Mitra Day

The Bodhgaya team recently held the first ever mitra day in Bihar. Nine Dhammamitras attended for a day of meditation and study - and food!

More pictures on Buddhavajra's Facebook Page.

Buddhavajra also says that he met with some of the young men who were on the recent retreat. They seem to have been very inspired by the experience and want to get more involved in the Dhamma.

All Night Meditation

On Thursday evening, on the evening of the full moon, the Bodhgaya Triratna community held an all night meditation under the Bodhi Tree.

Buddhavajra says:

"It was very good experience for me with all community members. I did the six elements practice. It was nice."

Post Retreat & Visitors

With the retreat over things are settling back into routine at Bodhgaya. However two visitors from England Laura and Simon are teaching English to the community, and by the smiles in the photo it looks like they're all having fun.

More photos on Buddhavajra's Facebook.

Buddhavajra says: "I want to say to them very very much thanks for that. I rejoice their good karma, and we need people like them to help us."

New Mitras in Bodhgaya

Hi Jay Bhim all of you .

The retreat has ended, and it was nice retreat because of Subhuti. He gave a very nice talk to all young. Thanks also to Maitriveer Nagarjun because he has gave also nice talk and spoke with the Bihari people. And thanks also to the National Network of Buddhist Youth (NNBY) they also helped to make this retreat a success.

The good news is that five Bihari young people become dhammamitras under the Bodhi Tree. It was nice some young guy came forward to Triratna Sangha and I am very happy with that. In that retreat people came from many different castes such as Ravidas, Paswan, Sharma, Rajjak, Prajapati, Kumbar, and Manhji. They are all from "scheduled castes" no previously none were Buddhist.

I want to say thanks Subhuti, Srimala, Maitriveer Nagarjun, Vijaya, Amitprabha, and NNBY team, and you also.

Under the Bodhi tree for the Mitra ceremony

Nissoka, Amitaprabha, Vijaya, Srimala, Maitriveer Nagarjun, Subhuti

Retreat in Progress

About 100 boys and girls from Bihar are having a retreat on our land at Bodhgaya lead by Dharmacari Subhuti. Buddhavajra realised a life-long goal to translate for Subhuti.

Photos from Buddhavajra's Facebook page.

Retreat Preparations

pictures from Buddhavajra's Facebook page.

Buddhavajra's Birthday

Hi dear jay bhim!

I am fine and happy also.

The 16th of Feb was my birthday, and Nissoka and I gave a talk in Bodhgaya. We gave the talk to people of the Manjhi caste, which is a very, very low caste. They were doing their personal program and no one gave any intention. I thought we should go there and meet them and make friends with them. Because they are my brother and sister! And we went, and gave a talk about Babasaheb [Dr Ambedkar]. They were very happy when they heard my talk. And they promised me they will come to retreat on our land, being lead by Dhammachari Subhuti (starting on the 20th of Feb). Perhaps 10 girls and boys will come.

And this all happen on my birthday so I am very happy. It looks like I am getting my path to work. I want to work with them. I dont know how I will work with them but I have confidence that I will find path.

And thanks to all you sent me lot of good wishes.

jay bhim jay bhim

Buddhavajra

Fun and Games

It's not all serious at the Triratna Kendra in Bodhgaya, although it looks as if they take their volleyball pretty seriously!

Hariharpur Village

Today the team visited Hariharpur Village about 28 kms from Bodhgaya. The people here are very poor and the people are not well educated. There are many children but no school. However the village does have a Buddhist meditation hall. This was built by a Vietnamese monk who subsequently left it empty.

After giving a talk in the hall, the team were fed by the villagers. This is a very important aspect of Indian hospitality and even poor people will lay on a feast for such visitors.

One Day Retreat

Buddhavajra reports: "Nissoka and I ran a one day meditation retreat on our land. Twenty young guys came. In the morning we did anapansati meditation, and after that Nissoka gave nice talk on samatha and vipashyana. It was really very good talk, which I translated into Hindi. After the talk we ate lunch together. At 2 clock we had a discussion on meditation. I am really happy that local people are taking interest in meditation."

retreatants listen to the talk

Nissoka giving a talk, with Buddhavajra translating

Palanki Village Visit

Buddhavajra, Nissoka and the team visited the village of Palanki (पलाँकी) today. They gave a talk in the village, and once again handed out books, notepads, pens, and erasers to children at the local school.

Images:

1. Arriving

2. The team

3. Giving the talk

4. Children with their gifts.

Poverty in Bodhgaya.

Bihar is the poorest state in India, afflicted by decades of corruption and mismanagement. According to recent World Bank figures the annual per capita GDP in Bihar is just US$160. Of the 100 million Biharis, about 40 million live in poverty. Bodhgaya is in the poorest region in this poorest of states.

A June 2011 exposé in the Irish Times highlighted the extraordinary depths of poverty in the villages around Bodhgaya.

One local woman, Bhuyian, was quoted as saying:

"Animals here are better off than human beings in this cursed, holy region," the illiterate Bhuyian said last week of her predominantly lowest-caste village, which is close to Bodh Gaya, the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment 2,555 years ago under a giant tree before going on to propagate Buddhism."

"At least they die with dignity; we don’t even have that luxury," she added matter-of-factly.

It is amidst this poverty and deprivation that Buddhists build their elaborate temples and guest houses for wealthy pilgrims, and hold their elaborate rituals. The Mahabodhi temple is in fact surrounded by extreme poverty, and people constantly on the brink of starvation. After decades of development of facilities for pilgrims, life has changed very little for the people who actually live in our most holy place.

One of the most important aspects of teaching Buddhism to the local people is that it gives them a sense of hope, a sense that things could be different. The fatalistic tenets of Hinduism do not allow them hope - being born into poverty means living an dying in poverty. The inspiring thing about many of the Indian members of the Triratna Order is that they come from just these kinds of backgrounds, and yet have achieved a very different kind of life for themselves. And the practices of Buddhism allow them to develop personal resources and resilience. This is far from sufficient of course, but it is a start.

Please support Buddhavajra and the team to provide hope for the people of Bodhgaya.

Future Plans

Buddhavajra (receiving a garland, while Nissoka looks on) is originally from Bhusawal in Maharashtra, but moved to live in Bodhgaya in 2009 to spread the Dharma in Bodhgaya. Which may sound strange given that Bodhgaya is one of the busiest pilgrimage centres in the Buddhist world. However little or no attention is paid to local people, many of whom are followers of Dr Ambedkar and nominally Buddhist. Ironically there were no Dharma classes in Hindi in Bodhgaya.

Buddhavajra has ambitious plans for developing the Bodhgaya centre. In India the pattern of Dharma activities is very different from in the West because most of the Buddhists are very poor. What tends to happen is the Order Members start a centre and use it as a base for travelling out to communities, in this case up to 100kms away, to run activities and give talks. So rather than building elaborate temples the Triratna team in Bodhgaya are building networks of friendships.

Dharmacāri Nissoka visits each year from England, and a variety of other people are involved in the centre in different capacities. But Buddhavajra is currently the only full-time Dharmacāri in Bodhgaya.

In order to provide retreats and other programs Buddhavajra has to raise funds.

The average literacy rates in Bihar are some of the worst in India. Typically in these areas literacy is about 47% (according to the 2001 Indian census). However the female literacy rate is about half this at about 26%. Many of the men leave Bihar to find work. In the coming months Buddhavajra plans to visit four villages: Guraru, Sirghati, Kanausi and Hariharpur.

Also coming up

• Dharmacāri Subhutis retreat from 20 feb to 24 feb. It will be for 100 people.
• And in march another retreat only for girls. It will be for 50 girls. This will be a big task as all the girls will have to be collected and delivered home again! It will be lead by Nissoka and Buddhavajra.
• 14 April a big celebration is planned. Dharmacāri Maitranath and will come to Bodhgaya for the event. We will arrange some talks and a one day retreat for local people. However some funding will be required for that. Donations can be given via Buddhavajra's Just Giving page. (a safe and secure way to donate money).
• And of course the Triratna Buddhist Order Convention will be held here in 2013, which will take a huge amount of planning.

.

Talk in Gaya

This is picture from the talk give on January 26th by Dharmacāri Nissoka with Dharmacāri Buddhavajra translating.

Festival in Bodhgaya

Nissoka reported on Facebook: In Bodhgaya we had a parade where we carried around relics of the Buddha and his disciple Ananda on the back of elephants and camels all around Bodhgaya. Beautiful to see thousands of people flowing through the streets of Bodhgaya in a long carnival like procession. All traditions and countless other individuals were there. Bit like a dream. You know what it's like sometimes when you think, did that just happen to me ? or was it a dream?, or did I read it in a book?

More photos on Nissoka's Facebook page.

A Big Give Away in Itar

Buddhavajra says "On the 26th January we went to a village named is Itar. It's 100 kilometer from Bodhgaya. Nearly 100 people were present. Nissoka and I gave talks about buddhisim, and we also gave away some books, notebooks, pens, erasers, and some sweets. It was good experience.

Bodhgaya Community

There are 9 local guys living in the Triratna community in Bodhgaya. For the last month Nissoka and Buddhavajra have being leading study for them on the subject of the ten precepts. They study three time a week.

The community also a do daily meditation, spend time reporting in, and in the evening do a puja under the Bodhi Tree in the temples precincts.

Every Sunday there is a General Dharma class for local people - the only one of it's kind in Bodhgaya.

Pilgrims

Early in January a group of pilgrims from Scotland dropped into visit the Bodhgaya Centre. Here is Vidyamayi and Buddhavajra (and friend).