नमस्ते (NAMASTE)!
I am setting off to India (and a little bit of Nepal) for most of the coming month, November 10th through December 5th. I hope to bring you all with me as best I can, and will try to post updates and little films and such in this thread during the trip.
During that period though, for maybe the first time in 10 years, I will be otherwise pretty scarce around Treeleaf. I won't be posting much else or have much to say. Instead, this Community will be in the caring hands of our Novice-Priests in Training, Kyonin, Shugen, Shingen, Shokai, Daizan and Sekishi. They'll take care of everyone, be here as always for those who need, and keep the doors open.
Festivities commence this week in fact, with our Treeleaf 4-Hour Monthly Zazenkai for November, this time reflecting on our Indian roots, why Buddhism and Hindu beliefs are not so different at all (although very different too). The Talk centers on the Bhagavad-gītā, plus various teachings about India by Dogen and other non-Indian masters of old.
November 4th-5th, 2016 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI! NAMASTE INDIA!
http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...MASTE-INDIA%21
http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showt...MASTE-INDIA%21
The last 10 days of my trip will be a pilgrimage on a train and bus tour organized by the Indian government to many of the famous places of the founder, Gautama Buddha. The tour follows much of this route, to places including the historical Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini (now in Nepal), the location of his Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree of Bodhgaya, the place of Buddha's First Teaching at the Deer Park in Sarnath, the site of so many Mahayana Sutras upon Vulture Peak near Rajgir, the Holy City of Benares (Varanase) on the Ganges, the traditional site of the Buddha's Pari-Nirvana upon death at Kushinaga, and other places too.
But since I am going all the way to India (my first time), I have decided to explore a bit of the country and its other religious traditions for a couple of weeks before. For this, I am putting aside the formal tours, reviving my old backpacker days, and hitting the road on my own. (Actually, John, a friend of 35 years from my college days got the crazy idea to fly from the other side of the world and come with me the first week. I said, "John, let's wander around India a bit". He said, "Sure, if you say wander around India, let's wander India!" You don't get friends in life like that too often.) I'm travelling with 4 t-shirts, a couple of pants and such, my toothbrush, a razor, a couple of guidebooks, my Rakusu and not much more (okay, a smart phone too!). What I have done is pick some special events, religious celebrations and sites to get a small taste of the unbelievable complexity of Bharat (what the Indians call India, by the way. I have spent the last few months reading whatever I could find on the history, religions, customs and such of India, and in some ways I think I know less now than when I started! )
Some of the small highlights include a visit to witness the festival of Guru Nanak Jayanti, celebrating the birthday of the founder of Sikhism, featuring amazing demonstrations of the Sikh martial art of Gatka. Here is a taste (I promise to keep a small distance from the live swords and the mace) ...
We are off to visit the Sufis, and the Koranic singing known as Qawwali at Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin Mosque (it rocks) ...
Then, we are off to the desert town of Bundi Rajastan for a few days (Here are some images of the town of Bundi itself) ...
... where a very local festival of Rajastani music, dance and sports happens called the Bundi Ustav ...
Then a few days rest in the Hindu sacred town of Pushkar, sitting meditation with a Guru there called Swamiji (don't worry, I am just seeing how the other half lives a bit)
Swamiji ... he's the guru on the left ... (I wonder if that nice watch is guaranteed for all eternity?)
So, I will take all of you along, and we will sit together next to the Bodhi Tree with fellow Buddhist folks from many places ...
Master Dogen wrote this, shortly after his own return home from travels across the sea ...
In general, in our world and others, in both India and China, all equally hold the buddha-seal. While each lineage expresses its own style, they are all simply devoted to sitting, totally blocked in resolute stability. Although they say that there are ten thousand distinctions and a thousand variations, they just wholeheartedly engage the way in zazen. Why leave behind the seat in your own home to wander in vain through the dusty realms of other lands? If you make one misstep, you stumble past what is directly in front of you.
SatToday
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