India Dreamin' (Travel Plans For January)

Ten Days Left in the USA!

I'm gettin' a little antsy in my pantsy over this ...I'm excited! In ten days, I'll be boarding a plane heading off for my next grand adventure.

Here's my itinerary to start with: The trip to my first destination will be a four day trip. (At least I should get in a lot of airplane meditation.)
January 12th - San Francisco to LA
January 13th/14th - LA to Tokyo to Bangkok
January 15th - Bangkok to Kolkata (Calcutta)
January 15th/16th - Overnight train to Gaya
January 16th - auto-rickshaw to Bodh Gaya

I chose Bodh Gaya as my first stop because I wanted to attend the annual Bodh Gaya Retreat led by Christopher Titmuss and some of his other co-instructors.

January 17th to Feb 6th - Silent Retreat in Bodh Gaya, India.

The perfect place to start a trip, Bodh Gaya is the town where the Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment. And, there is even a tree in the middle of town which is said to be a grandchild of the very tree under which the Buddha sat.

"This Truth, won to by me, is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond dialectic, subtle, to be experienced by the wise... This that through many toils I've won"
- The Buddha (upon his enlightenment)

I've been told by fellow meditators that a retreat in Bodh Gaya will inevitably have a special energy to it. The entire city is said to be a center of Buddhist practice in India (though in the country of it's origin only 0.76% of Indians are Buddhist). A world famous pilgrimage spot as well, Buddhist practitioners come from all over the world. Literally, it is said to be a Buddhist bouquet - red and yellow robes of Tibetan monks, the saffron robes of south-east Asia. Black and gray robes of China, Korea, and Japan.

The teachers of the retreat aren't any whom I've studied with before. However, Christopher Titmuss was a monk under Ajahn Buddhadasa at Wat Suan Mokh in Thailand, and this is where I first learned Vipassana (although many years after Titmuss had left, and after Buddhadasa had died.) Christopher Titmuss has a number of his discourses available online in mp3s (many which were recorded at previous Bodh Gaya retreats.) I've listened to a bit, and liked what I heard.

I'm definitely looking forward to this opportunity, and to my longest retreat yet (20 consecutive days).

After my sit, I plan to hang out in Bodh Gaya for a bit and get a chance to actually see some of India... with my eyes open! I also plan to visit some other Buddhist pilgrimage spots while on my way up to Nepal for more meditation. I'll write more about February's travel plans a little later on.

Wish me safe travels!