Like Drops of Water

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“If you are filled with desire
Your sorrows swellLike the grass after the rain.
But if you subdue desire
Your sorrows shall fall from you
Like drops of water from a lotus flower.”
(Hindu Prince Siddhārtha Gautama – the Buddha, 563-483 B.C.)

Those marigolds were offering at the entrance of the Mahabodhi Temple which is the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), located in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

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“Happiness is in the mind which is released from worldly bondage.
The happiness of sensual lust and the happiness of heavenly bliss are notequal to a sixteenth part of the happiness of craving’s end.”
(From the Udāna – a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism)

I met those two Buddhist monks under the Bodhi Tree behind the Mahabodhi Temple which is the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
They filled my soul with happiness and I’ll never forget those moments of bliss spent in this holy place…

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Peace and Serenity

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“And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation.
Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to contribute our peace and serenity.
The most important thing is for each of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart, some peace in our heart.
Only then will we be able to relieve the suffering around us.”
(Thich Nhat Hanh – Vietnamese Monk, Activist and Writer, b.1926)

This young monk was under the Bodhi Tree behind the Mahabodhi Temple which is the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

- This picture is dedicated to those suffering from the Himalayan earthquake -

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Together

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“The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups.
A good principle was never found solitary in any breast. “
(Hindu Prince Siddhārtha Gautama – the Buddha, 563-483 B.C.)

Those monks are pilgrims who came to Bodh Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar.
They were praying and singing under the Bodhi tree facing the Mahabodhi Temple where Siddhārtha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi.

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Spiritual Beings

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“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
(Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – French philosopher and Jesuit priest, 1881-1955)

This monk was praying under the Bodhi Tree behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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Human Business

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“Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”
(Dalai Lama – Head of the Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhists, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, b.1935)

This nun was praying while holding her prayer beads (mala) beneath the Bodhi-tree in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
This is the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment).

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Perfect Knowledge

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” “What would Buddha do to search for perfect knowledge ?”
“Your mind becomes Buddha.
Your mind is Buddha.
All the Buddhas’ ocean of perfect knowledge begins in your very mind and thought.”
(Amitayur Dhyana Sutra 17)

Buddha doesn’t have to do anything to gain perfect knowledge.
He knows he has it already.
He knows we have it already.
But someone we seem to be left out of the loop.
How ironic that we don’t know we have perfect knowledge !
What went wrong ?”
(From “What would Buddha do ?” by Franz Metcalf)

Those two Tibetan monks were under the Bodhi Tree which is behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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Searching for Enlightenment

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This is a picture of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya which was built next to the Bodhi Tree where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment, it is located in the Indian state of Bihar.

According to the Jataka tale, when Buddha first came here, the Papilla, or Indian fig (Bodhi) was a massive tree.
It stood at the centre of a mandala composed of a silver white sandy ridge, encircled by creepers and a grassy woodland with all the trees inclining towards the Bo tree that stood in the middle.
Close by were the pure, glassy waters of the Neranjara river, with many pleasant bathing pools.
When he sat down in front of it facing East, a long vista opened out to through an avenue of Sale trees to the glistening beach of the crystal Neranjara.

After he left, he never looked back, and never visited again.
But he did recommend it as one of the four memorable places worth visiting for inspiration.
Buddhist believe this is the navel of the universe, the vajra seat, where past and future buddhas achieve the ultimate state.

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The Unconditioned Mind

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Nirvana as “the unconditioned” mind, a mind that has come to a point of perfect lucidity and clarity due to the absence of volitional formations.
This being is described by the Buddha as “deathlessness” and as the highest spiritual attainment, the natural result that accrues to one who lives a life of virtuous conduct and practise in accordance with the Noble Eightfold Path.
Such a life dissolves the causes for future becoming that otherwise keep beings forever wandering through the impermanent and suffering-generating realms of desire, form, and formlessness, collectively termed samsara.

While nirvana is “unconditioned”, it is not “uncaused” or “independent.”
The stance of the early scriptures is that attaining nibbana depends on effort and is not pre-determined.

This is a picture was shot under the Bodhi Tree which is at Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment).

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Holding Prayer Beads

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This is a picture of a Tibetan nun hands holding prayer beads.
It was shot during the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, under the Bodhi Tree which is behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
I was sitting among many Buddhist monks coming from all over the world and a very old nun came at my side holding a mala.

I took many pictures of her fingers with those Buddhist prayer beads which are traditional devotional tools used in Buddhism.
They are similar to other forms of prayer beads and the Rosary used in various world religions; thus this tool has also been known as the Buddhist rosary.
In Tibetan Buddhism, traditionally malas of 108 beads are used.
Some practitioners use malas of 21 or 28 beads for doing prostrations.
Doing one 108-bead mala counts as 100 mantra recitations.

In traditional Buddhist thought, people are said to have 108 afflictions or klesas.
There are 6 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and consciousness) multiplied by 3 reactions (positive, negative, or indifference) makes 18 “feelings.”
Each of these feelings can be either “attached to pleasure or detached from pleasure” making 36 “passions”– each of which may be manifested in the past, present, or future.
All the combinations of all these things makes a total of 108, which are represented by the beads.
After reciting 100 mantras, 8 extra mantras are done to compensate for any errors.

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