Rajgir and Nalanda

Today was a busy day. We first drove about two hours to Rajgir. The road was actually the best I've seen in India. I dare say it was as good as one might expect in rural Montana. Combined with the fairly new SUV with a good suspension, it was actually an almost pleasant drive. We had a Tibetan couple with us for the journey. As it turned out, he was a doctor and she was a nurse. So they were very interested in my work. My clients need not worry, as I did not disclose anything about my current products. It was more general, like "I work on knee, spine, and elbow implants." They were intrigued nonetheless, and it made for some interesting conversation.

The first stop in Rajgir was a mountain stupa and temple built in the Buddha's honor by the Japanese about 50 years ago. You can walk to it, but we took the chairlift. I'm used to chairlifts, but not without snow and skis. It's a little trickier when you aren't sliding already. I think it was the first chairlift for Tamding and the Tibetan couple. They all got a little scared when it stopped, which chairlifts frequently do. It also backed up a little when it restarted, which really freaked them out. The stupa and temple at the top were nice, and we even saw some monkeys (not uncommon here).

From there, we hiked down a little to a place where the Buddha often taught in the summer (it's a little cooler than Bodh Gaya). I can't remember the Hindi name for the place, but it translates to "vulture point." The story is that the Buddha was meditating there and the vultures were pecking a him. He got angry and turned them into stone. The story is, of course, nonsense. He wasn't the kind of person to either get angry or hurt animals (except for eating them). Nor could he turn things to stone. But it is a good example of the misconceptions and exaggerations that often surround religious figures. There are some even more bizarre stories about the Buddha that come from Thailand. Regardless, the place is significant for being the location of some of the Buddha's most important teachings.

After walking down, we had lunch and then traveled to a man-made cave nearby. The cave was carved by King Bindusara (Ashoka's father) to store some of his treasure. The treasure was meant for Bindusara's least favorite son and was sealed behind a large basalt rock so he couldn't get to it. Nobody else has gotten to it, either. Some British archeologists tried to blast it out, but were unsuccessful. I guess they should have hired a miner. It is now protected by the Indian government and nobody knows what's actually there.

From there, we went to the big highlight of the day: Nalanda University. Nalanda started out as a Hindu monastery and was famous in the time of the Buddha. He spent some time there as a teacher near the end of his life. Also, the Buddha's most prominent disciple, Sariputta, was born in the town of Nalanda. Much later, in 450 AD, Nalanda was transformed (and expanded) into a Buddhist University. It was considered to be one of the world's greatest centers of learning until the decline of Buddhism in the 12th century. The final blow was delivered in 1193 when it was destroyed by Muslim invaders. It remained buried until the British excavated it in the 19th century. Those of you from Boulder might recognize "Nalanda" as being the name of one of Naropa University's campuses. Now you know where the name comes from.

Our final stop wasn't on the usual tour, but Tamding insisted on going. It took about an hour for him to convince our driver to go and we naturally had to pay more money. It wasn't so bad, as our grand total was 420 Rupees per person ($10.50). So the last stop was what the Tibetans call Lodak Kawa, but I don't know the Indian name. The Buddha studied there as an ascetic for six years prior to his enlightenment. It was at Lodak Kawa that he rejected the ascetic path and discovered what he would later call the "Middle Way." From there, he relocated to Bodh Gaya and became enlightened. We also relocated back to Bodh Gaya, but we didn't become enlightened. Damn!