Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

^0 P U R I T Y 06response from the local Indian population. I didn’t even receive a stare.Here bhikkhus were part of the scene: they were either well endowedwith cameras and money and arrived in deluxe coaches at the head of apilgrim entourage, or they were the caretakers of the temples, or theywere the beggars who patrolled the sacred ruins or sat patiently with littlecloths sprinkled with coins in front of them. No cause for devotion,faith, or generosity to arise in that. A quixotic gallantry stirred me: forme to be here as a pilgrim in the Middle Country meant to serve it byliving as the Buddha told us. Maybe that would cause faith and wisereflections to arise—but really there was no point in having expectations.My dharma was to live as a bhikkhu; whether anyone respondedto that was their business.November 20th: it was time to leave Kushinagar. We took leave of UÑanissara and paid our last respects at the Nirvana Temple in the morning.We left in the middle of the afternoon, after the midday heat hadabated a little. Nick planned a nearby destination for us for that day: FazilNagar, eighteen kilometres due east. There, according to Bhante, was astupa and the site where the Buddha ate his last meal, the fatal dish thatset off the violent colic and dysentery that brought his life to an end. Thestraight and obvious route was along the main road that connects Lucknowand Gorakhpur with a new bridge over the Gandak River. On theother side of the river, the road would lead south to Patna and thenceconnect to Calcutta or the industrial towns of southern Bihar. A highroad at the time of the Buddha, it was now a trunk road, hard going forwayfarers like ourselves.On the road to Tuthibari, trucks had passed us quite frequently—buthere the traffic was continuous in both directions. The heavy lorries andbuses thundering in both lanes competed over the central two metresof the road which was the strip that had unbroken tarmac on it. A walkerhad to stay engaged with the flow to negotiate his own passage in thepitted margins and ditches on the fringe of the pavement—the zoneshared with teetering bullock carts, bicycles, and motor scooters. Apart9 7