I have a fascination with Buddhist monks.
India and Southeast Asia are rife with them.
Maybe it’s the shaved heads, robes, spiritual aspiration and ascetic lifestyle. Whether they’re wearing a Tibetan crimson or Theravada orange and brown, whenever I see a monk, my eyes zero in with intent focus as if they’re human puzzle pieces, walking on a waft of incense.
“The monk life is very hard. I spent 6 years as a monk and I am thankful to grow up in the monastery, but I couldn’t wait to leave!” cajoled my 24-year-old Laotian tour agent.
- You didn’t enjoy it or have fun? I asked.
” It’s not that it was bad. There are many boys there with you.
As a tourist and traveler, I find it occasionally frustrating to view the inner antics and life of city from a bus or tuk-tuk enroute to another destination. I may see something culturally peculiar or fascinating, but only get a fly-by record of it. But before I can raise my camera, the event is gone… [...]
Mumbai is an unrelenting and persevering city. Its drives hard to catch up to its pace, but not the modern age. In many ways, I’m glad it hasn’t. It preserves the kind of traditional jobs, which make you respect India’s workforce all the more.
No matter how much you’d like to selfishly keep good places from changing, development in the name of progress is inevitable. With growth and the popularizing of travel comes the stampede of crowded tourist buses, over-worn backpacker routes, souvenir shops clamoring for the sell and then comes the irritating habits of tourists…
What does the idea of “a solo woman traveling in India” surface for you?
When I met Chiaki, we were both, waiting for the local bus to our yoga ashram. A Japanese waif of gentle yogic smiles, she challenged my notions about what it is to be a solo female traveler in India. Chiaki didn’t boast the extensive list of a world traveler nor was she avoiding the challenges of navigating the local terrain in the way a native would; yet, she was tackling India solo doing it in calm stride.
How the hell was she doing it?
We all have this idea that Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns have very stoic , temperate and reserved personalities. Afterall, walking Buddha’s Middle Path (of compassion), doesn’t exactly lend itself to the appearance of being excitable, emotional or argumentative. Yet, monks have their moments and in their monk clan, they reveal themselves to be absolutely human when it comes to “the art of debate”!
Who are we seeing? I asked
The Karmapa.
My party of yogi friends chimed in.
Who?
The name didn’t stir recognition for me.
His gaze was intense for such a young-looking face.
Piercing. Penetrating, as if he could see right into you…
What photos have the most meaning for you and does having your picture taken, have meaning for you?
I was wandering through the town when a moustached Indian gent recognized the camera strapped around my neck. He wanted me to take a picture of him in front of the town’s central bathing ghat, so I did.
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