Dear Ones,
Hello again!
Finally, we have a brief moment to update our blog. As you might expect, we are very busy, moment to moment, taking it all in. We have all of you in our hearts and minds.
Presently, we are at the 13th Annual Sakyadhita Conference: Women in Buddhism, where we are offering daily sessions of Dance and preparing for our Mandala offering, which we will present on the final day of the Conference.
Vaishali is a beautiful place, rural and green, and at this time of year, very cold with a deep covering of persistent fog. Locals travel the straight road ("Vishwa Shanti Stupa Road" = Universal Peace Stupa Rd.) through the town, taking small baskets of greens to the market, walking the goat families (with the babies sporting little girls' old dresses to keep them warm!), the occasional ox cart piled high with hay past homes with raw rice carefully spread out to dry.
Yesterday, during a break, we walked along the street and greeted so many warm, kind faces calling out to us, Halo! We respond with Namaste or Namaskaar and wide smiles were given and received. Even to my own surprise, my Hindi skills have finally come to full fruition and I am able to converse and to make purchases and help to provide for the needs of our group. I have been speaking Hindi with so many people since we left Thailand! The good word today is "Vaishali ek bahut sundar jagah hai," which it truly is. (Vaishali is a very beautiful place.)
We wanted to share some of our rich experiences in and around Bangkok, but our blog was not working during the rare moments we might have updated.
The reason we are sitting with the computer at this moment is that the local media is working with Parvati and myself as they publish articles about the Conference and its attendees in the Hindusthan Times, Fox News (!) and others. We will look forward to sharing one of the first day's articles which featured a photo of Parvati and myself, with some nice - if not entirely accurate - text about us and our interest in Buddhism.
Time to get back to work. We will walk the rural road from this hotel lobby back to the Conference grounds where we will offer an afternoon of White Tara dancing for some of the Conference's 600 attendees. Here is a pic of the stage, where we are dancing.
With much love and best wishes for the well being of all,
Shivadam & Parvati
Hello again!
Finally, we have a brief moment to update our blog. As you might expect, we are very busy, moment to moment, taking it all in. We have all of you in our hearts and minds.
Presently, we are at the 13th Annual Sakyadhita Conference: Women in Buddhism, where we are offering daily sessions of Dance and preparing for our Mandala offering, which we will present on the final day of the Conference.
Vaishali is a beautiful place, rural and green, and at this time of year, very cold with a deep covering of persistent fog. Locals travel the straight road ("Vishwa Shanti Stupa Road" = Universal Peace Stupa Rd.) through the town, taking small baskets of greens to the market, walking the goat families (with the babies sporting little girls' old dresses to keep them warm!), the occasional ox cart piled high with hay past homes with raw rice carefully spread out to dry.
Yesterday, during a break, we walked along the street and greeted so many warm, kind faces calling out to us, Halo! We respond with Namaste or Namaskaar and wide smiles were given and received. Even to my own surprise, my Hindi skills have finally come to full fruition and I am able to converse and to make purchases and help to provide for the needs of our group. I have been speaking Hindi with so many people since we left Thailand! The good word today is "Vaishali ek bahut sundar jagah hai," which it truly is. (Vaishali is a very beautiful place.)
We wanted to share some of our rich experiences in and around Bangkok, but our blog was not working during the rare moments we might have updated.
The reason we are sitting with the computer at this moment is that the local media is working with Parvati and myself as they publish articles about the Conference and its attendees in the Hindusthan Times, Fox News (!) and others. We will look forward to sharing one of the first day's articles which featured a photo of Parvati and myself, with some nice - if not entirely accurate - text about us and our interest in Buddhism.
Time to get back to work. We will walk the rural road from this hotel lobby back to the Conference grounds where we will offer an afternoon of White Tara dancing for some of the Conference's 600 attendees. Here is a pic of the stage, where we are dancing.
With much love and best wishes for the well being of all,
Shivadam & Parvati
