streaming consciousness…

Bodh Gaya, in the state of Bihar (from the Sanskrit vihara, or temple), in India, is top dead center for the history of Buddhism, famous as the place where the Buddha got ‘woke,’ or found enlightenment, whichever translation you prefer, same thing, really. And if Patna did little to show the glory of its previous existence as Pataliputra, then Bodh Gaya goes a long way to make up for that disappointment, not that there are none of the noise, air pollution, and grime that plague so many other Indian towns and cities—there are—but there’s none of that inside the Mahabodhi temple complex itself.

No, there are just Buddhists from all over the world gathering to share some of the well-being that they have acquired through the practice of Buddhism, even if the several traditions may have diverged widely from the original inspiration which was the Buddha’s almost alone, after…