Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

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^0 G I F T S 06with a few brick houses among them; narrow winding paths with childrenplaying, half naked, hair matted with dirt; and a few old folk squatting.My body felt out of scale, and my bowl was too bright. (I had beengiven another one, one of those stainless steel bowls they make in Thailand,of better quality than most Bihari villagers’ household goods.) Butthey didn’t mind that I was special; they stopped me—the old folk withtheir friendly inquiries, the children open-mouthed—and they broughtrotis and rice. A child came running after me as I was walking away; herface glowing with joy, she heaved a roti over the lip of my bowl.The road took me gently back to the Maha Bodhi temple. Overwhelmedagain, I could only sit in the garden of prostrations with mybowl mothered in my lap. I chanted a blessing and meditated. They didn’tmind that I was special; in fact they seemed rather to enjoy it. Why wasI finding this birth such a crucifixion?Christmas was always about visiting relatives, reaching out to affirma connection with small gestures of kinship that get ritualized overthe years. So down the road we went, to visit monasteries to pay ourrespects to the elders of the <strong>Sangha</strong> in Bodh Gaya. There was VenerablePaññarama at the Mahabodhi Society, which was the Sri Lankan pilgrims’centre. He was busy with people and could only make a little timefor us. Then there were the Thai bhikkhus, besieged in the Thai temple,disjointedly polite. Being planted in India, especially Bihar, was difficultfor them. Everything was rough, dirty, and exposed—the exact counterpartto what Thais hold dear. But we connected well with VenerableGnana Jagat, the head of the Maha Bodhi Temple committee. He wasIndian, a Brahmin by birth, courteous, solicitous, with just the slightestwhistle to his s’s. He invited us to share his midmorning snack ofchopped fruit and listened intently to our tale. Expressing profoundshame that we had been robbed in his country, he decided to extend hispatronage to us, offering to take us into the temple, up into the top ofthe towering shrine itself. I left feeling like a favoured nephew who hadjust received a shiny copper coin.2 7 3
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06More than any of the other places, Wat Thai Bodh Gaya was theembassy of a wealthy occupying power; I was more or less of their tribe,but having “gone native” by living off the land made me a bit odd. Theway they looked at me reminded me of how my family had received mewhen I returned to England from Thailand.The Buddha described his night of Awakening in different ways. Onestriking account was his recognition of all the forms of doubt and greedand worry as members of a demon host led by the personification ofdelusion, Mara. “Mara” also means death, which in this context is morethan an event. Mara is the instinct that identifies us with the cycle of birthand decay. Mara’s daughters, part of his support team, are Passion, Craving,and Negativity—they are always ready to drag us into some justifiableact of advertence. A meditator is quickly introduced to this host,and generally gets panicked or defensive, or gets into a battle withthem—all of which activities to defend the self merely affirm its existence.Therefore one is something. And to be something, you have to havesomething—a sight, a sound, an idea, an opinion, a future, a belief: anidentity. There is the source of all the longing and the quarrelling, whichsustains the tenacity of the habitual reactions of the mind.But on that special night, the Buddha didn’t react: neither believingnor rejecting Mara, he said, “I know you, Mara,” and touched the earthbeneath him. “I will not move from this spot until I have seen and understood.”At that point of recognition and resolution, the long road ofhabitual drives came to an end.That spot has been enshrined ever since. The emperor Ashoka paidhis respects and watered the Bodhi Tree. A temple occupied the spotthen, and although the original tree died long ago, cuttings from it andits descendants have sheltered the wakened space ever since. The lastone was planted in the nineteenth century by the British, who alsorebuilt the temple. They were the most recent of the long history ofattendants to the temple. As Buddhism waned and was eclipsed in India,pilgrims from Sri Lanka periodically attended to the temple, restored it,2 7 4
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RUDE AWAKENINGS
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The mindful exert themselves;they a
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^0 F O R E W O R D 06mystically emb
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PrefaceWhat follows is the narrativ
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The First MoonT H E M I D D L E L A
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06chomping.
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06deities with
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^0 P I L G R I M S 06things around
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06and pedestri
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06government w
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06too attracti
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 F I R S T
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2Over the BorderA J A H N S U C I T
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^0 B O R D E R 06managed to ignore
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^0 B O R D E R 06Buddhist holy plac
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^0 B O R D E R 06a Buddha except th
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^0 B O R D E R 06the maelstrom, som
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^0 B O R D E R 06I read a sign in t
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^0 B O R D E R 06to Bhairawa, the n
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^0 B O R D E R 06of homage to the B
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^0 B O R D E R 06the grass bank fac
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3Leaving HomeA J A H N S U C I T T
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06ascertain
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06take arou
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06region an
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06wanted us
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06mother: s
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06We stoppe
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06to allow
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06conversat
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The Second MoonL U M B I N I T O VA
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4The ObserverA J A H N S U C I T T
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06with a lot of t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06contemplative b
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06After that we e
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06forbidden. Reli
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06told me about t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06to sit beside t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06With this move
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06the back; the d
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06live in th
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06Eventually
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06to a prese
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of his kne
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06found so d
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of them sp
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06stupa, try
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06wanted to
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06and a dark
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06from the e
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River Gandak, Part 2
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06ebbing out
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06violent at
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06That topic
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06friendly f
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06The boat w
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06was time t
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7The Kingdom of the LawA J A H N S
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^0 T H E L AW 06A sub-lieutenant in
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^0 T H E L AW 06was built in the gr
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^0 T H E L AW 06to get over the wor
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^0 T H E L AW 06accept any fare at
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^0 T H E L AW 06and milk sweets I b
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^0 T H E L AW 06the surrounding tre
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^0 T H E L AW 06a small house near
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8CyclesA J A H N S U C I T T ONovem
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^0 C Y C L E S 06long while for the
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^0 C Y C L E S 06thosebirthsanddeat
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^0 C Y C L E S 06There was a tea st
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^0 C Y C L E S 06The land we were p
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^0 C Y C L E S 06the Indian “West
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^0 C Y C L E S 06parothas straight
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^0 C Y C L E S 06ignore thirty boys
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 C Y C L E
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9The Deathless DrumA J A H N S U C
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Once...when I wa
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^0 T H E D R U M 06was a way of enh
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Sangha at Amarav
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^0 T H E D R U M 06scriptures descr
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^0 T H E D R U M 06job, but had eno
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Vaishali’s gre
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^0 T H E D R U M 06less.” And the
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^0 T H E D R U M 06had been a notic
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Striding across
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Mid-Bihar
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06is losing it
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06I had learne
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06cycle—a va
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06the way acro
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06in Bettiah.
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06newspaper th
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06There is not
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06that India h
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 T H I R D
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06bigoted mons
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11Dark AngelA J A H N S U C I T T O
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06on. Then for
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06directly in h
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06something cos
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06a cycle ricks
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06is generously
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06body in order
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06majority of t
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06there are man
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06wound about w
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06It happens to
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06there. After
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^0 DA R K A N G E L 06I contemplate
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12Letting GoA J A H N S U C I T T O
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^0 L E T T I N G G O 06enough for A
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Page 260 and 261: 13Landing PlaceA J A H N S U C I T
Page 262 and 263: ^0 L A N D I N G 06gone. And the di
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Page 266 and 267: ^0 L A N D I N G 06manager facing e
Page 268 and 269: ^0 L A N D I N G 06I was left alone
Page 270 and 271: A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 L A N D I
Page 272 and 273: ^0 L A N D I N G 06Ajahn Sucitto in
Page 274 and 275: ^0 L A N D I N G 06Ahlee, and the m
Page 276 and 277: ^0 L A N D I N G 06moment we were b
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Page 281 and 282: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06admit that a
Page 283 and 284: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06regretfully
Page 285 and 286: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06a ministerin
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Page 289: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06filter like
Page 293 and 294: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06Gotama milk-
Page 295 and 296: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06the sun, alw
Page 297 and 298: A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 T H I R D
Page 299 and 300: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06many-headed
Page 301 and 302: ^0 T H I R D M O O N 06abandoned Ed
Page 304 and 305: EpilogueSo many people helped us bo
Page 306 and 307: NotesP R E FA C E“The mindful exe
Page 308 and 309: ^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 6 : S
Page 310 and 311: ^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 1 0 :
Page 312 and 313: GlossaryAbhidhamma (Pali) one of th
Page 314 and 315: ^0 G L O S S A RY 06chillum (Hindi)
Page 316 and 317: ^0 G L O S S A RY 06Mahayana (Sansk
Page 318 and 319: ^0 G L O S S A RY 06sabong (Hindi)
Page 320: Vinaya (Pali) the monastic discipli
Page 323 and 324: ^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Conze,
Page 325 and 326: ^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Raven-
Page 328 and 329: Recommended ReadingB U D D H I S T
Page 330 and 331: IndexAAbhidhamma, 213, 284, 295Adi
Page 332 and 333: ^0 I N D E X 06HHajipur, 171-73, 18
Page 334 and 335: ^0 I N D E X 06Nalanda and, 210-11,
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