{"id":114,"date":"2010-09-27T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-27T12:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/09\/four-pink-eyes-two-typhoids-and-a-case-of-bacterial-somethingorother\/"},"modified":"2010-09-27T12:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-27T12:12:00","slug":"four-pink-eyes-two-typhoids-and-a-case-of-bacterial-somethingorother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/09\/four-pink-eyes-two-typhoids-and-a-case-of-bacterial-somethingorother.html","title":{"rendered":"Four Pink Eyes, Two Typhoids and a case of bacterial somethingorother"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Such is India.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
A stupa at the Burmese Vihar at the end of my floor, pleasantly called the \u201cDeva Floor\u201d as it is reserved for teachers and meditation masters.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The first wave of illness has made its way through our students and faculty here at the Burmese Vihar in Bodh Gaya. Nothing serious, fortunately, but plenty of trips to the clinic. In all, about a third of the group has dealt with something, mostly minor colds or a quickly passing stomach illness. I myself came down with the latter, leaving me in some pain Friday night and generally exhausted (fluid loss, many short sprints to the bathroom) through the weekend, but otherwise doing just fine. After a quick self-diagnosis with the\u00a0Lonely Planet \u2013 Healthy Travel \u2013 Asia & India<\/a>\"\" book, I went on Cypro and will finish off a 5-day cycle tomorrow just to make sure.<\/p>\n

Beyond that things have been fairly uneventful \u2013 busy, to be sure, but the excitement is all ahead of us. This weekend marked the start of Pitr Paksha<\/a>, a Hindu festival celebrated here in Bodh Gaya, which will last through early October. The name literally means something like \u2018over to the father(s)\u2019 and Hindus from around the area will come here to make an offering to their deceased relatives. After that, festival and Buddhist<\/a> pilgrimage season kicks into full gear, culminating in December and January with the influx of Tibetan lamas and their students from around the world.\u00a0 Hopefully by that time I\u2019ll be caught up on all my teaching and other duties and I can sneak out for some teachings and more photos.<\/p>\n

The temperature has cooled considerably since we arrived \u2013 when another teacher measured it at 95 degrees F in our rooms in the evening, cooling only to 93 degrees by morning, with high humidity. We\u2019ve all faced heat like that before \u2013 Taiwan, Kansas, Spain, even in Montana \u2013 but never the combination of heat, humidity, dust, lack of A\/C, and frequent power failures, killing even the merciful cooling effect of ceiling fans. Oh well. At least then<\/i> no one was sick. In the next week or so the temperature is expected to drop even a bit more and the rains (which thankfully did arrive at least a bit) should almost completely subside for the cool-dry (winter) period here.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The hallway outside the library, my home away from home (and just a floor below my room).<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

As mentioned, my life here is very busy. I wake each day around 4:45am for meditation at 5:30. A silent breakfast follows and then a break (language classes) to prep for my own teaching, which is 3 times a week for 80 minutes. On my off-days I do more prep or related reading or, rarely, venture into town for some shopping or to see a temple. I\u2019m also managing the small library here, which for the topic of Buddhist studies and related fields is better than most university libraries I\u2019ve been in. This is a daily task, taking up more time in the first couple weeks and growing less now that we\u2019re getting the hang of it. It\u2019s run on the \u2018honor system\u2019 so, with a little help and upkeep, it basically runs itself.<\/p>\n

After teaching, from 8:30-10am we have tea, often spent discussing philosophical topics of the day with students or administrative matters with fellow professors and our director. Then it\u2019s off to the library before a rest \u2013 the days here are much more exhausting than one might think. Then lunch, more library time, prep, and\/or rest before evening tea, an hour and a half of meditation, and dinner. In the evenings there are often special events to go see (festivals, guests to meet, and the likes), or Hindi instruction \u2013 which I\u2019m sadly too tired and impatient to keep up with, or more reading and rest.<\/p>\n

The weekends sometimes bring a break \u2013 but also are opportunities for more in depth explorations of the area. This coming weekend, in fact, most of the students and some faculty will be going to Varanasi.\u00a0 Soon we\u2019ll visit Rajgir and Nalanda, and a trip to Calcutta is also planned.<\/p>\n

This week we also begin plans for the students\u2019 independent studies, which is an exciting opportunity for them to craft their own projects and then to go do original research here in India. Many in my group hope to head to Sikkim<\/a> for their studies, so there is a good chance I\u2019ll go there too. <\/p>\n

Time went very slowly for the first couple weeks here \u2013 it seemed like months as we met in London, then traveled first to Delhi and then to Bodh Gaya. But since we\u2019ve settled in and established a rhythm, time has \u2018snapped\u2019 back in amazing fashion, this last week flying by like a flash of lightning. Speaking of which \u2013 I\u2019ve missed afternoon tea and am in danger of missing meditation too if I don\u2019t rush back to the Vihar. All my best \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Such is India.\u00a0 A stupa at the Burmese Vihar at the end of my floor, pleasantly called the \u201cDeva Floor\u201d as it is reserved for teachers and meditation masters. The first wave of illness has made its way through our students and faculty here at the Burmese Vihar in Bodh Gaya. 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