We are deep into our Dharma Yatra, a pilgrimage to four places in Buddha's life - we have been to Sarnath, where the Buddha did his first teaching, We just got back from Kushinagar, where the Buddha died and Lumbini, Nepal where he was born. We are all very hot as the heat and humidity have been very intense. We had a driver and air-conditioned car to the North, a relief.

What can I say that would capture one bit of what there is to experience here. I am so grateful that there are five of us that are all dancing this dance together because although we experience things each in our own way, we have created a container that nourishes each of us to experience India as we do and go as deep as we can into the experiencing. For me, the women in the doorways with far-away looks in their eyes; the rising pool of unbelieveably royal peacock blue, a woman sitting on the back of an ox cart that we pass too rapidly; the thin, incredibly thin arms and legs of the pedestrians we pass, the flashes of colors and patterns that can only come from divine inspiration in the saris of women we pass. The same design, gone wild as if we were in a medicine ceremony and I am witnessing the bliss of the essence of all colors in a landscape often too stark, dirty for words.

I must say that Lumbini was an awesome, absolutely awesome location on the Earth, a great expanse of green and trees over acres and acres of land where magnificent temples honoring the Buddha have been built by many, many countries, each with their own style of beauty and reverence. We touched in our three nights there, only a small bit of what is happening in that place. Our last night, we witnessed the sunrise in a Tibetan monastery and the sunset from atop a Peace Pagoda built by the Japanese. Pure white marble and in the four directions, four gigantic golden representations of the Buddha's life in each of the four directions. We are back in Varanasi for the day.

Tomorrow we travel by train to Bodhgaya, where the Buddha was enlightened. WE expect to stay there for 7 to 9 days depending on how we like the place. We have a secret hope that the monk that granted Terence permission to meditate at the Bodhi tree overnight alone, will still be there and grant the five of us that opportunity. We have a lot of prayers to say for a lot of people - prayers for support and healing and many prayers of gratitude for the unfathomable blessings of our lives, chief among them are friends such as you. We also make prayers for guidance that our lives and this journey may be of benefit to many others. Love, Carol