Bodh Gaya
The final leg of my trip in India was to Bodhgaya. As soon as I decided to go to India, I added
Bodhgaya to my list. I intended to go there years ago but it didn’t work out then,
it probably wasn’t the right time. Now, I was finally on my way.
Bodhaya is a pilgrimage site for Buddhists where Buddha had
obtained enlightenment under the bodhi
tree. I planned to stay 3 days in
a Buddhist institution which a FB friend had suggested.Since I was travelling alone, I was warned about the crime rate in
Bihar, the upcoming elections, and possible commotion on the streets. At least
I knew I was staying at a very safe place, the Root Institute, a Buddhist
center, founded by Lama
Thubten Yeshe Rinpoche and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I didn’t know I was going
to be accompanied by two angels though.
On the airplane, I made an intention to sit next to someone whom I can
talk about Bodhgaya and get some tips.
I’m generally not very talkative on airplanes but this time, I initiated
the conversation with the young woman sitting at the aisle seat. After introductions, Lily moved to sit next
to me and we spent the whole time chatting. She is a Tibetan Buddhist student
living in Hong Kong and visiting Bodhgaya for a long weekend to study with her Lama.
We talked about our paths, the
teachings. I told her that I’m not Buddhist but I like to study Buddadharma.
Why do we always need labels?
While approaching to Bodhgaya, just looking out to the fields, my
excitement peaked. I imagined Buddha walking on these same fields thousands of
years ago. I couldn’t believe I was soon about to step into the same land he
once walked, meditated, achieved enlightenment and gave his first sermon. That
thought filled my heart with gratitude.
As I imagined him, I felt an overwhelming compassion from BUddha. It
felt like I was totally safe and taken care of. He was almost saying, “we’re
taking her over from here”.
As we landed, Lily and I said we’d meet again the next day in the
Mahabodhi temple but quite honestly I didn’t know if I could see her again.
I grabbed a rickshaw from the airport for the 6 km ride to the Root
Institute. Because so many people have
warned me about safety, I was a little bit precautious. Before grabbing my
rickshaw I stormed through the crowd waiting outside of the airport, giving a confident image that I knew exactly where I was going. I went all the way to the outer ring of
the crowd and then grabbed a rickshaw there. I was closely watching the road to
make sure we’re on right track. A few minutes into our ride, I noticed the
driver made a call from his cell phone and later pulled to the side and another
motorbike approached. I thought “here we go”. The guy in the motorbike greeted
me and said “Madame, how long will you stay? I asked him why he was asking. It
turns out that he was trying to convince me to hire him as a tourist guide. Wow
what a clever sales strategy. I told him
I don’t need a tourist guide and we continued. The rest of the road was
uneventful.
Yet, I was going to hear these questions many times in the next couple of
days “Madame where are you from” “Madame which country ae you from”. Lily gave
the best answer when asked. She said she is from “Everywhere”, when asked which
country she is from, she said “Pureland”.
Life is full of surprises! I didn’t know that when I arrived in
monastery I was going to be greeted in Turkish. It turns out that the staff
member at the reception has worked in Turkey as a tourist guide for 3 years and
she knew Turkish. She said she saw my name on the list and was so excited to
have someone from Turkey and that she was waiting for my arrival. I got
my key to my very modest room, yet with private bathroom and running water. That’s all I needed. This reminded me of the
nice memories of my stay at Dai Bosatzu Zen monastery a couple years ago. I
wasn’t expecting much at all. I dropped my backpack at the room and left
immediately for the MahaBodhi temple. I knew I had to be back to the Institute
before it gets dark, since I was warned by many people not to be out on the
streets after dark in Bodhgaya. I grabbed a rickshaw (only 30 rupees-50 cent
one way to the temple). The driver dropped me off of a temple and pointed out and
said Mahabodhi temple. I still don’t know if he intended to joke or if it was a
misunderstanding, anyway I got off and walked into the temple he pointed out,
and I knew something was wrong. This temple was so small and almost empty. Yet
there was a sign for a Bodhi tree and the tree didn’t seem to like 2500 years old
at all. I was confused and disappointed.
I immediately realized my “expectation” to have a certain temple and a certain
tree. I got the lesson. I dropped all
expectations and walked out of the temple. I saw a bus full of monks and I
thought it would be wise to follow monks as they were most probably going to
the correct temple. I was right. As I walked into the entrance, I imagined this
place to be more vibrant before the terrorist attacks and bombings couple of
years ago. Since then, sellers were not allowed on the premises or on the
pathway leading to the temple, yet Indian people always find ways! I finally
saw the temple on my right side, you
couldn’t mistake this temple with anything else. As I stopped at the top of the
steps leading to the temple, I wanted to
take it all in at once. The temple was simply magnificent. It was stunning. I had a quick visit to the
Buddha statue inside the temple and turned around to go behind the temple to
find the Bodhi tree. As I turned the corner and saw the tree I was rushed with
emotions. I can’t believe I’m here at the Mahabodhi temple, where Buddha has
enlightened, under the Bodhi tree. I found a quiet spot and sat on meditation.
I circled the temple and sat on meditation again. I watched people, mostly monks
and nuns who are visiting the temple from all over Asia, some quietly
meditating, some reading scriptures, some doing walking meditation, while a
distant chant was making a perfect background. 2 hours passed too quickly and
it was time to get back. The next day I could spend the whole day here.
When I got to my room at the Root Institute, my next door neighbor came
out and greeted me warmly. Carol was a Canadian woman who lived in Asia for the
last 20 years, who worked, studied and served in different Asian countries. She
is a committed Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and it was her first time in
Bodhgaya. Since she only came a day before me and she was going to stay for 5
weeks, she hadn’t been to the temple yet. We had dinner together that night and
talked quietly since the rest of the residents were in a silent retreat. There
was a course going at the Institution. Residents were mostly young folks from
all around the world. I’m always amazed how these young folks are attracted to teachings
and find their ways here to study.
After dinner, a staff member came over and reminded us of that the
local elections are the next day and she said we are advising all our residents
to stay indoors tomorrow in anticipation of possible unrest in the area. That
was my only full day in the temple and I would not sacrifice it for an
anticipated commotion. Carol and I decided to go to the temple anyway.
The next morning, I joined the guided morning meditation at 6:45 am. Since
this was the residents last day of silence, the teacher advised the students to
take the most out of it, by having more introspection,and more practice. After meditation we all walked to the
cafeteria for breakfast. The meals were simple, satisfying and silent. You wash
your own dishes as in most monasteries. They do everything to conserve limited
water supply, by having different compartments to sink your dishes in until the
final rinse. There are of course some rules of conduct (modest dressing,
silence, etc.), after all, this is a meditation center. After breakfast Carol
and I headed to the temple to spend the whole day there. I was rushed with emotions once again when I
saw Carol’s reaction when she first saw the temple. She later said this is “THE
bucket list” for her. We meditated, walked in the premises, and sat to absorb it
all. Soon I saw Lily waving; she found us. I quickly introduced Carol to Lily.
The three of us spent the rest of the day together, and had a spiritual blast. We meditated
together, chanted Heart sutra together, did offerings, (thanks to Lily she was here
before otherwise we didn’t even know where to get the lamp offering), and had a
wonderful long lunch at Be Happy Café, a restaurant owned by a Canadian woman.
We even shared a mango cheesecake. We visited other temples, the Japanese, the
Butanese, the Tibetan and we even did some shopping, buying malas. The temples
were exquisite with artwork and murals. At the end we returned to the temple
for some more meditation. I was so glad we didn’t let the fear of elections
stop us. Actually, since all the stores were closed, it was much quieter and
peaceful. It was the most wonderful day full of practice, friendship and fun.
Carol and I said goodbyes to Lily and headed to the Institute for
dinner. After dinner I was invited to Dharma Movie night. All residents were
invited to watch a documentary about the Tsoknyi Nagchen Nuns of Tibet, a group
of dedicated nuns living in the remote mountains. The Institution looked
stunning at night with all the decorations and lights, the prayer wheel and the
Buddha statues. I engraved it all into my memory. 
The subject of next morning’s meditation was patience. I found some
emotions rise and cleared with lots of shedding tears. I guess I was ready to
let go of these emotions regardless of what the subject of meditation was and
the teacher has just become an instrument. At least no one knew me, so I could
cry freely. After breakfast Carol and I chat over a masala tea. She had a traffic
accident in Nepal couple years ago which almost left her paralyzed. She knew
what surrender means while taking charge of your own healing. After all, she
went to northern India to find healing in Tibetan medicine. She was such an
inspiration. I headed back to temple to
spend my last morning there; deep in meditation, observation, offering and
gratitude. I remembered Lily talking about her Lama’s teachings about the right
intention one should hold when you visit the temple. I thought for a second what my intention
should be. I realized there should be no better intention but the “original
thought”, HSZSN. After all, "the original thought is the right thought". I hold the thought that I’m not this body, I’m not this mind,
I’m not my beliefs, I’m not my experiences, I’m not even this consciousness
that thinks I’m this Zeynep, my true nature is beyond all these. I’m the pure
light of consciousness; I’m the existence, awareness and bliss. I hold this
thought during my meditation that morning.
It was time to leave for airport. It was a short trip but full with
great memories. I left a piece of me there forever.
