By popular demand (well, at least three of you) I am going to publish the journal I kept while I traveled in India, June 27 to July 28, 2016. It will mainly be unexpurgated, though I may change a few names to protect the guilty. I welcome your comments and questions! 24 June 2016
Checked into Days Inn @ SEATAC since plane leaves @ 6:00 a.m. 25 June. Reviewed Culture Class itinerary and syllabus. We get to hear Ama Adhe, author of The Voice that Remembers! I read her book and will be interested in hearing from her directly. How do you maintain compassion in the face of such inhuman brutality? That will also relate to the D.L. (Dalai Lama)’s book, which, unlike his recent works, is more historical than inspirational or spiritual. Slogged through Powers [A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism]—good thing it was the concise version. I hadn’t realized Tibetan Buddhism was so complex and so different from Mahayana and Theravada. I hope to learn more. Scored a paperback copy of the Ramayana (Narayan) @ the local used bookstore. It lacks the new intro by Pankaj Mishra, but I downloaded that from Blackboard. Looking forward to reading The White Tiger [by Aravind Adiga] on the plane tomorrow. Small World Department: A woman in my yoga class has taken groups of high school students to India and Dharamsala since 1974. She mentioned the Tong-Len Charitable Trust. So I was thrilled to read that it is on the itinerary [as it turned out, we never went]. I really want to do as many service projects as possible so that I don’t feel so much like either a tourist who is taking or a missionary who is helping, but someone engaged in mutual learning. In the olden days it was called solidarity. I’d better read the Gandhi ASAP as that is one of the first stops. TONIGHT!
Columbo (yeah, me)
9/15/2016 12:33:51 pm
You accomplished more in the preparations and initiation of travel than most of us all summer.
Rebecca Moore
9/15/2016 01:56:21 pm
Not sure I'll be writing much about the 1.3 billion, but I'll be writing about the many wonderful people I met!
Shelley L Chase
9/15/2016 03:35:53 pm
So glad you are publishing your adventure. I imagine you will also have a wonderful time reliving all of your adventures. As I read along, I'm certain I will find out if you were able to visit the Hindu temple which has been denying women the right to enter and worship. I also came upon some interesting information about the introduction of the veil for women -- so prevalent in numerous religious throughout the world. "The Ascent of Women" is a BBC documentary by Amanda Foreman, PhD, biographer and historian. It all began with the ancient Greeks and continued with the Romans, its meaning changing over time and with different cultures, but either depicting wealth, status, purity, or a means to keep women silent. An interesting documentary, but, I did find a few discrepancies (especially concerning women in ancient Egypt -- at least, according to my readings and studies), but it did add a great deal of information about the veil and its symbolism over time and cultures. Can't wait to read all of your blogs!
Rebecca Moore
9/15/2016 04:19:37 pm
We didn't visit any of the temples that don't allow women; but we did visit one that did not welcome men. Stay tuned! Comments are closed.
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Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
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