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Your message is quite auspicious as I was planning to write to you this evening. I had read about the new outbreak in Sri Lanka and the new variant there. I'm concerned about all of you in Kandy.You say that you don't get out and see other people but you feel blessed. In my humble opinion you, and all who are with you, are definitely blessed. You are at home, safe as you can possibly be. You are in Sri Lanka, the Holy Island where the Buddha's Tooth Relic resides. Consider the wonderful people who have helped you with beneficial activities. Sangha whom you have hosted and who have done prayers on your property. Put your hands in prayer towards all those beautiful Buddhas on your altar. You ARE in a very holy place. A very blessed place which is perfect for what you do best. Be it via the internet, locally or through other means, you continue to do your good work. As Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche has said many times, 'The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are with you....helping you....guiding you... that is what they do.' Isn't that wonderful!!!The Covid news out of Delhi, Mumbai and many places in India is unbelievable. I watched it unfold, dumbfounded and heart broken. It will be a long second wave. Please do not be concerned for me. I am staying safe and sane through the chaos. It is challenging here in Bodhgaya but we do not have the level of crises that we see on the news. Not yet.
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Your words of support are appreciated during Indian's difficult time. Personally, I've been here through two previous Indian lockdowns, know what to expect, know what I must do and am quite calm and prepared. I'm receiving well meaning messages urging me to GET OUT, GET OUT NOW. However, thinking carefully, why would I want to get on a flight to Delhi? Delhi???? Departure flights are not feasible and it is not safe to travel. It is better to stay put and to iisolate. Just like before. More importantly, from a Dharma perspective, no matter where we go, there we are.
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And by staying here I am able to continue to help others in some small ways. Wherever we are, as Dharma students, we can help others. Here in Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, small acts of kindness can mean so much. This morning I was able to stock up on a number of basic food needs such as grains, soups packages etc, that will do for the next month. Also, the much needed hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies which have added to the monthly budget. I could have gone to one of the two bigger stores, purchasing most items at in one go but instead, I did a number of small purchases from the tiny mom and pop shops here in the urban village. My small attempt to help support them. They suffered terribly last year. I'm part of their community now. They have named me, Madame Guru ji.
And although I pay the local fare for rickshaws, I try to be a little generous. Such as myself, when out in public, the drivers risk infection. Many drivers have left for their home villages. The streets are somewhat empty. It is the elders who have remained and who are driving. Their families desperately need what little income they make. They know where I stay but still offer to take me a mere two blocks for a few rupees. The beggars too of which, the elderly have remained. There are a few thin withered souls to whom I offer coin or food to everytime I see them. One young blind fellow who I used to buy tea for, still comes around but now there is no tea stall open and very few of us here to offer food or money.
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Most of the professional beggars left with the Indian tourists. The local begging families can be seen in their makeshift hovels down by the Vietnamese temple. I used to buy the children samosas but the small Dabas are closed. So five rupee biscuit packages make the children happy. The dogs who come to sit with me outside the Stupa, most often did so for the company. They too will get a few biscuits. Poor things. Their teeth are so bad they can't eat the hard dry dog foods, which is all that is available by way of packaged dog food. I learned that lesson last year during my poor attempts to feed them. The garbage dumps are once again dried and withering down to nothing. No scraps to be had.
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But there is one Bodhisattva amongst us. One Tibetan nun who for the past years, through the cruel heat and humidity of summer and the damp cold of winter, through two previous lockdowns and now during the second wave, continues her life's work, everyday. She walks around the stupa area with milk and roti, feeding each and every dog a bit of morsel. When I saw her today, she was feeding group of puppies as the malnourished mother stood back, allowing her pups to eat. . Her bag was heavy with food, stick in hand and cloth wrapped around her head. With the recent help of the Laos Bhikkhuni, they took care of the Stupa's newly born puppies last autumn, cared for the sick and then buried the ones who died. Unfortunately, she cannot walk through all of Bodhgaya. However, this nun’s fearless dedication, tenacity and compassion cannot be understated. To her I say 'Cho sa lo' (to you I prostrate)
Walking to the market yesterday, I ran into several other nuns who are living independently. The Laos Bhikkhuni in the Thai tradition has been in residence at an Indian Monastery behind the Mahabodhi temple since the first lockdown last year. The kind Abbot had offered her a room. It is dark with a small window and has a serious mosquito problem. We joke that we come in contact with more mosquitoes than people on a daily basis. Dengue and Chikungunya are a real threat come monsoon.
I had given her some no-kill Ayuveda neem mosquito sticks that work well. She's quite poor so I'll offer her enough to last for the next while. She is hoping to get home this year. During this time, she is permitted to go out to shop once a week because the monks have been sequestered behind the Monastery gates. The other nuns I met were the Tibetan nuns continuing daily prayers outside the Mahabodhi Temple. Elderly nuns who came from the north and from south India for the Monlams ( prayer festivals) followed by Losar, the Tibetan New Year. They were looking forward to Saka Dawa/Vesak at the Mahabodhi Temple. Then return home their respective nunneries before summer monsoon. They now must stay here and wait.
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Fresh produce had arrived at the market so like myself, the nuns were doing a quick shopping before heading back to their rooms. I had noticed their cheaply made local blue surgical style and cloth masks which are also of very poor design and quality. Over washed and mangled they are no better than a simple scarf. Actually, I think scarves give better coverage than what these cloth masks offer because the cloth masks don't cover the nose. Perpetual slippage until people just give up. The new normal of mask wearing. Like the Health Minister on the news. His mask is always under his nose.
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Through the noise of the market, I spoke to the nuns about proper fit, aerosols and filter quality, knowing very well that nothing adequate is available in the local stalls. Double masking is the only option. However, the Laos Bhikkhuni was in the know. She had a good mask given to her by a Vietnamese nun, but it was a bit ragged from being washed too often. As I walked home I then noticed two old Lamas who have been here for the past year and had the same kind of mask problems. Tibetan Lamas can have large heads. Locally made masks just don't fit. I spoke to them about it and they told me the ear loops were too tight for their heads. Unfortunately, they do not like masks with head straps. They prefer the ear loops.
Why hadn't I noticed this problem before during the previous two lockdowns? Is it because this new mutation is more contagious. Or perhaps because there are more of us doing prayers at the Stupa than before and therefore, we are not as well spaced during morning practice. I know of a good quality brand, comfortable fitting polypropylene filtered masks that are available on line and very cheap if purchased in bulk. During the last lock down one nun had ordered and we shared the package. So now I plan to arrange with her to order more masks to offer to all the Sangha who are at the Stupa. Hopefully they will be delivered by Vesak.
I also noted that the American Vietnamese Buddhist association has continued to offer Dana Lunch Packets in the mornings to the Sangha. Leftover packets are offered to the beggars. The packets are placed on the offering table, with a bottle of water, a piece of fruit and a juice box. Mindful of the Pandemic protocols, the Sangha line up and take turns picking up the Dana offering. Some Sangha really depend on this lunch package.
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Gratefully, we do not yet have the gravity of Covid cases that you see in other places on the news. Bodhgaya is included in the Gaya District stats so it's really difficult to get the full story for just Bodhgaya except for word of mouth. It is a small enough community that we are able to keep each other informed. We also check up with each other when we don't see or hear from one another for a few days. Bodhgaya, has had an increased number of Covid cases and an increase of the number of deaths but not the percentage that other places have suffered. Again, not yet. Patna and Varanasi have been hit hard due to festivals and overcrowded markets.
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My favorite Pharmacist and his family caught Covid and have all since recovered. The owner of the Embassy Hotel lost his wife to Covid. And the father of a friend is in hospital in Patna. His father is stable and should recover. This particular family caught Covid back in April 2020 and all recovered.
Most Thai and Burmese Sangha here are sequestered in their monasteries. Root Institute is locked down. About 30 individual Sangha from India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Tibetan traditions, with a few lay practitioners, still head down to sit outside the stupa in the early mornings, space themselves out, wear masks and do individual practices. I was also doing practices outside the stupa, the same as I did last year when the Mahabodhi temple was closed. But during this second wave I noticed that after the first week, people were not as mindful as last year.
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We were all very careful during the previous lockdowns. But there were fewer of us here practicing outside the stupa grounds. It was easier to space ourselves in whatever shade we could find. With the increase in numbers, devotees have to share the shady areas and that tends to create a comfortable atmosphere. A sense of community and safety in numbers. But with that comes a laxity in mindfulness with mask wearing and distancing.
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So I have stopped going to the Stupa area in the morning. Instead, I do my second daily session in my room. It consists of the FPMT Covid Prayers Sadhana plus the Entering the City of Vaishali Sutra as instructed by Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche and then prayer requests for the sick and who have passed. My simple room is blessed with a thangka, a statue and holy relics. So I feel it's ok to offer those prayers from my room until it is safer to be done at the Mahabodhi Temple. I sometimes do khora around HHDL's temple and the Mahabodhi Society in late afternoon for my Vitamin D. Streets are fairly empty by then
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As I have been writing, the electricity has been off and the heat, unbearable. There is a generator but it is never used when it is just me in the guest house. I am most often the only guest here. I am quite fortunate to be in Bodhgaya this past year despite the numerous challenges. To offer prayers and services in this holy place when they are needed the most. As Lama Yeshe said, "It is better to be grateful for what you have than waste time being unhappy for what you don't have." Thank goodness for Dharma to put everything into perspective.
My goodness this is a long rambling message. Must be the HEAT getting to my head.
Please continue to stay safe and take all the necessary precautions. Don't let your guard down. This too will come to pass.
With luv and prayers,
Ani Tsundue