Christmas day – woke up and rang (Nepal time 5am) my lovely daughter in Melbourne (10.30am ish) just before I had a pre breakfast sit. It was lovely to hear her voice. Sitting meditation is generally an early morning and evening activity for me - middle of the day takes off into various little chores and distractions. It is lovely at those times - quiet and beautiful. The day time gets noisier as workmen arrive to continue the construction of three extra kutis and tourist noises float over the wall of the centre.
Just before entering the dining hall I ran into the teachers – good timing as I had a few small gifts to give to them – easier at that point than disturbing their breakfast. Also gifts for Moe Thu and Nwe Mu, Sita and general staff. It was a good feeling to see their surprised smiles. So I have to admit to being a bit disappointed when I came in for lunch and saw a vey simple meal (seems the veggies had run out), as it was my lunch dana – luckily I had personally bought some choccies when last shopping in Bhairahawa - thank God (not very Buddhist maybe but taking the appropriate liberty for this day0. It somehow made me feel mean spirited. I was feeling a bit emotionally delicate already, missing family and friends and perhaps a residue of personal loss. The one allowance for Christmas decorations was the chocolate box – shaped like a Christmas tree, which I decorated with pink bouganvillea and together with the gold Ferrer Rocher wrappers I reckon it looked pretty festive! Not quite a match for the family Christmas tree and table, which I got to see when Skyping (is that an acceptable verb?) – it was lovely to see everyone, even if they were a bit fuzzy, and share vicariously the feast.
After lunch I went with Sayalay to take some photos of the Maya Devi Temple complex, where the Buddha’s place of birth is located - marked by a stone enclosed in bullet-proof glass. Surrounding the temple itself but within the compound are many stupa ruins, which date back over 2000 ago (3 - 5th century BC), and a pillar which was placed there 2300 years ago by the Emperor Ashoka to commemorate and mark the birthplace. The photos are for a presentation for UNESCO on January 4th,, which I will attend with Sayalay. The photos were to illustrate the way devout but over-enthusiastic pilgrims and laid back tourists cause damage to the ruins. So this is one of my duties while here – helping Sayalay a little by taking some photos to add to her collection and editing the text of her power point presentation. After the photo shoot I took myself off for a Christmas coke – to ignite a bit more festive spirit)
Meanwhile for Sayadaw I have been contributing to his passionate campaign to stop industrial encroachment and pollution around the Lumbini area by working on a letter to send to the Nepali PM and doing some research on the health impact of cement production. In between times I help by greeting arrivals and vetting drop in visitors - otherwise my times my own - lots of freedom to come and go as I please.
So one thing I do regularly is to take myself off for a morning walk after breakfast. Everything is filtered through a soft mist at this time of day, and noise, what little there is, is muffled (like all the locals riding on their bikes to work)– so it feels somewhat ethereal (perhaps it’s all the meditation!). I have got to know a few of the locals who work around the area and as I walk out the gate of the centre I approach the old man who sells peanuts and assorted dried nuts and snacks from his wheeled cart. His work day starts with a puja of lighting and waving incense while chanting over his wares to receive blessings for a good business day. We always ‘Namaste’ to each other as I pass. I also say Namaste and good morning to Shiva – one of the guards of the peace flame (an eternal gas flame at the entry to the Monastic area of Lumbini). He likes to practice his English and generally chat – he has a boring job mostly - just keeping an eye on tourists to make sure they don’t try any thing inappropriate around the flame. So we sit on the plastic chairs outside his office and are joined by various rickshaw drivers who use the rickshaw stand close and are waiting for a customer. This morning they were squatting around a low fire, as were some of the local workers who are paving the canal that runs down the centre of the monastic area. My walk takes me along one side of the canal, and I see the sun (surya) as it rises through the mist above the Theravada monasteries, which are on the east side of the canal, and throws its light onto the Mahayana monasteries, which are on the opposite western side.
Today is New Years;' Day - so sending out special Happy New Year loving wishes to all.
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