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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Holy Words

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“However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C)

Those Tibetans were reading 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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All That We Are

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“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
The mind is everything.
What we think we become.”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C)

This is a young Tibetan monk reading under the Bodhi Tree, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.

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Whatever Words

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“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C)

This is a close-up of a huge bell at the entrance of 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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