After the second day at the LBCS, Leigh, Myriam, Kapil and Dinu and I headed out to the cave where Buddha meditated prior to enlightenment. This was the end of his extreme ascetic practices and there is a statue of Siddhartha Gautama in his emaciated state to commemorate that period.
I won't repeat the story which has been told many times, but you can read a brief account here: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/15lbud.htm.
What stands out in my mind is how almost biblical the feel of the terrain is. I can't explain, at all, the effect of being there had on me. Sitting in the cave where Gautama had meditated (along with a bunch of others who were listening to a dhamma discourse) was rather magical.
I won't repeat the story which has been told many times, but you can read a brief account here: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/15lbud.htm.
What stands out in my mind is how almost biblical the feel of the terrain is. I can't explain, at all, the effect of being there had on me. Sitting in the cave where Gautama had meditated (along with a bunch of others who were listening to a dhamma discourse) was rather magical.
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| The hill where the cave is found across a small stretch of sand. |
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| The view from the ascent. |
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| Looking through a prayer flag. |
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| On the way back as dusk encroaches. |
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| Myriam and Leigh, the great pilgrims! |
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| The banyan tree near Saraswati's shrine. |
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| Saraswati's shrine. |
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