March 2, 2010

Buddha Dharma

The day begins on an off note. We rise too late and I am grumbling because Karen won’t get up. I bathe and dress the children, order coffee, swallow my grouchiness, take a cup in to Karen and write a little in my journal. I have a head cold that is causing me further discomfort [...]

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February 2, 2010

Bodh Gaya

This morning we purchase train tickets for Ghaya, the jumping off point for Bodh Gaya, our destination.  This is the site where, as legend has it, Lord Buddha attained the state of enlightenment while sitting under the “Bo” tree.  We  return to our hotel to pack and once again our makeshift altar is bedecked with [...]

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January 1, 2010

Touching the feet of the little Buddha

As usual, buying train tickets takes nearly a full day but at the end of it we have four, first class, air-conditioned coach, train tickets to Varanasi. Expensive tickets to be sure, but we are all feeling out-of-sorts and rather unwell in the past 24 hours. We can’t face up to another grueling journey and [...]

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December 1, 2009

Sorcerers & Saints

I spend the rest of the day floating around with the family, taking tea, reading, resting, digesting everything that has happened the day before. Later in the day, despite my previous resolve, I start on the exercises given to me by Ali Moosa but only after first promising myself to do them just once a [...]

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November 3, 2009

The Shahadah

We are back outside the gates of the dargah.  Karen is armed with a bag of samosas and another of bananas, determined this time to successfully feed the beggars.  Whether it is because she is inwardly prepared this time and therefore more circumspect or whether it is just the phase of the moon, she is [...]

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