Lessons on wealth in Bodhgaya
With a few extra days in Kolkata before it was time to meet dad, I decided to make a little circular tour to Bodhgaya and Bhubaneswar before returning for a final night in Kolkata to see the puja festival.
Bodhgaya is the place where after many many years meditation Siddhartha Guatama achieved enlightenment sitting under the Bhodi tree and became Buddha. I arrived off the overnight train at 5am so by the time I'd found and taken a shared autorickshaw for the halfhour journey to town it was broad daylight but still coolish. There were a few people around on the main promenade outside the Mahabodhi Temple but it wasn't busy yet and for the first time ever the street vendors 'shop music' was actually a real addition to the atmosphere! The were playing some sort of Buddhist medition in a very deep voice with a very slow style (which of course they were tyring to sell on CD). It gave the affect of a very peaceful meditative place which is exactly the main attraction of Bodhgaya.
I didn't get far before a young boy, Soni, asked me where I was going and then accompanied me in the opposite direction to the hostel I was seeking. On the way I met his teacher Rajesh and when I was unsatisfied with the hotel they both took me to the Tibetan Monastry where I found a basic but airy room for a good price (though the Monks where not very engaging). I then found myself in the unusual position of being ready to explore my surrounds at 6:30am! Rajesh and Soni took me through the Mahabhodi temple and grounds, which are free to enter and a wonderful place to wander barefoot without my blistering sandals. The grounds are quiet, large and green with further plans for expansion. This was a stark but pleasing contrast to the noise, busyness and filth of Kolkata.
Having seen the main local sight in my first two hours I then had two whole days to spend relaxing in this small sanctury of a town. For a moment I thought I might be bored but Rajesh and his friends showed me an amazing time. On the first day he took me on his motorbike to the cave where Siddhartha had meditated for six years before coming to Bodhgaya. More importantly he took me to the school where he volunteers as a teacher. There I met it's founder and director Laxman who like Rajesh is still in his early to mid 20s. You see Bodhgaya despite it's status as worldwide Buddhist pilgramage site and many well resourced temples and monastries is still part of one of India's porest states - Bihar. Rajesh who's father died when he was young was lucky to find a sponsor in the form an american pilgram who paid for his education. He now studies Japanese part time and considers it his duty to help education others who are less fortunate. I know less of Laxman's story but he was obviously concerned enough about the lack of a school in the district to establish one and tour local villages encouraging parents to send their children for free. After a few years they have three basic classrooms and a boarding house for several local orphans. Amazing to see what enterprising local young people can do for the local community! It puts my own efforts in an appropriately humbling light. Then of course they need more resources - how can I help? Their current project is to obtain a computer for the school. They need US$500 and someone else already contributed 200. I decided after knowing them only a few hours to contribute another $100. This doesn't seem much now (though it sounds more when you say it as 4000 Rupees) and part of me would have given more. But a part of me was very hesitant and concerned about giving money to people I'd just met. I was not prepared for the rude shock of realising how wealthy we are and therefore our obligation to help even though this might mean freely giving to near strangers.
The lesson was reinforeced the next day when Rajesh's friend Motu took me to his village for breakfast and school me the sewing school some Belgians had set up for the local women. Women here are not allowed to work in the town by themselves but sewing is something they can do independantly from home - if they have the skills. Motu would like to purchase a third sewing maching (4000 Rupees) so that the dozen or more women can each have more practice time. Later he took me to a village of the untouchables (who of course look no different to any other poor Indian - I always had images of lepers or something). The village has no tap and they constantly have to walk 3km to get water. The cost for installing a tap is 9000 Rupees or about $250 (or possibly 15000 if the digging requires a machine). After wrestling all day with my conservative instincts and stingy nature I eventually decided to provide the money for the tap. Thank you to all those who told me that coming to India was about letting go!
I should also say that I had a great two days just hanging out with Rajesh, Motu and friends and touring around learning about each other. Requests for money were not the dominant part of our exchange, just the most signficant learning for me. There wasn't really any pressure being put by them, the situations spoke for themselves! None of them are soliciting for themselves, but on behalf of others who couldn't even ask. They are community activists and these money requests are part of life for them. So while they said thanks, none were ecstatic at my gifts - so I must learn to give not for the sake of thanks but for the sake of giving. Yet a strong bond was formed in our time together. For them I was more than just another tourist, but a friend and we have spoken a few times by phone in the days since.
Finally I must point out that if anyone is feeling geneous, there are still needs of A$100 for a sewing machine and US$200 for a computer for the children. I remain in contact and can facilitate any transfers or provide more information.
Bodhgaya is the place where after many many years meditation Siddhartha Guatama achieved enlightenment sitting under the Bhodi tree and became Buddha. I arrived off the overnight train at 5am so by the time I'd found and taken a shared autorickshaw for the halfhour journey to town it was broad daylight but still coolish. There were a few people around on the main promenade outside the Mahabodhi Temple but it wasn't busy yet and for the first time ever the street vendors 'shop music' was actually a real addition to the atmosphere! The were playing some sort of Buddhist medition in a very deep voice with a very slow style (which of course they were tyring to sell on CD). It gave the affect of a very peaceful meditative place which is exactly the main attraction of Bodhgaya.
I didn't get far before a young boy, Soni, asked me where I was going and then accompanied me in the opposite direction to the hostel I was seeking. On the way I met his teacher Rajesh and when I was unsatisfied with the hotel they both took me to the Tibetan Monastry where I found a basic but airy room for a good price (though the Monks where not very engaging). I then found myself in the unusual position of being ready to explore my surrounds at 6:30am! Rajesh and Soni took me through the Mahabhodi temple and grounds, which are free to enter and a wonderful place to wander barefoot without my blistering sandals. The grounds are quiet, large and green with further plans for expansion. This was a stark but pleasing contrast to the noise, busyness and filth of Kolkata.
Having seen the main local sight in my first two hours I then had two whole days to spend relaxing in this small sanctury of a town. For a moment I thought I might be bored but Rajesh and his friends showed me an amazing time. On the first day he took me on his motorbike to the cave where Siddhartha had meditated for six years before coming to Bodhgaya. More importantly he took me to the school where he volunteers as a teacher. There I met it's founder and director Laxman who like Rajesh is still in his early to mid 20s. You see Bodhgaya despite it's status as worldwide Buddhist pilgramage site and many well resourced temples and monastries is still part of one of India's porest states - Bihar. Rajesh who's father died when he was young was lucky to find a sponsor in the form an american pilgram who paid for his education. He now studies Japanese part time and considers it his duty to help education others who are less fortunate. I know less of Laxman's story but he was obviously concerned enough about the lack of a school in the district to establish one and tour local villages encouraging parents to send their children for free. After a few years they have three basic classrooms and a boarding house for several local orphans. Amazing to see what enterprising local young people can do for the local community! It puts my own efforts in an appropriately humbling light. Then of course they need more resources - how can I help? Their current project is to obtain a computer for the school. They need US$500 and someone else already contributed 200. I decided after knowing them only a few hours to contribute another $100. This doesn't seem much now (though it sounds more when you say it as 4000 Rupees) and part of me would have given more. But a part of me was very hesitant and concerned about giving money to people I'd just met. I was not prepared for the rude shock of realising how wealthy we are and therefore our obligation to help even though this might mean freely giving to near strangers.
The lesson was reinforeced the next day when Rajesh's friend Motu took me to his village for breakfast and school me the sewing school some Belgians had set up for the local women. Women here are not allowed to work in the town by themselves but sewing is something they can do independantly from home - if they have the skills. Motu would like to purchase a third sewing maching (4000 Rupees) so that the dozen or more women can each have more practice time. Later he took me to a village of the untouchables (who of course look no different to any other poor Indian - I always had images of lepers or something). The village has no tap and they constantly have to walk 3km to get water. The cost for installing a tap is 9000 Rupees or about $250 (or possibly 15000 if the digging requires a machine). After wrestling all day with my conservative instincts and stingy nature I eventually decided to provide the money for the tap. Thank you to all those who told me that coming to India was about letting go!
I should also say that I had a great two days just hanging out with Rajesh, Motu and friends and touring around learning about each other. Requests for money were not the dominant part of our exchange, just the most signficant learning for me. There wasn't really any pressure being put by them, the situations spoke for themselves! None of them are soliciting for themselves, but on behalf of others who couldn't even ask. They are community activists and these money requests are part of life for them. So while they said thanks, none were ecstatic at my gifts - so I must learn to give not for the sake of thanks but for the sake of giving. Yet a strong bond was formed in our time together. For them I was more than just another tourist, but a friend and we have spoken a few times by phone in the days since.
Finally I must point out that if anyone is feeling geneous, there are still needs of A$100 for a sewing machine and US$200 for a computer for the children. I remain in contact and can facilitate any transfers or provide more information.
posted by James Tonson | 5:58 pm
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