PILGRIMAGE TO PEACE

Why would hundreds sit atop vulture's peak in rajgir, Bihar, from sunrise to sunset. braving the scorching sun, experiencing noble silence with the visiting 85-years lod Vietnamese zen budhist monk, thich is leading a 300 odd strong international sangha or group of seekers on the buddha trail transmitting the experience of siddhartha's hourney from angst-ridden prince and spiritual seeker to the enlightened and profound gautama buddha. addresing the sangha at sarnath. bodhgaya, rajgir and nalanda and on the buddha path between they's talks and silences enrich the quality of the unique peace pilgrim age from delhi to the buddha land and back a journey more of the spirit than of the body.
seated crose legged on the highest rock on vulture's they says this is where the buddha spent weeks meditating, pre and post-enlightenment. drawing energy from within and without for some of us the absolute calm on the isolated peak may be no different an experience from that felt on the banks of the river ganga. despite noisy crowds of devotees. tourists animals and beggars. or from the sunds of lilence at the mahaboddhi temple at boddgaya where a steady steam of white robed pilgrims from srilanka circumambulate the sanctum sanctorum and the bodhi tree where the buddha saw the light tracing his footsteps on the cankamana. or the oneness experienced in the lilent but magnificent ruins of the ancients nalanda university. hunshed with the millennia-old intellectual pursuit of scholars.
bobbing up and down the turgid ganga in varanasi. the wizened old boatman answers my question on the polluted waters:" this is ganga maiya we drink her waters straight. scooped in the palm of our hands as limmiuns have done for years before us. if we drank purified bottled water like you do we would take ill." faith might not literally move mountains but to the boatman. it has certainly provided immunity1 pilgrimages are by their very nature cathartic; they take you to those spots where sages and seers meditaled and the collective enegy ot theirs endeavour seems to suffuse the region with kinetics that recharge you with hope leaving you feeling closer; and at peace with the cosmos at vulture's they tells us we are lucky to sit where the buddha sat watching the same sun rise and set " we spend the whole day," he says " in mindful breathing mindful walking and in noble silence to receive the energy of the buddha. sariputra and other." it was also the day mahavira attined mahaparinirvana at pawapuri. the jain pilgrimage site kust 35 km away. should i not visit the jain jal mandir at pawapuri? as i guiltily climb down te peak at noon my attempts to get transport to pawapuri fail as everyone is celebrating diwali. a tangewala of fers to take me to the lakshminarin temple woth the hot spring the kund a few minuts ways.
i an taken aback by the indifference of devotees to the filth around as they wash thesselves in the stagnant pools ot soapy water around the springs. the temple itself is dilapidated. and any thought one might have of praying is banished with the plaintive crise of priests for dakshina. i beat a hasty retreat. my feet covered with slush. but not before bowing . in ecumenical acknowledment to the contours of a masjid i espy from the door to the sanctum sanctorum. " take me to a jain temple i request the tangewala and we set off toward a digam bar jain temple . the place is spotlessly clean. and the smooth fiturines of mahavira and other tirthankaras calmly return my surprised gaze. i sit. grateful for these moments. of tranquillity my nest stop is the shvetambar jain mandir near rajgir the cool marble floor before the idol of mahavira making pretty patterns with whole rice grains chating od singing.
revived interest in buddhism apart from movements like those of ambedkars' rides on the simplification of buddhist precepts that appeals both to the intellect and to the need to adapt these insights to daily life. " happiness is here and now i have fropped mu wooris. nowhere to go. nothing to do/ no longer in a hurry. somewhere togo. something to do./ but idon't need to hurry."the songs of they are sung several times along the journey a reaffirm,ation of the importance of rpactice in the here and now. " watch your breath," says they. " breathe in and out mindfully. for you are alive. " the other overrieding theme is to bve free where you are.... " i am in you and you are in me."
the buddha said, " this is, because that is; this in not bvecause that is not.' so says thay if you want society to change you have to change yourself we tend to blame others for our suffering. but don't forget that the other person is like that vecause you are like this; you are co-responsible whether is is the isreal palestine. hindu muslim. catholic- protestant american arab situations of canflict or any other inter- personal antagonisms. the moment we see the other side suffer like we do and empathise with that suffering. things begine to change. looking and listening deeply helps clear misconceptions and create understanding that make you compassionate and peaceful. we " inter-area you don't need to resort to complicated philosophy to awaken the buddha nature within and find. peace.

WE TURN TO GOD FOR HELP WHEN OUR
FOUNDATIONS ARE SHAKING. ONLY TO
LEARN THAT IT IS GOD WHO IS
SHAKING THEM.