Meditating Under The Bodhi Tree

The next morning I slept through the 6am puja held at my monastery's temple. I deserved the extra rest. I also deserved to sit under the Bodhi Tree, alone, for a few minutes of quiet meditation! I made my way to the temple complex around 7am, sat on a stone bench under the tree behind the temple, closed my eyes, and did a short breathing meditation.

After breakfast, I kept myself occupied with reading, writing and music under the ceiling fan in my room.

Around 2pm, I decided to walk the two blocks to see the 25m-high Great Buddha Statue unveiled by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1989. As you get closer to it, you have to remove your shoes. I slipped off my flip-flops to the painful realization that the stone (perhaps marble) path was VERY hot. As I approached the statue, I thought about the walk as mind over matter. Once in the statue's shade, I took a few photos, and headed back. This time, my feet felt like they were on fire, especially on the last few steps over a black section of the path. Hoping for relief, I put on my flip-flops, though in those few minutes, they too had become painfully hot. I was left with no alternative but to douse my feet with mineral water to cool them off.

A few hours later, I headed back to the Mahabodi Temple for one last visit. Near the entrance, I ran into Ramesh, and then a Bollywood movie shoot in full swing. A well-quaffed actor was on a motorcycle while a pretty Indian actress in orange was to be riding in a bicycle rickshaw. The production assistants wielded field hockey sticks to help with crowd control.

After a quick walk through the temple grounds, I invited Ramesh to dinner with me. While I found his presence overbearing at times, he clearly seemed interested in hanging out and helping me, without anything in return (except maybe a new watch or camera if I were to return some day).

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.