We arrived at the Root Institute on Tuesday, the 13th of October. After our shortest train ride yet (about 5 hours) we arrived in Gaya. From the crowded train station we packed into three auto-rickshaws which took us all the way to Bodh Gaya, where we concluded that leg of our journey at the Root Institute: a Buddhist retreat center. It was well past 11pm, and the sleepy guard let us in through the main gate. It took some time for him to find our papers and when he did, he roused a volunteer from her bed to show us to our rooms. Upon examining our papers, she informed us that we only had two rooms booked with four beds between the both of them. Hmmm… She took us to the rooms; low and behold there where at lest eight beds in one and six in the other. Exhausted, we went to sleep. The next day was ours until three o’clock when orientation began. This gave us a chance to scope the place out.
The grounds of the Root Institute are something to behold. They are adorned, as one might expect, with many depictions of The Buddha, primarily in statue form and many of the walls are hung with flags upon which Buddhist quotes are written. The simple patios of grass and dirt our somewhat lacking in visual stimulation, but pleasing none the less. Root Institute as a whole is quite large, composing of a clinic, an orphanage and a school as well as the retreat center. all this is enclosed in a high, barbed wire topped fence.
At three o’clock we met with our teacher, a bald headed nun who gave us a brief overview of what the course would include: All the basics of Buddhism. The rest of the day we had to ourselves until a seven o’clock meditation. After a six-thirty dinner, we returned to the room where we had met our teacher. A young man by the name of Lozang entered, seated himself and began to haphazardly the ideas behind meditation. After a rather awkward forty five minutes, we began our first meditation. This being my first time meditating, my thoughts where as follows. This is easy…my back hurts…focus…focus…I bet I look stupid…”opens eyes”…OK nobodies watching…my back still hurts…focus…maybe no cushion is the way to go…that’s better…focus…nope, cushion was the right move. After half an hour of this, our first meditation session was concluded. We traipsed back to our rooms and quickly fell asleep.
For the next few days our schedule was: Meditation, breakfast, teachings, break, teachings, lunch, break, discussion, teachings, meditation, dinner, meditation.
On the Friday of that week it was James’s birthday. Having to remain silent except for the hours between two and six presented a bit of a problem in the celebration plans, but the male half of our leadership squad (Ben) found an unorthodox solution. We form a circle around James and stare him down until he knows we love him. We did, and now he damn well knows. Also there was cake. Happy Birthday James.
On our final two days of the retreat we broke from the norm of our program. At two o’clock on Saturday we gathered for a field trip to the Bodhi Tree, under which Buddha had attained enlightenment. The place was breathtaking. The first thing you see is the high, intricately carved Mahabodhi temple, commemorating the spot where Buddha sat meditating under the Bodhi Tree for six years. The second thing you see are the monks. So many monks. Some meditating, some prostrating, and some just wandering aimlessly. Wading through the sea of orange robes and bald heads we walked around the foremost perimeter of the temple as is customary when entering. Afterwords we removed our shoes and entered the temple itself. We stood in the tiny, cramped one room of the temple and sweating profusely, we recited out loud a sheet of Buddhist prayers. The prayers, as I gathered, where read in hopes of gaining good karma. When we had finished, we where “invited” to leave by the guard. Slipping back into out shoes, we made our way to the sacred Bodhi Tree under which we meditated, as Buddha had. Thus ended our visit to the Mahabodhi Temple -slash- Bodhi Tree.
On our final day in Bodh Gaya we awoke at five-thirty to begin a pilgrimage to vultures peak: a small mountain where several of Buddhas main disciples had meditated in caves for a number of years. The steep climb to the top was the most exercise we had had in weeks. We reached the top in twenty minutes, and where struck dumb by the view: a three hundred and sixty degree view of Bodh Gaya- lush greenery dotted with various splotchy representations of towns, roads and houses. we did of course say some mantras and practice meditation on the peak, after which we where given an hour of free time to explore. After this we went an a tour of the ruins of an ancient monastery, during which our tour guide stated in no uncertain terms that although toilets where nice and all, every morning he would walk out into the fields and fertilize (drop a dookie in) the grass. Charming. We drove back to the Root Institute, at a delicious dinner of soup, coleslaw and cinnamon rolls, packed our bags, said our goodbyes and headed out into the night towards our next stop: Calcutta.
Authors note-
Try as I might, I cannot put into words the internal experience of our time in Bodh Gaya, so I asked the rest of my group to write a few sentences on what there time there meant to them. Some complied, some did not. Here are the musings of those who did.
-OY
Margaret:
Our week spent at the Root institute was a much needed break from the busy streets of India. It was incredible to be exposed to Buddhism, a religion I previously knew nothing about. Being quiet for the majority of the day pushed me to both better understand my thoughts and beliefs and allowed me to process all that we had seen and done since arriving in India. I think it was the prefect gateway into a week of serving others in Calcutta.
Madison:
It was a really emotionally intense week for me. My main takeaway was what I learned about attachment: to the people in my life, to objects, to expectations, etc. I found myself questioning a lot about the life I have lived and am anxious to take what I have learned back home with me.
Sterling:
Psychology and Neurosciences have in recent decades (and I expect the trend will continue) been making discoveries about the human mind that are directly in life with what Buddhists have been teaching and practicing for thousands of years, especially relating to the causes of suffering and the emptiness of self. I read a quote once that went something along the lines of “after climbing for millennia, the scientist will finally summit the peak of knowledge, only to find that the yogi has been sitting there the whole time.”
I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to learn the Dharma and explore my mind under the instruction of such kind, amazing and intelligent teachers. Om.
Amber:
Buddhism really spoke to me because it felt very in line with all of my beliefs. I like that it is all about looking within and how we control everything in our lives. Being in silence makes me realize how much meaningless conversation goes on in a day.