A Quick Vacation in Fort Kochi
December 2018 Fort Kochi in the State of Kerala Known as Cochin to the locals. Kochi was a fishing village…
India
Madhubani Paintings of Patna
These Madhubani paintings are going up all over Patna, Bihar. The project is aimed at beautifying the walls in the…
Samadhi of Bodhgaya
December 2, 2018 Bodhgaya is one of the holiest sites in Buddhism. This is where Buddha found enlightenment under the…
Barabar Caves
December 8, 2018 The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, and date from the Maurya…
Lesser known and out of the way Buddhist sites.
November 21 and 22, 2018 Kasaria Kesaria is a Buddhist stupa first constructed around the 3rd century BCE. The stupa…
A New Buddha
Rajgir November 24 and 25, 2018 Ghora Katora Lake is a small, serene spot near Rajgir. The name Rajgir came…
The Robes of a Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni
November 2018 The robes of Buddhist monks and nuns are part of a tradition that goes back to the time…
The Black Buddha
Nalanda/Rajgir November 2018 In the Black Buddha Temple is an ancient large black Buddha in the Dhamma Chakra Mudra position.…
Two Protests, Toilets and Tuk Tuks
Vaishali, India November 18-20 2018 I am in Vaishali as part of the 2nd Annual Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony. If you…
Wanderers of India and the Governor of Bihar
February 8, 2018 Leaving the city of Sankissa we passed these travelers. I do not know where they were going…
Some History of Sankissa
Sankissa (also Sankasya) November 6, 2018 I have mentioned earlier that we are traveling with Deepak Anand, a knowledgeable person…
Tea at Home
Sankasya (or Sankissa) November 5, 2018 One of our monks from the Mahabodhi Center in Bangalore is from Sankasya and…
Happy Diwali
Lucknow November 7, 2018 Diwali means “row of lamps”. It is traditionally thought of as a Hindu festival, but it…
Rambling in Delhi
November 2, 2018 Today we had an afternoon to do some sightseeing, and thanks to the abominable traffic in Delhi…
Three Religions – One Site
November 1, 2018 This is known as Lat Bhairav. According to our resident scholar Deepak Anand: “Chinese monk-scholar Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang,…
The Search for an Authentic Candy Shop
Rasvanti Sweets CK 21/24 Sugga Gali, Thatheri Bazar, Govindpura, Varanasi October 31, 2018 The Indians love their sweets, and this…
Banaras and The Ganga
Banaras/Varanasi October 30, 2018 What is India was one of the real reasons maps of India did not exist for…
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
Sarnath October 28, 2018 By: Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr The more things change the more they stay the same. I have…
Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri, The Diamond Triangle
December 2017 Over the course of the three days at our last stop, I was able to indulge my passion…
Exploring Rajgir
December 2017 All of India is an Archaeology site, so picking and choosing what you want to explore can be…
Gijjhakuta – Vultures Peak
December 2017 We have begun our second Dhammayatra at Vultures Peak. This time we are traveling with monks from the…
The Jethian Valley – Walking in Buddha’s Footsteps
December 2017 December 13th we walked The Buddha Walk. First organized in 2014 by several Buddhist organizations it is intended…
Finding Ancient History in Bodhgaya
December 2017 Wandering the town of Bodhgaya I could spot this old building peaking above the normal height of many…
A Parade and a lot of Speeches
December 2017 The 13th Annual Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony in Bodhgaya began on December 2nd this year. The first morning starts…
Decorating the Mahabodi Temple of Bodhgaya
December 2017 Where does one start to explain the monumental project that putting on the 13th Annual Tipitaka Chanting Festival…
Working in Bodhgaya
November 28, 2017 We arrived in Bodh Gaya on November 21st. The time has been spent preparing for the 13-day…
Vaishali, India
November 2017 Vaishali is on the pilgrimage route for Buddhists for many reasons, but the two most important are that…
A Birthday Party
November 2017 This is the highest ranking Buddhist in the town of Kushinigar, he is Burmese and he was celebrating…
Sitting in the Back of the Tent
November 2017 Today was spent chanting all day. This is my view of the event. Those that know me, know…
A Parade in Kushinigar
November 2017 Kushinigar is a pilgrimage site because this is where Buddha took his last breath. Our first day in…
A Relaxed Day
November 2017 Today was a down day so I thought I would catch up on a few odds and ends.…
Sravasti Day 2
November 2017 Today began at Jetavana. We were accompanied by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgön Chungtsang. I had met him…
Our Gracious hosts the Buddhist Vihar Shanti Upvan
November 2017 Today was another road trip. We were to start at 5:00 as the monk’s last meal must be…
Road Trip to Sravasti
November 2017 Today was another road trip. We were to start at 5:00 as the monk’s last meal must be…
Day two of Holy Days
November 2017 Today was a repeat of yesterday. We started quietly, in the heavy fog, chanting under the tree. We…
A Road Trip to Sankasya
November 2017 So the road between Delhi and Sankasya consists of a 6-hour bus ride. Bus rides through India are…
A Holy Day
November 2017 Day two in Sankasya started out with a lovely morning of chanting. We always break for lunch and…
An Ashram and a University
We spent the day and night at the Sri Aurobindo. It is an Ashram that was begun in Pondicherry with…
A Difficult Day
We spent the day and night at the Sri Aurobindo. It is an Ashram that was begun in Pondicherry with…
Wrapping up Sarnath
Bits and Pieces of Sarnath November 2017 I had the chance to head into Varanasi and go to the Kriti…
A Day of Fun and Culture
Sarnath Day 2 November 2017 Day two was a day of fun and relaxation. We rose at 5:00 in the…
Tipitaka Chanting in Sarnath, India
Day one in Sarnath was spent chanting the Dhammachakka Sutra in the shadow of the Damekh Stupa, where it is…
Entering the Unknown
November 2017 I am at a total loss as to how to convey what is actually transpiring on this journey.…
India in February 2015
New Delhi A reminder of once again how brutal the flight is from California to New Delhi with an arrival…
Delhi, Sarnath and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
We rose early in Delhi to head to the airport for a flight to Varnasi. Alas, the plane was late…
Varanasi at Night
“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of…
Varanasi – Bodh Gaya and the Road In Between
Varanasi in the Morning February 2015 Up before dawn to catch the river as it wakes. It was truly amazing…
Bodh Gaya to Munger
It was an 8-hour drive from Bodh Gaya to Munger to catch the R.V. Bengal Ganga. Along the way we…
The R.V. Bengal Ganga
Our first stop in the morning was to the Bihar School of Yoga. The school was established in 1963 and…
The R.V. Bengal Ganga and Bateshwarsthan
February 2015Our only stop today was Vikramshila University in the town of Bateshwarsthan. This is the birthplace of Vajrayana Buddhism.…
The R.V. Bengal Ganga and The Raj Mahal
February 2015 We have been told of the dolphins of the Ganges, and in fact two days ago we sailed…
Curry and Saris on the R.V. Bengal
February 2015 Our last day on the boat held a cooking class by the chef. It was not so much…
The R. V. Benghal and Kalna the Temple Town
February 2013 Our only stop today was Kalna or Ambika Kalna called the “Temple Town”, and dedicated to the goddess…
Kolkata and Bhubaneswar
Our morning began with disembarkation from the R.V. Bengal in Kolkata (Calcutta). We were given a very brief tour of…
Bhubaneswar – The Temple City of India
February 2015 There are over 400 temples, only a fraction of what is thought to have once been 7000 temples,…
Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konarak
February 2015 Our last day in Bhubaneswar, was very long, and yet amazing, sadly, tomorrow we fly to Delhi and…
Indian Wrap Up
February 2015 As this is my second trip to India, albeit to a completely different region, my ending thoughts are…
Delhi to Agra
Today we drove to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The drive was extremely interesting. Getting out of Delhi was…
The Taj Mahal
Well I promised I would write about it, but I am not sure I can. It is magical, it is…
Insanity and Tranquility
Our guide, the professor Annapurna Garmiella (you can google her if you are interested, and by the way, she is…
Elephants
This is wedding season in India. Weddings are not necessarily on a Saturday like we think of them in the…
Sweets of India
We spent day 10 in the bus driving to Jaipur, so not much to report. Day 11 we have spent…
Jodhpur to Udaipur
FINALLY had kulfi. Saffron Kulfi to boot. Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating sweetened and flavoured milk via slow cooking,…
Food of India
November 2013 Today I decided to address food – I have been hesitating to do this because frankly, most Indian…
Mumbai/Bombay
November 2013 We flew into Mumbai Friday around 10:00 a.m.. We are truly confused as how we got here, as…
General Thoughts on India
The very first night that we joined our tour group the leader asked us to say why we had come…
Very Very Random Thoughts on India
I mentioned that our guide had the most wonderful smile, and a fabulous laugh. THAT is India. Smiles and laughter…