Varanasi to Bodhgaya, back to Varanasi and back to Bodhgaya!

After Kopan Rob and I boarded a flight bound for Varanasi, India. Whenever I board a flight I always have somewhere in the back of my mind the thought that this plane may not stay in the air the entire flight! Well this time I felt completely safe and comfortable on the flight due to the fact that we were flying with Lama Lhundrup (the abbott of Kopan monastery) and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s sister (who is a nun).

Having touched down in Varanasi a group formed based on the common theme of finding a hotel…..and so the Varanasi 8 was born – Taff, Jutta, Yohan, Rob, Inese, Adrian, Edgars and myself (see photo below in order of names but missing Edgars and myself). Staying together was our main objective, and that we did during our time in Varanasi, even if it meant we skipped lunch, so we could registered for His Holiness Dalai Lamas teachings or so one of us could run an erand. It was a beautiful bond that I will never forget.

Part of the Varanasi 8

Here is Edgars! and Inese just before I said goodbye to them as they made their journey home to Latvia

Pulling into the old part of Varanasi (near the ghats) we were greeted by Razz, one of Varanasi’s many guides, who helped us find our hotel (after several hours - searching for a hotel for 8 takes some time but we wanted to stay together!).

From our hotel roof, on a clear day (no pollution), you can see the Ganga. Although I'm 'blinky' this shot shows the river clearly including the exposed far bank. In the monsoon the river swells and covers this sand

One of the winding alleys leading to the Ghats

Varanasi is a very holy city for both Hindu’s and Buddhist’s (and probably many other relgions…). For Buddhist, it is significant as the nearby town of Sarnath was were the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, first taught about his method of achieving Enlightenment (a fully perfected mind with no delusions or bad aspects such as anger jealousy, hatred, greed etc and all positive aspects such as love, compassion, kindness, energy to help all etc). For Hindu’s it is important as the Ganges River flows here.

The Gange’s (known as the Ganga) in Varanasi, has a series of steps leading down to meet the water, known as ghats. The ghats make for easy access for bathing in the holy river, which Hindu’s believe washes away sins (although it is extremely polluted). For some locals this is a daily ritual and for pilgrims, an opportunity not to be missed. For this reason many Hindu’s come to Varanasi to die. When someone dies, the male family members dunk the cloth covered body in the Ganga to wash away the sins of this life. The body is then burnt on a huge pile of wood, on the ghats, entirely in public. Anyone can observe this cremation, including Rob and myself. In the West a funneral is so private and hidden, but in the east is an open and accepted part of life. It was a solemn lesson to witness how fragile life is.......I came away thinking 'one day that will be me'.

The first few days were spent registering for HH Dalai Lama’s teachings (this is required for security purposes but it took about five hours……it was well worth the wait!), and resting. One morning we decided to go for an early morning boat cruise and Razz’s brother turned up to ‘guide’ us. He was iiiiiiiincredibly drunk. So Taff stepped up and fired him in a wonderfully kind and diplomatic way. Thankyou again Mr Taffy! The following photos are of that beautiful sunrise cruise that we took along the Ganga.

Just before sunrise on the Ganga

Sunrise on the Ganga

Taff enjoying the cruise

Some of the amazing architecture along the ghats. Many of these building were built as 'holiday homes' for maharajas


Our boat looked something like this...




Taking a rickshaw in tandem, one of Yohan and Taff's delights (Inese just enjoys the ride)!


We like rickshaws too!


A cycle rickshaw and an auto rickshaw - two ways to get aroud in India

Dogs wait patiently and safely in the middle of the road until there is a break in the traffic

Apart from the Varanasi 8 we were fortunate enough to spend some time with more amazing people - the Ace Adelaide 4! These four Adelaideians gave us wonderful company over dinner with much laughter and merriment. Shyla and Nina (in the photo below) were fellow Kopanians with big beautiful hearts. Shyla is the director/ driving force behind Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth, a peace organisation for young people, which I hope to help out with when I return home (and perhaps whislt still in India).

Shyla and Nina - two beautiful Adelaidians

Two more members of the Ace Adelaide 4 are Yasmine and Adam (see below). I felt instantly befriended by Yasmine as she kept us all giggling over dinner, thankyou! And I felt fortunate to bask the in the incredible glow of Adam's male modelness - the best male model India has seen since Shane Warn!

Thankyou so much for your fun company and I can't wait to catch up again in good old Adelaide (or London if we head your way Nina).

Jasmine and Adam enjoying the traditional India music (tabla and sitar) as we wait for dinner

More photos of the Varanasi 8 and Ace Adelaide 4

Taff and Adrian show us the love - how cute is this photo!!


Taff, still spreading the love


Jutta and Adrian are currently back at Kopan in retreat. 'Sending you all my postive thoughts, may your retreats bring you the biggest benefits!'


One night whilst waiting for dinner we played one of those match stick puzzle games... I think Nina won - such a smart cookie!


Inese and Edgars with their rosy cheek, Latvian smiles


Yohan, poet with a big heart and love for his Nepalese children


This is the last journey the Varanasi 8 took together. We travelled to Bodhgaya to attend teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Root Institute.

Thankyou again! I really enjoyed spending time with you all and really appreciated how we stuck together during our time in Varanasi and enjoyed each others company over many meals!

And so the Varanasi 8 travelled together to Bodhgaya, an important Buddhist site as it is where the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, attained Enlightenment under a bodhi tree. Today a 50m stupa, the Mahabodhi Stupa, marks this site, as does a decendant of the original bodhi tree (see picture below).

The Mahabodhi Stupa

We attended a retreat at Root Institute along with many other Kopaners and others who were interested in getting to know the Buddha of Compassion better (and thereby having some compassion rub off on them!). I was one of the most difficult retreats for me, as it showed me many of faults that need work (so it was great.....)

For the first few days there were no rooms at Root Institute so Rob and I hired a bike to get around (Root Institute was a 7 min bike ride or a 15 min walk out of town from our hotel). The road out of town was not unknown to bandits at night, so on the few occassions when we had to head home at night, I wrapped my blondy hair in a shawl and curled up behind Rob whilst he pedelled his little heart out! Rob seems to get away with being Nepalese, Tibetan, Gurkha or some such and didn't need to hide away....

Being at the Mahabodhi Stupa was one of the highlights of our trip so far. Even though there are many people talking and walking around, monks chanting, dogs barking - when I closed my eyes and (tried) to meditate the sounds didn't bother me like they did away from the stupa. Not that my meditation was any good, it was just a small observation I made.

Whilst we were in Bodhgaya, Christmas happened. There was not a hint of Christmas anywhere to be found which was kinda great. No pressure to shop, be anywhere, do anything. In any case, word spread to the Kopaners in Bodhgaya to meet at Mohammed's for lunch. Mohammed's resturant is essentially a tent, with seats and floor made of mud. The kitchen is just a rustic as the dinning room but somehow, Mohammed's serves the most delicious kidchari and chocolate cake. AAAAnd the ceiling was decorated with four balloons, each with the face of Santa or a snowman.

Christmas Kopaners. Note the Christmas decs top of photo

Rob and I with Christmas smiles. Someone asked us to snug up and we were pulling faces at each other before the photo was taken

New Years Eve marked the end of our retreat and what an end it was. Lama Zopa Rinpoche took us well into the night, finishing at around 3am with his salutation of 'Goo Mornin' It was the best New Years. We then bundled into a taxi, with Edgars and Inese and headed for the train station. Our train was only a few hours late and soon we were on our way back to Varanasi to meet our friends from Bunbury and Perth to begin our pilgrimage.

During our time in Varanasi, before meeting the group, Rob and I had a few days to ourselves (the first since we arrived at Kopan) to explore this amazing city. Below are a few shots we took as we walked along the ghats.

Paintings of Hindu Gods, a skeleton of an umbrella and a dog

I love the the wooden boats gliding silently across the water

Rob strikes a pose

I couldn't resist taking a picture of a goat in a coat!

The PO

A bunch of hankies hanging out to dry

When the group arrived, I went on another boat cruise and took a few more pics...

'A floating supermaket' these men proclaimed as they approached us to sell their trinkets


The hotel we stayed in before the group arrived, is the red one on the right (Ganapati Guest House)

A lone meditator amongst the noise and movement on the Ganga