2009 FCM Pilgrimage to IndiaNote: this information is also available in a Word document for your convenience. Dear friends, Our pilgrimage to Buddhist India in January, 2009 is now officially a “go.” Over 2500 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha discovered the truth of freedom from suffering and bringing well-being and open heartedness to the individual, family and society. Before he died, the Buddha suggested that it would be of great benefit to those who are interested in his teachings to make a pilgrimage to the places associated with his life. The pilgrimage will be coordinated by the “In the Footsteps of the Buddha” group, They will be making all the within-India travel arrangements for us and providing an English and Hindi speaking coordinator to travel with us. Shantum Seth, the founder of “In the Footsteps of the Buddha” will be with us during the first day of the pilgrimage in New Delhi to introduce and orient the group to the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage will be led by Fred Eppsteiner, the teacher of the Florida Community of Mindfulness. Fred has been a practitioner of Buddhism for nearly forty years, of which several years were spent studying and practicing in India and Nepal with Tibetan meditation masters. He has been on pilgrimage to the major Buddhist sites connected to the Buddha’s life on three prior occasions. Fred is an ordained Dharma teacher in the Zen tradition of the Vietnamese Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. As we journey together, Fred will share stories and teachings of the Buddha and the practices of daily meditation and mindfulness. In this way the Buddha comes alive not only as a historical person, but in the here and now, someone who is relevant to our lives today. Together we visit the actual sites where the historical Buddha was born, spent his childhood, attained enlightenment, taught, meditated and where he passed away. We travel along the fertile plains of the Ganges, beautiful with its mustard and lentil fields, to the lush 'terai' that leads to the foothills of the Himalayas. We visit the remains of ancient monasteries and stupas, museums with exquisite art, living temples and villages that have changed little since the time of the Buddha 2,500 years ago. The pilgrimage has all the ingredients of a truly memorable journey, widening our perceptions and consciousness. We are planning to accommodate 12-24 people on this journey, which allows for greater individual attention in the context of a supportive sangha and also makes it possible to cater to personal needs and interests. The planners of this pilgrimage are very conscious about the comfort, health and safety concerns of our travelers. We therefore choose to stay at the best hotels available in the areas we traverse - hotels that meet the exacting standards of the Japanese. On this exciting journey, our pilgrims will travel with Fred to places where the Buddha lived and practiced. Our journey will take us across the plains of the River Ganges to Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, and the Deer Park at Sarnath, where he gave his first teachings. We will visit his favorite meditation places such as Vulture Peak in Rajgir, the Jeta Grove at Sravasti (where he spent 24 rainy season retreats), and Kushinagar, where he passed away. We will also visit Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, and the palace at Kapilavastu, where he spent his childhood. Our travels will take us to the city of Varanasi, sacred to Hindus, where thousands of pilgrims come daily to bathe in the Holy River Ganges, and Nalanda, the famous 5th – 12th century Buddhist University. Our trip will also include visits to temples and stupas, monasteries, museums and villages. We will walk through the countryside and greet the day with a boat ride along the Ganges at sunrise. At each pilgrimage site along the way, Fred will tell stories of the Buddha’s life and give teachings to help us understand the Buddha as a human being, the drama of his life and the significance of what he taught. We will schedule time for daily sitting and walking meditation, regular discussions, and contemplative time for ourselves. The creation of a traveling sangha will be an important aspect of this trip, giving the journey a greater cohesiveness and building a sense of support for those seeking to deepen their practice. We invite you to join the sangha on a transformative journey that will allow you to touch an ancient culture and civilization, and experience the life of the Buddha through the places he lived and taught. Join us on this journey through a fascinating and mysterious India – as we walk in the footsteps of the Buddha. With Metta, Angie Parrish (for the Florida Community of Mindfulness) TEACHER BIOGRAPHIES Fred Eppsteiner Fred Eppsteiner has been studying and practicing Buddhist meditation for nearly forty years. He has practiced primarily in the Zen and Tibetan Buddhist lineages, but bases his teachings on the full breadth of the Buddhist philosophical, psychological and meditative traditions. He began his Zen practice with Roshi Philip Kapleau (author of The Three Pillars of Zen ) in the late sixties at the Rochester Zen Center in upstate New York. In the mid-seventies, he established a close relationship with Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Master who has become one of the most widely known, beloved and respected meditation teachers and authors in the West today. Fred received Dharma Transmission and permission to teach from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994. Fred has also had a long-standing relationship with the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (Vajrayana), and is an experienced practitioner within the Nyingma lineage of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) teachings. His teacher was Dzongnar Rinpoche, a profound Dharma practitioner from the famous Palyul Monastery of Tibet, from whom Fred received oral teachings in India during the mid-seventies. He has also received teachings from many other modern day masters of the Tibetan tradition. Fred is the editor of two books on Buddhism, The Path of Compassion and Interbeing. Fred lived in Naples, Florida from 1986, when he moved with his family from Rochester, NY. In 2006, he relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida. For nearly thirty years, he practiced as a psychotherapist in various clinical settings, including private practice. One of his interests is the relationship of Buddhist and Western psychology and therapeutic practices, and he currently leads workshops on these topics. His experience as a psychotherapist allows him to readily understand the psychological implications and applications of Buddhist meditation and teachings to the everyday life of American practitioners, and to share his insights with others. Shantum Seth Dharmacharya Shantum Seth, an ordained teacher, has been leading pilgrimages “In the Footsteps of the Buddha” since 1988, when he organized the pilgrimage for his teacher, Vietnamese Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. Shantum lives in India and has been an advisor to the United Nations on volunteering, peace and social development issues. He has co-authored books such as Walking with the Buddha and been a consultant for films like BBC-Discovery’s Life of the Buddha and BBC-PBS’s The Story of India. He will be with the group on the first day of the pilgrimage. DAILY SCHEDULE & SPECIAL EXCURSIONS We’ll begin the trip in New Delhi and then fly to Patna. Thereafter, we travel by our own private coach to Rajgir, Bodhgaya, and Varanasi/Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini, Kapilavastu and Sravasti. From Sravasti we go to Lucknow and return to New Delhi, with an optional one-day extension to Agra and the Taj Mahal at the end of the tour. Aside from visiting the places where the Buddha lived, we will visit monasteries, temples and shrines. The trip includes visits to homes of locals in cities and villages, a gentle 8-kilometer walk to the Dungasiri Mountain (Mahakala Cave) where the Buddha practiced his austerities, and a boat ride along the Ganges at sunrise. In Delhi, we’ll visit the site where Mahatma Gandhi lived and was martyred. Depending on the general interest of the group, we may visit schools, hospitals, village and city markets, and various other non-planned surprises that unfold along the way. Everything is, of course, optional. We also make time for a little shopping! India is very diverse in culture, language and environment. The Buddha lived and traveled along the Indo-Gangetic plains in Northern India. Besides New Delhi, the pilgrimage visits two states of northern India, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. India’s cities stand in large contrast to her villages and have their own interesting (if seemingly chaotic) lifestyle. Varanasi and Bodhgaya are both significant pilgrimage sites, having their own distinct character and personality. In these places we get a closer view of how modern and traditional India co-exist. Kushinagar, Sravasti and Rajgir are smaller towns and relatively quiet, giving the pilgrims the opportunity to absorb the nuances of the local culture and society. TENTATIVE ITINERARY – SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PILGRIMAGE REGISTRATION INFORMATION & TRAVEL FACTS Please note that the cost does not cover: As the good hotels are limited at the Buddhist sites and sometimes a few groups arrive on the same day, it is difficult for hotels to provide a single room and in some very exceptional circumstances even a twin-sharing basis is unavailable. We ask for your understanding if this circumstance should arise. TO REGISTER To register, you may complete the form at the end of this document and mail it in with your check made out to the Florida Community of Mindfulness, noting on the check that it is for the 2009 Pilgrimage. Please mail the check to FCM, PO Box 3774, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 CANCELLATION POLICY ARRIVAL We will begin the pilgrimage with lunch at the family home of Shantum Seth at 12 noon on January 3rd. Shantum’s address is: 309-B, Sector 15A, Noida 201 301, India (Noida is a suburb of New Delhi and half-an-hour’s drive from the center of the city.) DEPARTURE EXTRA NIGHTS AGRA EXTENSION TRAVEL DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR THIS TRIP The visa for Nepal can be obtained while on the journey. It is free of cost. Please ensure that you have an empty page on your passport and a passport-sized photograph. Visa Information IMPORTANT DEADLINES CURRENCY EXCHANGE, ACCEPTANCE OF CREDIT CARDS & TIPPING Tipping does create some concern for travelers. It may be best for one person to do all the tipping/donations during the pilgrimage and keeps a running tab of it. At the end, the amount is divided among the pilgrims and repaid to him (contributing is optional). Thus far, this has worked well. If you arrive before the start of the pilgrimage or stay after it concludes, the general rule is as follows: tipping someone who has carried your luggage is common and we would suggest Rs.20. Depending on how heavy your luggage is and how many pieces there are, Rs.50 is a reasonable amount for three pieces of baggage. In restaurants, one normally leaves a tip of 10% of the entire bill. It is not necessary to tip taxi drivers; however if you have hired a car for the day and you are happy with the driver, a tip of Rs.100 is fine. HOTELS/HOUSING WEATHER & CLOTHING NEEDS Please bring comfortable sneakers or sandals (which you can wear with socks if it gets cold). We do not go for treks, but one or two of the (optional) walks are long. We also visit a number of temples where you will need to remove your shoes, so it is helpful to bring a pair of socks (the airline slip-ons are very convenient). It is always useful to have a hat or cap to protect you from the sun. We are allowed 20 kilos (44 lbs.) on Indian airplanes, so we recommend that you travel light. Laundry facilities are available at all the places we stay, and laundry is returned within 24 hours. HEALTH CONCERNS If you are coming from Africa or some parts of Latin America a certificate of yellow fever inoculation is required by the Indian authorities. There is no other medical restriction upon your entry into India. We normally recommend a Hepatitis-A shot and a Tetanus shot. If you prefer to be more careful, then please speak to your physician. We do carry a first-aid kit with us, but many people prefer to bring their own supply of medicines. We would recommend you get an insect/mosquito repellent and also a stomach medicine for both diarrhea and constipation as one’s stomach has its own way of adjusting to different foods. ADDITIONAL TRAVEL SERVICES (e.g. shuttle buses, taxis) LIABILITY Each pilgrim must complete this form in full, and mail, fax or email it with a non-refundable $500 deposit (per pilgrim) to:
All information is required: Name ___________________________________________ Gender _______________ I AM REGISTERING FOR:
DEPOSIT & PAYMENT Signature:_________________________________________ |
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