Our Ten Day Vipassana Silent Retreat

Today we are heading out to a Vipassana Meditation Retreat. Ten days of silence. Ten days of meditation.



Here is our schedule:
4:00 am Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions
11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break
12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions
5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out



Vipassana is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques. Long lost to humanity, it was rediscovered by Gotama the Buddha more than 2500 years ago. The word Vipassana means seeing things as they really are. It is the process of self- purification by self-observation. It begins by concentrating the mind and observing the natural breath. This creates a heightened level of awareness which allows the practitioner to proceed to observe the changing nature of body and mind and thus experience the universal truths of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. This truth-realization by direct experience is the process of purification, a purification which allows one to face life's challenges in a calm and balanced way. Ultimately, Vipassana meditation aims at the highest of spiritual goals, total liberation and full enlightenment. (All of this is taken directly from http://www.dhamma.org/en/application.shtml, the site where we registered for our retreat)



Not only will we be silent for the upcoming ten days, we will not be able to read, listen to music, journal, or even practice yoga. We also need to abstain from killing all living beings (including mosquitoes), refrain from making eye contact with anyone, and refrain from using gestures. Apparently, after Day Three we will be asked to not move or adjust ourselves (no itching, scratching, picking split ends, wiping the sweat from our brow...)



Last thought: Yesterday we met a monk, of nine years, who mentioned that he did a Vipassana Retreat a few years ago and that he wanted to quit numerous times. What are we getting ourselves into...

McLeod Ganj, home of the exiled Tibetan Government

From Amritsar, we took a 6 hour bus north to McLeod Ganj. During the six hours we moved from the smotheringly hot desert to the cool, green mountains and streams of the Himalayan foothills. All of a sudden we were up in the clouds, wrapping ourselves in beautiful kashmiri shawls, and enjoying the relief of the drizzling rains.





McLeod Ganj is the home of the exiled Tibetan government. We happened to be there on the day the Dalai Lama was arriving home. We stood on the side of the road with the many Tibetans of McLeod Ganj and bowed to welcome His Holiness as he drove down the street to his house. All he did was drive by, smiling, with his hands held up in a blessing, yet it was amazing how much compassion we felt emanating from him even in those few seconds.








Two Tibetan women waiting to greet the Dalai Lama. This also happened to be the last day of the Olympics and so the Tibetans had organized a large rally and march to protest the Chinese occupation of their country.





Tibetan monks at the rally. Three women spoke, all of whom had spent multiple years imprisoned in China for peaceful resistance to the occupation.



The city was full of protest signs:

McLeod Ganj is an interesting city, because although it is in India, the population seems to consist almost entirely of Tibetan refugees, foreign tourists, and the Kashmiris who own the tourist shops.

We can't help that Kashmiris are really good salespeople. When a disconcerting number of the shopkeepers knew us by name by the time we left we started to worry . . .

Signs like this are essential symbols of seriously touristy areas.

The view from our guest house.

Another view.

And another.

While in McLeod Ganj, we hung out with a wonderful crew of friends: Jackie (a Social Work major at NYU who is originally from the Bay Area) and her boyfriend Paul (who is originally from Great Britain; he is in the navy blue t-shirt). We also ran into Lee, a former IHS student from South Eugene Highschool. What a small world!

On our second night in McLeod Ganj, we realized at about 10pm that the Lord Krishna's birthday was that night at midnight. We wanted to celebrate but, given the Buddhist nature of McLeod Ganj, we happened to be in what is probably one of few cities in India not having a big celebration. We had to make plans fast. We asked around, found a very kind Hindu shopkeeper, gathered a crew and took a taxi to the nearby city of Dharamsala. And then we celebrated Baby Krishna's birth like nobody's business. Above, Alisa (in blue) dances to the beautiful Hari Krishna tunes being played by the live band. The temple and the street outside were absolutely packed with families waiting for the clock to strike midnight.

At the exact stroke of midnight the real live baby Krishna was brought into the temple! We had no idea it was going to be a real baby. He was so cute! They laid him in a cradle and all the Hindu families waited in line to rock the little lord Krishna. The little children were particularly excited and crowded around to get a closer look. After a few prayers, more music was played, women and children danced, and the priests even threw candy into the crowd!

As the festivities died down, baby Krishna's father came to meet us and let Tessa hold Lord Krishna! Tessa felt really special.

The priest is holding the sleeping baby Krishna next to statues of the adult Krishna and his wife Rada.

Agra in the Blink of an Eye: Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal, Indian tour bus style

Before heading to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple, we decided to spend an extra day in Delhi so that we could take a day trip out to visit the Taj Mahal. What was supposed to be a day trip turned into a nearly 24 hour adventure (aka a living nightmare): they shoved us into the back of the bus where our seats would not only not relcline, but were voted (by us) the most uncomfortablte seats in the world. It was like our seats were working to make us uncomfortable. And, while there should have been 4 people on that back bench, they squeezed 7. Seven full grown adults (fine, there was one baby...but it was still really really really squished). And we were running five hours behind schedule and we were covered in a swarm of mosquitoes and the bus ride was bumpy and the horns were honking and the ride was seeming to last for all of eternity...Suffice it to say, Indian tourist buses are one of a kind.

Okay, enough complaining. We arrived in Agra around 1 pm. We took a quick bite to eat and then headed out to the Agra Fort, where we were told that we had 45 minutes to explore. After heading to the bathroom, we realized that we only had 31 minutes left to explore the Agra Fort in its' entirety. We knew we had to hurry (even though that goes against every bone in our body). But we figured we should tak the self made challenge...so we ran (aka walke at a speedier pace). This next series of photos you should scroll through as fast as you can, just so you experience the Agra Fort in a similar fashion.



















Arriving at the Taj Mahal. Here they gave us a generous hour and fifteen minutes, which we begged them to extend (and they obliged) to walk around and soak up the beauty and grandeur of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was built by a grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jhan when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died in childbirth. Built in the 1640's, this exquisite mausoleum is one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture.

We have heard, from many a traveler, that this is one site you do not want to pass up...we agree, full-heartedly.

Long live the Taj Mahal!

Delhi: Home Sweet Home with the Agarwals

We were fortunate enough to be welcomed into the home of the Agarwal Family, where we spent a glorious few days relaxing, eating delicious food, and learning about the ins and outs of Indian weddings (Nidhi, in the black shirt, is getting married in a few months!)

Our favorite street food!

Fresh-squeezed orange juice.

The path leading up to the Delhi Baha'i Temple - a constant colorful stream of people of all different faiths. Complete silence is observed inside the temple and the only sound we heard was the soft jangling of women's bangles and anklets.

Outside the Baha'i Temple.

More street snacks. I think that all three of us would agree that the lack of street food in the United States is one of the main things that keeps us traveling.

Since Katy was heading home in few days she decided to try to cover up the children's "interesting" henna art with some professional henna designs.

The henna artists that work on street corners are incredibly talented. Unfortunately, Katy's pre-existing patterns didn't leave them with much to work with.

Jaipur: Where Rickshaw Drivers are all you really need

Welcome to Jaipur, the Pink City!

We had a premonition that our rickshaw driver might have been a Muslim. Tessa, in an effort to test out our hypothesis, began to speak a little of the Arabic that she picked up in the Middle East. Instant connection. From then on he seemed to think that she was a Muslim, and he treated us all like sisters.



He even let us drive! (Katy really should keep her eyes on the road)


Tessa was the wildest of the drivers, and our taxi driver was loving it (as you can tell by his expression)! Our first stop was the Amber Fort. (We figure you have seen a lot of photos of forts, so we decided not to post any more. If you really want to see these photos, which are quite breathtaking, you can conjure up their images by just uttering these simple words over and over: Amber Fort. Amber Fort. Amber Fort. Amber Fort.)

We had a whole day of sight-seeing, shopping, eating, and wild adventures planned but we decided, after a a generous invitation from our rickshaw friend, that we would stop off at his home, and visit his family. We were immediately bombarded by children.

And invited to undergo a mehndi (henna) makeover. By the end of the day, there was not a spare ounce of remaining skin that could be mehndi-ed (another word of our creation). On a side note, we think that we were some of these children's first undergoers (possibly another word of our creation). Just wait til you see the photos.

Family love. (Isn't it amazing how many people we fit into this room! Who would have known that a 12 by 12 foot room could fit over 30 people comfortably?)

We made a quick outing to the Sun Temple, where we hiked up a little monkey-filled path to visit a beautiful Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun God.

And then we returned to the family's home, where we blew a few bubbles, ate a delicious meal, and photographed a few more children.

Lesson of the day: Trust all rickshaw drivers who want to take you to their homes (just kidding).

Accidental Encounters With Sacred Spaces

Due to the fact that Alisa was suffering from acute bronchitis (as diagnosed by Shakti's doctor), we decided to splurge on our accomodations. Engage in a day of rest and relaxation. This really is our favorite hotel/hostel/guest house that we have stayed in (we are excluding our stays with our mothers and Aunt Judy).

These are the two women who manage Achal Niwas, the guest house.

And the head manager. (Notice the kohl under his eyes, a traditional Indian practice to ward off the evil eye)

Right outside our bedroom, and down the stairs, is the shrine. A small shrine is found inside most every Hindu home and it is called the "puja room." While there are many Gods within Hinduism (Hindus like to throw out numbers like 33 million to give you a sense of how many there are), Hindus can generally be divided into three categories: Shiva worshippers, Vishnu worshippers, and goddess worshippers. This is a shrine to the goddess of power named Durga and the 7 Sisters. Daily worship to these home shrines is standard in most Hindu homes.

We love the street food. This man is making one of our favorite sweets (or a variation of it), jelebi.

This is an obligatory snap of this Jaipur and Lonely Planet institution: the omelette man. He has huge books full of postcards from world travelers thanking him for his delicious streetside omelettes.

View of the Jodhpur fort from the roof of our guesthouse.


Sitting in the Jodhpur fort with "The Blue City" behind us. Blue is a traditional color for Brahmin homes. Brahmin is one of the main Hindu caste groups. Historically, members of this caste are the priests who maintain the religious texts and teachings and care for the temples. (We might post a little India 101 later on) Blue is also supposed to be good for keeping the homes cool and the mosquitoes away.

We can't count the number of times we've been nearly speared by horns like that. Walking the streets is a regular obstacle course.

Indian spices.

The Blue City.

Walking to buy bus tickets, we passed by a door that looked like an entrance to a temple. We decided to wander in and found ourselves in the home of a Brahmin priest. We sat on the floor and spent an hour learning how to improve our karma and become better people. It wasn't where we thought the day would take us but as our priest affirmed, we were exactly where we were supposed to be. Two hours into our visit he busted out all kinds of Indian instruments. His grandchildren sit behind him.

His home is also a Krishna temple. In the evenings they bring out the Krishna images and rock them in these swings. Krishna is an avatar (earthly manifestation) of the god Vishnu. Krishna is known for being a bit of a trouble maker and you often see images of him as a toddler stealing sweets. As a young man he would play his flute and seduce young women who would take off their clothes as they followed him. Today Krishna is one of India's most popular gods.

The Brahmin priest loaded our pockets with blessed sweets and sweet-smelling cotton balls to stick in our ears (apparently just so you always have a sweet smell nearby . . .) and we set off for our next Rajasthan destination!