Day Hike to Kaskikot

Today was my final day of training, guided along a strenuous mountain path by Jagrit, the university student who will be my "porter" for the ten day trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary. While uncomfortable enslaving a 50kg wisp to carry my bag, I'm happy to know that the money he will earn over the next ten days will cover his tuition and support his mother (in the photo over my right shoulder) for many months to come.

Today Jagrit took me to his village, a 600 meter ascent to a mountain top that would pass as anyone's shangri-la. We sat on grass mats spread on the mud floor, eating rice, lentils, goat meat, veg curry and buffalo milk. Jagrit had warned me that in every Hindu household "guest is God". I certainly encountered at least that degree of respect and honor.

The day taught me many lessons, one being that I will be safely guided into the Himalayas by an honorable guide/porter.

This will likely be my final post until I descend from the Annapurna range around the 12th of September with many stories and photos.

The World Peace Pagoda

Although 60% of the population of Nepal is Hindu, the country has a rich Buddhist tradition. A prince of the Sakya clan, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in Lumbini (Nepal) some 500 years BC. He lived in the kingdom of Kapilivastu until he renounced his position and wealth at the age of 29 years to develop a better understanding of suffering. Six years later, after that many years wandering in the forests and plains as an ascetic, he achieved "enlightenment" upon his realization of the causes of suffering and the way out of suffering. This event took place under a great pipal tree in a forest in northern India. Prince Siddhartha is now known as the historical "Buddha", the one who is fully aware. The Buddha taught that we all can develop that same level of awareness by living a life of non-violence, compassion for others and harmony with nature and other beings.

In 1994, Japanese Buddhists constructed the 71st of 100 planned World Peace Pagodas, this one in Pokhara, Nepal, in order to convey the message of peace embodied in the teachings of the Buddha. The smaller images included here are of two of the four statues of the Buddha embedded in the Pokhara pagoda: the sitting Buddha in Bodhgaya (site of his enlightenment) and the standing Buddha in Sarnath (site of his first teaching). Both sites are in India.

The pagoda sits several hundred meters above Pokhara, overlooking Phewa Lake, one of my favorite hiking destinations as I prepare for Annapurna.

From the Himalayan lakeside town of Pokhara

Pokhara, Nepal. While preparing for the trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary, I've been doing moderately difficult day hikes in the mountains around Pokhara. Day 1 was a wake-up call: "Am I really going to be able to do this?" Day 2: "Oh no.....do I ache today!" Day 3: "This isn't so bad." Day 4: "I'm feeling the benefit of these day hikes.....it's getting easier."

Between hikes, I've been reading Peter Hessler's second book about China, Oracle Bones, in which he writes about Beijing's preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Hessler describes how Chinese athletes, trained to be highly competetive and nationalistic, play only to win. Spectators expect the team to win and offer no appreciation for individual effort. Hessler goes on to contrast his own adolescent experiences with sports, reflecting on his father's coaching him in athletics. He writes, "His lessons were always counter-intuitive: the final goal is not victory but self-improvement."

Following Hessler's father's counter-intuitive lesson, I really have nothing to accomplish here -- only to remain in the moment, not focusing on a goal of reaching any particular altitude, but simply enjoying the experience. And I'm already doing that!

First Morning Pokhara....the clouds clear!

It's now 6:00 AM and monsoon clouds give way to early morning views of the Annapurna Range looming over Pokhara.

It looks like a great opportunity to begin some training with a day hike to the green peak you see in the foreground of the upper photo. This is Sarangkot -- from there, in one direction I'll look over the lake valley below and then back to the snow-capped range.

The Kathmandu-Pokhara Highway

The highway between the Kathmandu Valley and the lakeside town of Pokhara in central Nepal is a series of hillside-hanging "S"-shaped curves, one followed by another. Nonetheless, the scenery is utterly spectacular - terraced hillsides, green with baby rice seedlings, and below, a furiously flowing river of raging water browned with the monsoon run-off of hundreds of mountains streams.

A mist hangs low over the river valley as farmers weed their fields in the morning light. Cooks in roadship dhaabas (restuarants) prepare masala dishes for the crews that move an unending array of trucks between the industrial states of north India and the Kathmandu valley. The trucks, loaded with market goods, seem to ply the mountain road with their own form of aggression. As you see in the photo above, the pay-off is that some never complete the journey.

Kathmandu

The great Boudhanath Stupa dominates the skyline of this sector of Kathmandu, sitting on the ancient trade route that once connected Tibet and the Kathmandu valley. The 15th/16th century stupa, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal. With large migrations of Tibetans to Nepal, the stupa is surrounded by more than 50 temples and monasteries.

The majestic Himalayas overlook Kathmandu and Boudhanath, although the clouds of the seasonal monsoon occlude the view of mountain peaks during this visit.

Tomorrow I'll travel by bus through mountains and terraced fields to Pokhara in central Nepal where I'll begin to prepare for my planned trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary later this month.

Delhi's Lodi Garden

Delhi always draws more energy than one seemingly has to expend, but the city still does have its beauty. Last Friday, the number of people who traveled on the Metro exceeded 2 million for the first time ever. I waited out several trains at one station since there simply was no space to board. Do you wonder why they have separate coaches for women?

The photos are of Lodi Garden, an expansive inner-city park that is home to the mosques and tombs of 15th-16th century Mughal emperors of the Lodi dynasty.

Cows go shopping too!

Over the years during visits to Varanasi, I've repeatedly seen this cow in its favorite haunt, a cloth shop in the city's Godowlia Market. She has become the shop's signature pet.

Hindus regard all cows as sacred and they seem to wander the streets throughout the country with freedom and license to sit wherever they choose.

This cow apparently has a favorite corner of the shop for lounging; just before she hobbled up the granite steps, I observed the shopkeeper moving the stools out of the way to make way for the venerable.

Sarnath and Deer Park - site of the first teaching of the Buddha

Twenty kilometers from Varanasi sits the small town of Sarnath and its Deer Park, a forested area where the historical Buddha offered his first teaching after achieving enlightenment nearly 2600 years ago.

Today one finds archaeological remains of monasteries built at the site and an ancient stupa constructed to commemorate the event of the Buddha's teaching.

Deer still roam the neighboring park, while vendors sell local snack foods to Indian visitors and local boys practice their classroom English by asking foreigners to take their photo.

Being in the moment in the midst of chaos!

Earlier today I found myself weaving through thousands of Hindu pilgrims on a busy Varanasi thoroughfare that leads to the River Ganga. There was little order to the hurried march of devotees as they were prodded along by stick-waving jawans (soldiers) and police in riot gear.

I was impatient, so I picked up my pace in order to put the unruly crowd behind me.

Then I caught the eye of a soldier who was watching me with apparent interest when I realized he was reading the inscription on my tee shirt. I paused and remembered that the shirt carried the words of my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, "Do not hurry. Enjoy the present moment." I had a little laugh, smiled to the policeman and came back to the moment. I slowed my pace and realized that I could enjoy even these moments of chaos. More aware and very slowly I continued to my destination.

India's holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the River Ganges

Indian culture is deeply rooted in spirituality, folklore and myth, details of which are narrated in the two great epic poems of Indian literature, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, believed to have been written in Varanasi.

Varanasi, Benares or Kashi – all names of the the world’s longest continuously inhabited city -- is situated along the banks of the Ganges, a river believed to be the eternal abode of Lord Shiva, one of the most important deities in the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses. Hindus on pilgrimage travel here from all over India to do "puja" in the hundreds of temples spread throughout the ancient "old city" and to cleanse themselves of impurities by bathing in the waters of mother Ganga. The river banks are the site of "burning ghats" where bodies of the deceased are placed upon funeral pyres of wooden logs, then set ablaze for cremation. The ashes are placed in the river as it is believed that this allows Lord Shiva to hastily carry the soul to the next life.

The nearby city of Sarnath is important to the world's Buddhist as the site where the Buddha is known to have given his first teaching on the existence of suffering, offering a practical way out of suffering which is described as The Eightfold Path. Many Buddhist traditions have located temples and monasteries in Sarnath.

Varanasi embodies all the mysticism and beauty of incredible India and has become one of my favorite places to visit.

Return to Beloved India

I returned to India on Wednesday, first spending a few days in Calcutta before traveling the 400 kilometers to Bodhgaya on Sunday. The journey by train took me through forests, lush green countryside and fields of baby rice seedlings nurtured by a healthy monsoon.

Back in Bodhgaya where I previously lived and worked for several years, I'm enjoying seeing friends and colleagues and hearing about the progress of the health program here at Root Institute. Staff we hired some years back have blossomed into successful health workers and village health programs are now flourishing under their guidance. It's gratifying to see the momentum that has been sustained over the years.

The photos above come from a mural we painted four years ago to use as a backdrop for health teaching. The scenes depict various scenarios at the village level that promote healthy ways of living:

• promoting use of pit latrines for sanitation;
• preventing burns caused by open fires;
• polio prevention with immunization for infants and young children;
• improved family nutrition with harvests from backyard gardens.

Later this week, I'll travel to mystical Varanasi on the banks of the Ganga, an important pilgrimage site for India's Hindus. And then on to Delhi and a side-trip to the hill station of Nainital (to escape the heat).