Rajgir

Although a destination for Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Jain pilgrims, Rajgir (Rājagaha in the suttas) is fairly quiet and calm. First stop Veluvana, the Bamboo Grove, which was given by King Bimbasara to the Buddha as a quiet yet nearby place for the Buddha and his disciples to pause. Just inside the park a modest white temple houses a golden statue of the Buddha, making a peaceful introduction to what proves to be a wonderfully serene park. At the center of the park is a large man-made pond, or tank, circled by walking paths through lawns and various maintained plant life, and couple statues of the Buddha. There were a few small groups of locals using the park, but they just melted quietly into the background. It was wonderful to languish in the peace and even meditate a little. Toward evening, a group of about 35 Theravada monks showed up and performed a puja at one of the statues.

In Rajgir I was able to take a walk a bit out of town and through a couple neighboring villages and then make the rounds in a tonga, a horse-drawn cart, of some of the interesting sites. It being much slower in Rajgir (I only saw another westerner once while I was there) I also got to spend a little time with monks at the Thai and Bengal monasteries - another pleasant treat.

Rajgir is bounded by a number of hills which are dotted with temples from the various religions. My guide for the day, the tonga driver, took me to Grijjakuta on Vultures Peak, which is said to be a favored spot of the Buddha to sit and to teach. There is a cable car to the mountain top, but it was out of service. So, my friendly guide drug me up the foot path to the top of the mountain - huff and puff! But at the top there is a small open area with a great view over the surrounding areas and a small shrine to the Buddha - enough for a brief puja and then space to sit and gaze over a countryside that has probably not changed much since the Buddha sat at this very spot over 2500 years ago. The quiet wraps its arms around me and the outside world fades away while the view inspires me. Here the Buddha sat in still meditation. Here large groups of disciples listened in earnest to the words of the Buddha. More than Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple or even the base of the Bodhi tree, here is real.

From Rajgir I also took a day trip to Nalanda to see the ruins of Nalanda University and the artifacts collected into the Archaeological Museum. The ruins were very interesting, but the ride through the countryside, an hour each way by tonga, was wonderfully peaceful. The very villagers and farmers area a natural part of the countryside, the cool breeze is free of the acrid smells of the city, the small villages seem cleaner and more natural, and the clop of horse hooves and joined only occasionally by bleats, moos or bird calls. This, I imagine, is the Buddha's India; before overpopulation polluted the waterways and permeated the air with foul smells of human and animal filth; before the inventions of paper, plastic, aluminum and rubber turned into a blanket of refuse; before honks and beeps and the din of bustle confused people into thinking they have somewhere to go; before our problems became so big and complex and multitudinous that the real problems - life, suffering, happiness, liberation - drifted into the background untended, unnoticed and were replaced by needs to go, to accomplish to acquire: to have and to experience. Experience quiet. Go ahead; I beseech you.