january 2009: home now in san francisco from 3 weeks in india, my 3rd trip there. it was so great to re-connect with indian friends and to envision the future of jai bhim international together. below is an overview, giving highlights of the trip, with links to other pages for more detail.

overview: landed in delhi and spent a few days re-connecting with my friends at the dhammachakra buddhist center. very impressive sangha emerging there, organized by one order member, dh. maitriveer nagarjuna near the jnu campus. more about delhi visit.

i also met with the dalit artist savi savarkar in his studio. i was very inspired by his work, and by the four hours we spent together.

more about savi savarkar.

flew then to nagpur where i stayed the night with the family of dh. kumarjeev and dh. kamalshree, and then a week at bor dharan on the nnby youth conference. at the conference i taught an english session every day, and met with people individually and in small groups throughout the day to practice english conversation more informally, and hear about their buddhist practice and the projects they are organizing. i brought $500 worth of scholarships from jai bhim international for students outside the state of maharastra to attend this conference. the scholarhips were awarded to ten students from the south, from kerala and tamil nadu, and also ten students from the north, from bodh gaya. my meetings with these students was spirited and fun, and i hope to visit their communities on my next visit and work with them and their sanghas more directly.  read about our 2008 projects.

dh. subhuti spoke every day, about dr. ambedkar and about the buddhist dhamma, and these talks were the basis for rich group discussions each day, both organized informal. listening to subhuti speak was like being at a university seminar, enhancing my understanding of the impact of the caste system on current events in india, of the connection between dr. amedkar's ideas, and of the urgency of collective and individual buddhist practice. 

after the conference it was back to nagpur to meet with indian english teachers for a day-long teacher training workshop. this project is still evolving, and in the next few months we will be drafting a manifesto with oals for this work, a community english project. i would also like to create an english-teaching curriculum centering on dr. ambedkar and the buddhist dhamma that we could use to train teachers to teach in small community english classes in more remote dalit areas. 

 my trip ended with a few more days based in delhi, where the dhammachakra

sangha was busy organizing dh. subhuti's tour of north india. my delhi friends took me to visit two villages in north india. the first was modinagar, where the local sangha gathered at a buddhist orphanage for a day's celebration. everyone was sitting in the grassy courtyard and there were songs, poems, and drama on a small stage, and an impressive potluck feast.

the second village was bharatpur in rajasthan, where i was the recipient of truly traditional indian hospitality. got a tour of the local school where subhuti will be speaking, and met the village families at the house of a local dhammacari, and ga

thered in the living room for a short dharma talk. 

more about north india visit.

took a late night flight out of delhi after a south indian supper and  time with friends, singing songs, drinking tea. at the airport i was upgraded to business class, so it was an easy journey. i felt sad leaving, but happy to be home. and of course i am eager to return soon to india.