Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

^0 L E T T I N G G O 06blue antelope-thing leaping across our path into the scrub. A nilgai, Nicksaid; he was very pleased, and I was pleased too. Then the path ended ata Jain shrine, and we had to scramble through the scrub and thornbushestrying to guess which direction the stupa lay in. That meant blunderingaround after Nick getting my legs torn, more painful flounderingaccompanied by inner mutterings. Eventually, just as the sun was settlingbehind the hills, its rays illuminated the peak of the stupa, not faroff. And so we arrived at the monument. The place spoke of—no, proclaimed—Peaceand Order, or at least Order, created by some impressivetechnology and willpower. And it was quiet; hardly anybody wasabout. Nick guessed that with the sun going down and the general “banditphobia,” everyone had been ordered off the hill.Inside the temple we met the chaukidar, who had a little English. Nomonks were here, tomorrow the nun would come, but tonight no onewas here except him and three other Indian temple workers. He wasn’tcertain we were allowed to stay, but as it was now dark, we could at leaststay the night. We could sleep in the shrine room and ask the nun whenshe came tomorrow.The shrine room was immaculate—polished wooden floor, tiers ofhuge finely wrought golden Buddha images cascading forward in pairsof diminishing stature. Somewhere in the middle of this galaxy ofblessedness beamed Most Reverend Fuji, and above him the tumblingswirls of calligraphy proclaiming the sacred mantra: “Na Myo HoRenge Kyo.” But we’d been through that one. Here it was silent. Thefour Indian workers sat reverentially behind us as we did our eveningpuja and some meditation. Then they lay down on the floor, so we unrolledour mats, and with our heads pointing toward the shrine, passedthe night in periods of sleep interrupted by the snoring of one of them.The morning brought a clear sky and a further opportunity to marvelat the workmanship of the temple and its idyllic setting. Things herewould be as they should be—still and clear. The only uncertainty wasthe nun. The chaukidar was used to relating to her as his boss, so he was2 3 1