The flight out went smoothly. I landed in Mumbai at 09.30 on 8th December and was hit by a wall of 30 degree humid heat. My specs immediatly steamed up.
The indefatigable Adityabodhi (AB) was there to meet me as ever - my closest friend. We will spend 24/7 together for over a month now. Immediately we were whisked off by the yoga-teaching Sughosh to Chaitya Bhumi, the Dr Ambedkar death stupa on the shores of the Mumbai shoreline. That was a good start. We then drove the 80 miles to AB's home in Pune. Since that time, it has been an intense round of Dharma work, where I could not possibly meet all the demands from folk wanting me to come to their houses/vihars/classes etc. It's nice to be wanted! AB and I did what was possible. Our days start at 5 and we do 2 hours of meditation & puja before heading out to some event. It continues pretty much up to bedtime at 10. If I get 30 minutes to myself, I'm doing well. I have really enjoyed these events. With AB's help, I led a Mitra Day workshop on the 8 Lokadhammas at the Mahavihar. 205 attended. This was followed by two Order workshops, where I introduced a new Shakyamuni sadhana practice. I've given 4 talks already. Then the Police visited me in the middle of an event. Why was I in Pune? Could we see your visa? Despite being big tough men, they were very friendly and all was well in the end.
We have also accepted many, many invitations to stay or eat in Buddhist homes around the vast city that is Pune. We also visited a monastery on top of a mountain that was in process of being built.
Now AB & I are sitting in a crowded & sweaty Pune airport lounge, waiting for a flight to Kolkata. All being well, we'll be there by around 9 this evening, and the next chapter of the adventure begins.
What extraordinary journey, looking forward to reading the blurb and seeing the photos.
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