Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

^0 B O R D E R 06the grass bank facing the fields, just out of sight of those passing on theroad. He set up a little shrine, and there we placed the Buddha rupas,or statues, we were each carrying. The incense was lit, we bowed threetimes, and began the evening chanting in praise of the Buddha,Dhamma, and Sangha while facing the paddy fields in the land of theBuddha. We sat in meditation for half an hour, sitting quietly with thesounds of people passing behind us: the trudge of feet, occasional conversation,and the tinkle of bicycle bells. We finished with a short chantand three bows and then rose to continue walking. It was now dusk, andalthough the light was fading we could still make out the distant peaks,the snow now a slight rosy pink from the setting sun.We had met before the trip to discuss how we would do it. I was fullof where-to-go and how-to-get-there; Ajahn Sucitto was more concernedwith the spirit of the thing. He suggested we keep up the dailypujas and meditation and the full-moon vigils. I suggested we take lightweightsleeping bags, bivvy bags, and foam sleeping mats. He spoke ofdevotion and his wish to do it for others. I was concerned about waterbottles, getting inoculations, and maps.I went in search of the walking maps. Stanfords, the big map shop inLondon, could supply maps for the high Himalayas but not the plainsof India. Although the government of India supposedly produced suchmaps, they were in fact unavailable. It was an early reminder of the frustrationof trying to accomplish anything in India. Eventually I discoveredthe India Office: a remnant of British rule, it had become anoutpost of the British Library in Vauxhall, containing the accumulatedrecords of the British Raj. I was told that the British offered them allback but the new states of India and Pakistan were unable to agree onwho was to hold them, so they are kept in London. They had wonderfullydetailed maps of the area where we proposed to go, but they datedonly up until Independence, and they could only let me copy maps thatpredated 1940 because of copyright rules. The librarian did explain thatI could, in theory, get permission from the Indian government, who3 9