5 days in BodhGaya
~~ Why Bodhgaya – Background ~~
While booking train tickets to visit Puri in east of India I came across the list of places where the train stops. One of them was Gaya. On mentioning this to my mother there was an instant smile on her face. She wanted to visit Gaya to perform a hindu ceremony. And my interest in Buddhism has longed me to visit Bodhgaya since 2010. It was a perfect deal. So I decided to split our return journey from Puri to Delhi via Gaya. Initially I booked 2 night stay in Bodhgaya but when I found option of living in a monastery I changed the plans and increased the stay to 5 days.
~~ Reaching BodhGaya ~~
It may be useful to know that Gaya and Bodhgaya are 2 different towns approx 16 km apart. Gaya/Bodhgaya can be easily reached by flight, train or by road. Both the airport and train station are effectively located in Gaya. I was surprised to know that Bodhgaya operates an international airport with direct flights from Rangoon, Bangkok, china etc. One can take an auto-rickshaw from airport (INR 120-INR 150 or INR 15 shared) or Gaya train station (INR 150-200 depend on how much you can bargain and INR 20 only sharing the vehicle with other passengers). Journeys are approx 9km and 14km resp and take 20min and 30min. If you are travelling local without luggage you can save pennies travelling with the locals as shown below.
I arrived with my mum after a 16 hour train journey from Puri onto Gaya train station. We took an auto-rickshaw, paid INR 200 to drop us to Bodhgaya Root institute. It is advisable not to travel between Gaya and Bodhgaya later in the night (like after 10pm) for security reasons. On our return journey from Gaya to Delhi few days later we took the 22:35 hrs train. But we travelled from Bodhgaya to Gaya around 19:00 hrs to avoid being late and waited at the train station.
~~ The Root Institute ~~
~ Place
This was the best find in Bodhgaya even before we arrived. While browsing on-line, looking for accommodation in Bodhgaya, I came across a post on TripAdvisor where someone suggested staying in Buddhist monastery as an alternative to hotels and guest houses. This was a fantastic advise which I quickly incorporated and found Root Institute. On requesting 4 nights accommodation on-line I got a quick response (within minutes). And I booked out our stay.
Root Institute is a Tibetan Monastery originally established by Lama Yeshe and now Lama Rinpoche. They are Tibetan monks who migrated from Tibet after Chinese attached Tibet in 1960s. This Monastery was located on the outskirts of an already tiny Bodhgaya, hence a quite and peaceful place. It had a central temple for study called the Big Gompa, a big statue of Buddha, living quarters, food mess, a small medical clinic for poor, a school for poor and cows.
~ Food
Most of the visitors were from the developed western countries. Hence food was modified for western taste. And of course light and healthy. Food was served at following times:
Breakfast – 7:30 hrs
Lunch – 12:00 hrs
Evening Tea – 15:00 hrs
Dinner – 18:00 hrs
This may seem odd for Indian standards but for west and for the Monastery this was just perfect. Eating, sleeping and exercising on time does only good to your body.
~ Accomodation
We lived in a double room with attached bathroom without AC. 2 single beds were laid out neatly, no TV, no distractions. The mattriss and pillow were just like as I like in London. The facility was basic but just right. There are a lot of mosquitos so the sleeping net was a blessing. We couldn’t have slept without it.
~ Library
There was a small library but it had ample books on Buddhism to keep you occupied for few years. I borrowed few books in Hindi for my mum.
~ Statue
Here is the statue of Buddha in the central yard.
~ Gompa
This was the temple teaching area in the central yard of the institute. Here are few beautiful pics. One can medidate and teach.
~ Mahabodhi Temple and Bodhi Tree
Over our stay in Bodhgaya we visited Mahabodhi temple several times. Even though being occupied by many visitors all the time it was still very organised and peaceful, no chaos or shouting. The temple opens up to the east. Behind the temple is the Bodhi Tree, the same tree where it is believed Buddha attained enlightenment. Just like many others I sat under the Bodhi tree and meditated. The first time I saw the Bodhi tree I could recall years of longness coming to truth. I have known about this since childhood and it was now truely in front of me.
Useful Info –
Open to everyone (very important).
Open from 5am to 9pm.
It costs INR 100 to take the camera inside the temple.
Mobile phones are not allowed at all. They can be deposited at the entrance in small lockers and you can take the key.
A lot of people wear while visiting the temple. Monks wear maroon colored robes.
I was there at the time of the Chanting Ceremony and it was interesting to see monks from all south east asian countries to chant .
~~ Taste of Tibetian Buddhism ~~
I attended 2 days of the course Taste of Tibetian Buddhism. I hope to get to do it again in future sometime.
~~ The GayaJi Experience ~~
This was on my mum’s demand that I visited Gaya Ji to perform the hindu ritual of pind daan. It was a bitter experience.
~~ Finally ~~
I must say I really enjoyed my stay in the Buddhist monastery and will cherish the peaceful time spent there.