September 29, 2023

Dear Friends,

As a young man in 1971, I first traveled to Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and East Africa. From Mombasa, Kenya I took a ship across the Indian Ocean to Pakistan and India. East Africa was spacious and sparsely populated. India was teeming with people, dirty and hot. I fled to the cooler temperatures of Nepal and did a month-long trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest. During the trek, due to a lack of roads, hotels, and restaurants, I either stayed in the home of a Tibetan refugee family or in a Buddhist monastery. Initially, it was through the Tibetans that I first got introduced to Buddhism.

Someone I met on the trail told me about Bodh Gaya being the place where the Buddha awakened and a good place to visit. When I arrived in Bodh Gaya in 1972 it was a sleepy village. The main attraction was the Maha Bodhi Temple which surrounded the Bodhi Tree that the Buddha sat under during the evening of his enlightenment. In the late 1960’s, the government of India invited various Buddhist countries to build a temple in their likeness in Bodh Gaya. I was drawn to the lovely design of the Thai temple and, when I walked up the steps and saw a beautiful bronze statue of the Buddha, I knew I finally found what I had been looking for my entire life. All my chakras were open, you might say. I started taking meditation classes and began learning more about Buddhism. I also visited Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first discourse to five yogis who had previously practiced with him. Thus, he set the wheel of dharma turning and it continues to benefit many to this day. A deep bow of gratitude to this great man and the wonderful gifts he has offered the world.

However, Sarnath and Bodh Gaya have changed tremendously, even in the past 30 years, since I was last here. Sarnath is no longer the quiet oasis to balance the intensity of Varanasi. The city has expanded and engulfed Sarnath. During the time of the Buddha, it was called Isipatana (the deer park), but you would be hard pressed to find a deer there now. The road is lined with souvenir shops and Indians wanting to be your guide. There are many pilgrims and tourists that crowd the streets, and it isn’t even the beginning of the cooler weather when many more people from Buddhist countries arrive. The same thing has happened to Bodh Gaya. The town is hardly recognizable with many more buildings, shops, people, and motorcycle and tuk tuk traffic. Initially I felt disappointed and sad over the many changes that have taken place. “But I want the old Sarnath and Bodh Gaya! The places that have meant so much to me!” After experiencing a bit of suffering around it all, the truth of impermanence began to shine through my resistance to what is.

In 1975 I attended a Vipassana meditation retreat at the Burmese Vihara in Bodh Gaya with the renowned Indian teacher SN Goenka. During the retreat Goenka-ji would often say “anicca, anicca, anicca.” Anicca means all things in this world are impermanent and subject to change. It is one of the fundamental truths of Buddhism and is universally true. I visited the same vihara today only it’s now called the Myanmar Vihara because the name of the country has changed. Walking into the meditation hall where we had our 10-day retreat with Goenka-ji I felt a mix of gratitude for his teaching and the experience of intensive meditation practice, and sadness that the place no longer felt vibrant and alive as I once knew it. Sometimes it’s hard to accept change, especially when we are holding on to the way things used to be. However, it isn’t change itself that can cause suffering, but our mind not accepting the present moment as it is and clinging to the way we want things to be. This trip is asking me to let go of the past and the way these places used to be and accept how they are now. Plain and simple.

Visiting the Thai Temple in Bodh Gaya yesterday was very meaningful. It helped me to connect with my Buddhist roots as I once again gazed at the beautiful statue of the Buddha, walked the grounds of the temple and met with the abbot, monks and nuns. The Thais are such wonderful, kind, generous people and they welcomed me with open arms. I attended a ceremony honoring the king of Thailand in which there was the traditional chanting and ate with the monastics. They gave me some medication to soothe my bed bug bites and showed me the same kindness and generosity they offered me during the six years I lived in Thailand. It was 50 years ago that I was ordained in Thailand on my 24th birthday in 1973. Being at the Thai temple brought forth so much gratitude and love. When I was a young man struggling with life and looking for some answers, the Thai people took me in, sheltered, clothed, fed and took care of me. It was in Thailand where I met my teachers, Ajahn Dhammadero, Ajahn Buddhadasa and Ajahn Chah, and had the opportunity to practice meditation and dharma in a focused and supportive environment. For this I will always be grateful.

In 1979, on my way back to the United States and still in robes, I taught my first 10-day meditation retreat at the Thai Temple in Bodh Gaya with Christopher Titmuss. Christopher is an Englishman who lived in the same monastery as I did in Southern Thailand. He was ordained a few years before me, and I always considered him an older brother in the dharma. During our retreat the Dalai Lama was in town giving teachings to the Tibetan people. At the end of the retreat, Christopher and I invited the Dalai Lama to meet with everyone who attended the retreat. We opened the doors so anyone in town could come. This was before the Dalai Lama was well known, and he simply walked down the road to the Thai temple with his entourage and joined us. We made a high seat for him to sit on and he answered questions, then said, “let’s meditate.” He got down from his seat and sat on the floor and we all meditated together. It was a beautiful moment and revealed the humility of this now famous Buddhist monk. When I returned to the United States and went to the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, Christopher asked if I would lead retreats with him and Christina Feldman. This is where I began my dharma teaching career. Christopher lives in Southern England and is still turning out the dharma. For the last 20 years or so until the beginning of the Covid epidemic, Christopher annually traveled to Sarnath and led a 20-day meditation retreat at the Thai temple. He has always been an inspiration to me, and I’ve learned much from him, especially related to teaching.

This is the end portion of my trip to India. I will be returning to Varanasi by train tomorrow and the following day flying to Delhi in the afternoon, and then an evening flight to the U.S. Although it’s been a wonderful trip, I am ready to go home. I’m looking forward to being in the cool temperatures of the Western North Carolina mountains with my partner Lynda Letourneau and our cat Baba. Some of you I will be seeing at our next Tuesday dharma and meditation class that I teach online with Barbara Brodsky and our teacher Aaron.

Before I left the states, Aaron had suggested he would like to go along with me to India. Since Aaron is a spirit without a body, it’s easy for him to travel. I would close my eyes and invite Aaron to join me and when I opened my eyes he was “seeing” what I was seeing. We were seeing together. Sometimes we talked about it, but usually Aaron was a silent observer of what was going on. And there is a lot going on in India! It was wonderful to have Aaron with me on the trip. Aaron’s last lifetime as a human was more than 500 years ago when he awakened as a Thai Buddhist monk in the forest tradition, which is the same forest lineage that Ajahn Chah and I practiced in. I met Barbara and Aaron more than 30 years ago, and it has been a blessing to know and teach with them. For more information about the programs we offer together go to https://deepspring.org/. For a full schedule of classes and retreats I will be leading this fall go to JohnOrrMeditation.com.

Thanks to all of you for being with me on this journey. Writing these letters, usually in the middle of the afternoon when it was too hot to be out and about, has helped me be connected with you as I’ve traveled this foreign land. I haven’t been able to respond to all the emails I’ve received from some of you and will try to do so once I return. India is a one-of-a-kind place that will always have a special place in my heart. And I’m glad I could experience it with you.

Love To Everyone, John