Bodhgaya
Another temple town, Bodhgaya is the spot where Buddha reached enlightment. It seems like every nation except Canada and the US have built a presence here.
Were staying at the Kirti Guest House which is somehow affiliated with the Tibetans. Again, the rooms are small. But, the air conditioning works really well; the shower has hot water and a bluetooth showerhead speaker; there are few bugs and the food in the restaurant is delicious.
Beds in small Indian hotels are worth mentioning. Since I’m easily 2 or three times the size of an average Indian, it’s no surprise that I don’t fit on the short narrow thin mattresses. The nicest thing you can say about them is that they are firm.
In the morning, Bodhgaya smells of human waste and garbage. In the US, you have to work to smell these smells. Without adequate housing and sewage, it’s the way things are in rural India.
It’s a short walk from the hotel to the temple. It’s a “stupa”, a spire rising 200 odd feet. Set in a garden of stupas, the whole thing seems to sit in an amphitheatre. You walk down maybe 60 steps to get to the ground floor.
There are pilgrims, tourists and monks of every imaginable variety (though we seem to be the only Americans everywhere we go). There’s a flock of Sri Lankans whose bus paced ours through Bihar yesterday. And, there are billions of beggars and street hustlers.
The day is organized to give us the lay of the land. We visit Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese temples. We travel out to the site of an important episode in Buddha’s spiritual development.
Everyone who visits these places has to come to terms with the beggars and the poverty. Although India has produced the kinds of people who can solve really large problems (Ghandi, Nehru, Mother Theresa), the misery is enormous and overwhelming. It’s not possible to provide enough money or food to make a real difference so each traveler comes to their own conclusions.
I try a variety of things. The easiest method is refusing to acknowledge their existence. The beggars and hustlers have an uncanny knack for getting and keeping your attention. As long as there is some energy (No is just an undeveloped form of Yes), they keep at it. With persistence that makes hard sell salesmen look tame, they hammer away in pursuit of a few rupees.
The problem outdoor fire pit we had at the hotel. It’s a call your bluff adaptastion. In response to being asked for food, they give food. This usually infuriates the beggar.
I settle on taking a bag of small coins with me everywhere I go. It’s not enough and the beggars often sneer at the small coins but it keeps my spirit intact.
