turned to Vipassana from Mr Goenka as she had lost motivation in Thien. She reminded us the four Buddhist holy places in India. She said at death if we can remember any of the four places then we can go to a better place. She mentioned Muslim took Buddha’s alms bowl from Vaishali and it is now in Pakistan.

Life

Life is hard

Life is suffering

If we can find our lamp within

We see light

We see why we suffer

Life is no longer hard

Kesarya

A beautiful stupa

Surround with headless Buddha’s statues

My heart ached when I heard someone argued about

Buddha’s alms bowl

Why argued whether it’s the sixth Patriarch’s bowl?

We are not archaeologist!

We are not history writer!

The bowl is only a small part of Buddha’s life story

As a pilgrim why upset on this missing bowl?

With no base on anything, why wasted energy to argue?

Day 5 – 13/11/2012 Tuesday Sunny (Diwali Festival) – Kushinagar

Maha Mayadevi Temple

Wake up call was at 4:30am and we woke up at 2:30am. We had breakfast at 5:00am and left our hotel at 6:00am. We visited Thay Huyen Dieu’s Phat Quoc Tu. We all had a Bodhi seed from Thay Huyen Dieu  I stayed at this temple in 2007 and still vividly remember how they didn’t let Sanjay stay because he was an Indian. Thay Huyen Dieu talked about 12/12/2012. Now I am typing this and today is 18/12/2012. The world is still here and I don’t believe any of the 12/12/12 nonsense.

 After Phat Quoc Tu, we finally went to the Maha Mayadevi Temple. We walked in and out the temple mindfully. Thay TC picked a place which faced the Pushkarini Pond. It is believed that the new born Buddha’s first purification bath is in this holy pond. The Ashoka Pillar was behind us. The Ashoka Pillar was erected by Ashoka in 249 BC to mark that the Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini. We chanted and meditated. We went to the pond. Hue Dung took some water from the pond to take home. I asked him why he took the water. He said he would like to share this with his family members and to remind them such an important place. He said he would use this water to symbolise the purification of his sins. This was very beautiful. Yes, at this very moment I wished my boy would be here with me. Somehow without my boy the trip wouldn’t be the same. My sister and I went inside the temple again and queued up to pay respect to the birthplace of the Buddha. It was a long queue.

After the Maha Mayadevi Temple, we went out to do some souvenir shopping. Fong and Teresa bought some long mala for $100 Indian rupees. They all asked me whether they were the real Bodhi seeds. I told them Bodhi seeds are soft. They are fig like fruit. They can’t be made into mala.  

Every time I entered the Maha Mayadevi Temple, my tears couldn’t hold for the great man who was born at this place. He was a human like us but very sensitive to sickness, old age, birth and death. He worked so hard to find a way for the human kind to attain their ultimate happiness, and yet I am still wandering in these six realms up and down like a yoyo. This is truly sad. My heart deeply feels the karmas I have created, not only in this life but many previous lives. I repent in front of the Buddha for my misbehaviours from this minute onward and I will not recreate my negative karma; I will take refuge to the Triple Gems and observe the five precepts accordingly until I have strike for my ultimate nirvana; again this time I vow for this life and may future lives that I will walk on the Bodhisattva path without doubt. Although I could not be a nun in this life but this doesn’t matter, I vow for my boundlessness future life that I have this affinity to be one. In this life, I can ordinate myself to renounce my trouble home (inflection mind).

Thay TC talked three ways to renounce the world:

1)                  Renounce the worldly house (form)

2)                  Renounce the affliction onerous (84 thousands affliction onerous)

3)                  Renounce the three realms (Desire, Form and No-Form)

He also talked about the benefits of becoming a monk/nun:

1)                  Protect inside of a person not to follow the external

2)                  Cut off the jumping mind, have more time to reflect upon self

3)                  Practise to remove greed, hatred and ignorance.

When we arrived at Kushinagar, we visited the Ramabhar Stupa. Thay TC said we were going to do a light offering ceremony but it didn’t happen. We also visited the river where Ananda got some water for Buddha to drink before reaching the final destination. We also visited a school which was operated by a temple. We donated money to that school.