Bodhgaya Photos

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Huseng
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Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Huseng »

I recently went to Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda. I took some photos of various places. Here is the public link to the album on FB:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... befbef8d63

Overall it was a good trip and quite refreshing, though I wish the local government would do more to ensure cleanliness around the town. Dead rotting dogs are not really nice to see in front of a Vihara.
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Hickersonia
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Hickersonia »

Indrajala wrote:I recently went to Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Nalanda. I took some photos of various places. Here is the public link to the album on FB:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... befbef8d63

Overall it was a good trip and quite refreshing, though I wish the local government would do more to ensure cleanliness around the town. Dead rotting dogs are not really nice to see in front of a Vihara.
Not nice, but perhaps an eye-opener for some on the matter of impermanence?

Awesome photos, sir. Thank you very much for sharing them with us.
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Nilasarasvati
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Nilasarasvati »

Awesome!

Yeah I've heard that Bodhgaya's surroundings are some of the gnarliest in India.
I wish there were reconstructions of what Nalanda looked like when all those foundations and capitals had stuff built on top of them still! What a magnificent complex it must have been :D
Huseng
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Huseng »

It illustrates incompetence more than anything else. The government and local companies suck as much money as they can from foreign monasteries, but can't manage to clean the streets.
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DNS
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by DNS »

Great photos!
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Dave The Seeker
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Dave The Seeker »

:twothumbsup: Awesome pics my friend, thank you
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Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.
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Punya
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Punya »

Indrajala wrote:It illustrates incompetence more than anything else. The government and local companies suck as much money as they can from foreign monasteries, but can't manage to clean the streets.
You have to assume that. From a purely commercial point of view they are sitting on a huge asset attracting many tourists but as far as I could see they're doing very little to capitalise on it to the benefit of the residents of Bihar. For all that, it's still an awesome place.
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Huseng
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Re: Bodhgaya Photos

Post by Huseng »

Punya wrote: You have to assume that. From a purely commercial point of view they are sitting on a huge asset attracting many tourists but as far as I could see they're doing very little to capitalise on it to the benefit of the residents of Bihar. For all that, it's still an awesome place.
That's just it. If the foreign monasteries ran the place, it would be spotless and all the locals would be readily employed keeping the place tidy and serene looking. Every street in that side of town would be paved and free of litter. There would be potted plants, statues and rest places all over the place. There would be clean and sanitary eateries.

However, the local government is clearly incompetent like much of the rest of India's government. They can't even manage to keep the important thoroughfares in town in decent shape.

Even Mahabodhi Temple can be a bit dumpy looking for lack of housekeeping. In one corner of the complex I spotted a large pile of damp cardboard boxes. There are also old metal poles tucked away behind one of the platforms, but you can still see it. They don't wash the marble enough given the amount of bird droppings you see collecting on it throughout the day.

They have tons of money and could easily get locals to wash it continually. During the tourist season (winter) they seem to do a better job. However, you can't wear your shoes inside, so you need to dodge all the bird droppings unless you want it on your bare feet.

There's a lot of corruption in Bodhgaya actually, like the Bodhi Tree getting branches hacked off and sold:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php ... 57,0,0,1,0

There is so much money going into the place and a lot of the artwork inside is likewise priceless. Things go missing apparently.

In any case, I don't anticipate things will change much. There is so much potential there to benefit the local economy, but the government and the local businessmen as well are just inept. It is a typical attitude you find all around India where long-term planning is lacking.

The real shame is that Buddhists have to tolerate it because Mahabodhi Temple belongs to the government and is run by a committee not entirely Buddhist.
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