From Brahma to Buddha, Fall 2008

So we're back in the lowlands of India and honestly, I couldn't be happier about the heat and the humidity. And being able to wear all my favorite salwar kamizes again. Amritsar is beautiful- almost like Delhi but with a hair less pollution and traffic, with the added bonus of a huge golden temple right on our doorstep. The temple is set up with a hotel and kitchen to serve all pilgrims who come, providing food and lodging free of charge. This means that we all slept on raised boards last night, but actually, it was kind of fun, and definitely better than sleeping on the floor of the courtyard. The kitchen organization is astounding- it's only run by volunteers which means that there are enough interested people to wash dishes, make food and serve other pilgrims 24 hours a day.

Being in such a holy Sikh site prompted a discussion of non-violence yesterday. It was great to expand my definition of non-violence as "reacting peacefully" to something more detailed, like "leading by example" and "a creative way of responding forcefully." It brought up so many other questions for me, too, like the difference between non-violence and non-reactionism, and how peace can be just as forceful as violence. And then I was able to use these new thoughts in my own life only moments later. See, traveling as a group of white people, we attract a lot of attention. Locals will stop and watch us for ages, although we're doing nothing more exciting than standing in a circle and talking, or buying stuff at a store, or just walking down the street. This has started to irritate me, and then anger me, because I don't understand what they think is so interesting about us- surely they've seen tourists before? And when it happens, I'll often think loudly in my head, "Would they just get out of my FACE already??" But then yesterday I realized how violent that was. And how shocking it was to have such a violent voice in my head, and how I don't want it to be there. So I'm working on responding to the staring with non-violence- I just have to find a creative way of responding. Such as, isn't it cool that everyone wants to look at me when I walk down the street?