Liturgies

Earlier in our gospel of Matthew (14:14) Jesus on seeing a great multitude was moved with compassion, so much so that he heal their sick and then fed the multitude bread and fish as a response to their suffering.

Buddha, approximately two and a half thousand years ago, said,

I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. That's all I teach

To describe our experience of India in one word would be to say that it was ‘intense’, in every way. A submersion into suffering. Unintentionally it also became a Buddhist pilgrimage. Bodh Gaya in Bihar is a town of temples from world countries with Buddhist traditions such as Thailand, Tibet, Japan, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar to name a few; Bodh Gaya is packed with pilgrims; a Buddhist’s expo along with an with an 80 foot Buddha, which is where we stayed. Filled with endless potholes, pollution, stench and deafening horns; Bodh Gaya, a Temple World, beyond your dreams, filled with very noisy, hair raising, death defying tuk tuk rides! Or so the tourist brochures should read.

Paul, a group member, informed an Indian friend that I had ‘little vision’ to which his friend replied, in an Indian fashion, ‘After visiting Bodhgaya he will have little hearing too!’

The life story of Buddha filled our experiences, we crouched in the Dungeshwari Cave where Siddhārtha meditated for 6 years; we walked where the emancipated Siddhārtha was given rice and milk by a young village woman named Sujata, which is also the name of a school that we visited. We sat under the Bodhi tree at the ancient Mahabodhi Temple as Siddhārtha did, but not for seven weeks, and yes we became enlightened, in Indian ways, but we did not attain enlightenment; however crossing the hot sandy expanses of the Niranjan river where the Buddha bathed after attaining enlightenment, we would have gladly done likewise, had it been clean, and finally we traveled to Varanasi and nearby Sarnath, the place where Buddha gave his first sermon to 5 disciples.

In Varanasi we stayed at the Krishnamurti ashram. Krishnamurti, a 20^th century Indian philosopher, was reared to be a new World Teacher, which he later rejected, she aid

I must know how to listen to suffering; if I can listen to suffering I can listen to happiness because that is what I am.

Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India and filled with Hindu pilgrims, many bathing in the sacred Ganges river, or performing funeral rites and cremations, and yes we were ‘ashed on’ by the pyres on the Ganga ghats, however we were moved greatly when witnessing an infant’s body floating in its waters. The Old Testament story of a baby afloat in a reed basket came to mind, however that baby was rescued.

Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Krishnamurti, were moved by and responded to suffering as was Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Mandela, Romero, Aung San Suu Kyi and many others.

Sujata, the school that we visited near Bodh Gaya is without a toilet block, for both students and staff. A group from our travels are fund raising for a toilet block and dormitory that will house orphans at Sujata School. We will keep you informed of our progress and welcome any support that you may be able to offer to this project.

In conclusion and to paraphrase our earlier readings.

We were moved by transformational experiences

‘beyond mistaken concepts’

We touched the reality of dying and rebirth,

of ourselves and all of life.

We have just begun to know how to listen to suffering;

and if we can listen to suffering we can also listen to happiness,

a happiness that comes from challenging ‘indifference’ towards one's neighbour and to gain the realisation that,

when our own hearts are burning warmly

another's heart is kindled by it.