When I was in Arnaud Desjardins' ashram, in St Laurent du Pape, France, I met Matthieu. I came in India quite some time ago, and came in Bodhgaya. He recommended me this place, and that's how I'm here. I told me also he spent one month in an ashram in front of the Mahabodhi temple. So when I arrived here, the first thing I did was to go to this ashram. I met Bhai ji, the 'director'. It's actually a center that hosts poor children from the area, among which orphelins. They get a special education, whose philosophy is widely inspirated by Mahatma Gandhi. But the functioniong of the ashram is currently disturbed by this project whose aim is to operate people of the cataract. It settled many stands within the walls of the ashram. Bhai ji figured out that I cannot be really useful for the ashram since I am staying there only for ten days. So it came naturally that I am instead working for the project, in the place where they do the surgery, in what is normally a Tibetan monastery. I was allowed to see the surgery... Impressing ! I still wonder how the eye can still work after that it has been cut, open, and that a piece of plastic has been put behind the retina... But it works. Actually, there are already full teams of volunteers working there. There are several Danish nurses spending one third of their one month of vacations volunteering there ! Anyway, I feel quite useless there since the entire teams have already been set and where already functionning perfectly before I came. I am like the fifth wheel of the carriage. I figured out that I am half useful, so I spend there half of my time, and use the time left to meet other people and discover the places around.
My camera is still out of work. You can find some pictures of Bodhgaya there :
http://www.pbase.com/serenab/bodh_gaya
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