After three days of living at the Sacred Land, the holy place of Buddhism, our foot-traveling Sangha cleaned up, returned the campus to its original state, and walked to Wat Royal Thai Buddhagaya temple to pay homage to and seek advice from the Most Venerable Phra Dhambodhivong. After the short Three Refuge chanting under the Bodhi Tree at the temple, He offered some advice and blessing for the success of the foot-traveling journey. Venerable Monks, Nuns, and lay devotees formed a long line to bid farewell to the Sangha. He also walked with the Sangha outside the triple-door gate and said goodbye there. He held my hands as a word of encouragement before my departure.

I had some work to do, so I split from the Sangha to go back to Bodhgaya, first to take care of some work and then look for Spotty Āloka that was lost when we went inside to circumambulate Mahābhodhi Stupa and Bodhi Tree last night. Saying goodbye to the Sangha, the monks didn’t forget to remind me to find Āloka. On the way to the city center, I saw Āloka wandering on the roadside beside the piles of trash; his shirt was also gone, and only a small piece of cloth remained around his neck. I called out, “Āloka!” He raised his head to look and immediately ran to me excitedly, jumping up, biting my hand, and groaning as if he wanted to say to me, “Master, why did you leave me here all night? I’m hungry, cold, and scared. Why did Master just now find me? I really missed you!” Last night, I made some food and waited for you, went looking for you, and thought that you were gone with your friends; I had no idea you were wandering outside like this. I stroked and soothed him, and we both went to the Maha Bodhi Society temple.

I hurriedly took two bags of biscuits to feed Spotty. I wanted to keep him here so I could run my errand. Before I could tell him, a couple of German Shepherds chased after him. He immediately ran out the gate, I also followed him outside, and we both stood at the busy intersection’s corner where laymen and laywomen were lining up to enter Mahābodhi Temple.

I thought everything was going to be alright; again, another dog came and growled at Spotty, who was injured. Seeing that, I sat down and held Spotty, then a lady suddenly came by and handed me a few hundred rupees and said, “I’d like to offer.” I held on to the money and asked, “What is this for, Miss?”
“Oh! You are Vietnamese?” She was surprised.
“Yes, I am.”
Holding a few hundred rupees in hand, I smiled. Suddenly I thought that now I was a real beggar at Bodhgaya, with two bags on both shoulders and Spotty, hanging around at street corners and flea markets without a home, looking at people passing by. I wondered how many people had gazed at us.

I stood there and waited for the appointment, and Spotty lay down and slept at my feet. When going inside the place for the meeting, security did not allow Spotty to come, so I told him to wait outside. While inside, I was anxious and worried he might go astray again. I canceled the appointment and went out; indeed, Spotty was not there. I tried to look for him at every corner of the road, went back and forth on the road we often go, and back to where I met him in the morning, but he was not there either. After more than an hour of looking for him desperately, I thought my kamma with Spotty had ended here. I directed my mind to Spotty, shared merits with him, and wished he could find someone who would love and take care of him. After walking for a while, Vice Abbot called and asked me whether I found Spotty. He told me that some nuns said they saw Spotty somewhere nearby. Vice Abbot and I continued to look for him, and finally, we saw Spotty in front of the Bangladesh monastery.

Both of us hit the road. The designated resting place today was not too far. We stayed overnight at an open ground in front of the rice fields next to the road. Spotty refused to sleep in the tent but lay on the dunes and slept soundly, probably from not sleeping at all last night. It was getting late at night, and the dews were growing thicker; even though I had taken Spotty inside, he sneaked out. Well, I just let him have a sound sleep his way!

Source: Dhammacetiya
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