Today we visited one of the holy sites in Buddhism, the town of Sarnath. This was where the Buddha taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodhgaya. We visited this one monastery with a beautifully painted wall of the Buddha's life. Many of us meditated here for some time, and I made a donation and purchased some books for sale. Outside, they had the full text of his first sermon from the Tipitika inlaid on a shrine.
We then went to the stupa constructed by order of king Asoka, who patronized Buddhism after his conversion. This and its surrounding monasteries were in ruins, which is testament to the idea of impermanence taught by the Buddha.
After some driving, we went to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. This place was completely different from the other one. upon entering their grounds, I could see how serene of a place this monastery was. Inside, there were two monks engaged in some serious study in their books. We walked around the place, and took some pictures, while doing our best to maintain quiet for the monks. We meditated here as well, and then left as quietly as we came. out of the corner of my ear I could hear a bunch of younger voices speaking in a language I could not understand. I asked Dr. Maher, and he said that those were the voices of novice monks being educated.
To become a monk seems like one of the most selfless thing a person could do, so I have a lot of respect for those who embark on that journey.
[Photo of the Sarnath Tibetan Monastery from web]
We then went to the stupa constructed by order of king Asoka, who patronized Buddhism after his conversion. This and its surrounding monasteries were in ruins, which is testament to the idea of impermanence taught by the Buddha.
After some driving, we went to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. This place was completely different from the other one. upon entering their grounds, I could see how serene of a place this monastery was. Inside, there were two monks engaged in some serious study in their books. We walked around the place, and took some pictures, while doing our best to maintain quiet for the monks. We meditated here as well, and then left as quietly as we came. out of the corner of my ear I could hear a bunch of younger voices speaking in a language I could not understand. I asked Dr. Maher, and he said that those were the voices of novice monks being educated.
To become a monk seems like one of the most selfless thing a person could do, so I have a lot of respect for those who embark on that journey.
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