Today is the seventh day since we started walking from Kolkata (aka Calcutta, the former capital of British India) to Bodhgaya. We have passed 280 km, half of our route. No obstacles could stop the foot-traveling Sangha. With determination and enthusiasm that we might call Determination Perfection (adhiṭṭhāna-pāramī) interdependent with the Effort and Patience Perfections (viriya và khantī-pāramī), each of us will be able to overcome tough challenges. Depending on our individual strength and resilience, whether going fast or slow, we all arrive at the same destination. Of course, if the will is not strong enough, it will be difficult to overcome these obstacles. Only then could we feel the hardship of the monks of the past when they were entrusted with the responsibility of steering the Dhamma boat leading the beings to cross over from the shore of Delusion. Each monk traveled thousands of miles away in every direction for the benefits of countless sentient beings. Up to this point, perhaps any one of us could imagine what had happened over 2500 years ago. But the route is still long, and we will overcome, step by step, all obstacles on the path to the Historical Sacred Places of the Blessed One and the Arahant Sangha. Once we arrive, we will try to recount the history of those places in detail.

So now, let’s immerse ourselves in today’s experience of the foot-traveling Sangha. We made a stop at an alley by the road, finding a place that we could put down our sitting-pillows to sit on, if such a place was even possible. Of course, the only food choice is the usual Mama instant noodles. I didn’t have hot water; it was only lukewarm, not hot enough to dissolve the seasoning. I kept soaking it, long enough for the noodles to soften a bit. Although the noodles remained uncooked, the seasoning was still intact, but it is probably better than the raw noodles because the salt also dissolved in the water, giving the noodles some flavor. We hastily finished breakfast to continue the journey. Bridge by bridge, uphill and downhill. We passed by towns, fruit stands, stalls selling japatis, fried doughs, roti… all rather appetizing street foods. We stopped, looked at the selections and continued walking, again looking at those… Maybe it’s not just me, the whole group from the leader downward are curious, and we probably want to try some of these foods to relieve the hunger. But we simply can’t because it’s past noon… Is it too mundane? Don’t be too quick to chastise us for this, monks can be very naive and childish at times. Just teasing here – how can a piece of food make us lose our dignity?

Why is today so long? Despite the constant movement of the feet, the destination is still quite a distance away. As the sun was setting, if we didn’t hurry, tonight would be quite challenging. We weaved through lines of cars and passersby trying to speed up; yet when we looked back, only about 30 of us remained; we didn’t even see the robes of the rest. After 48 km and more than 14 hours, our group arrived at our destination. It had just become dark, but dozens of us still did not arrive. Tonight we stayed in a graveyard (cemetery). Perhaps from listening to the Dhamma and reading the suttas, we have heard about monks who practiced austerities (dhutaṅga), staying in the graveyards, collecting cloth from the corpses at the cemetery to make robes. Now, we’re staying here too, what will happen? It remains an unanswered question.

You’re welcome to join us here!

Source: Dhammacetiya
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#sbsstupas