Chaukhandi stupa
Dhamek stupa
A sweet Sarnath street dog!
Monks from all over the world visit Sarnath!
The Lion Capital of Ashoka at the Sarnath museum
Dhamek stupa
🥰
Photobomb!
😍
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The remains of an Ashoka pillar
😳
A large Buddha at the Thai monastery in Sarnath
The Lion Capital of Ashoka is the National emblem of India!
Maitreya, the future Buddha
A gorgeous 5th-century Buddha
Reclining Buddha at the museum in Sarnath
A stone umbrella at the museum
Traffic of all sorts insert off: buses, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, bicycles, cars, cows!
A visit to a silk shop!
What a wonderful model!
😍😂 Kong really likes the silk!
A scene from the bus as we entered Varanasi.
The RetreaTours-mobile!
Today we spent the day on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, including a sunrise boat ride and a meditation on the opposite bank of the river 🙏 Scenes of Hindu rituals and cremation on the banks of the Ganges River aren’t terribly far off from what Siddhartha Gautama would have witnessed on his path to enlightenment.
Sunrise ritual, Ganga Aarti
Today we spent the day on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, including a sunrise boat ride and a meditation on the opposite bank of the river 🙏 Scenes of Hindu rituals and cremation on the banks of the Ganges River aren’t terribly far off from what Siddhartha Gautama would have witnessed on his path to enlightenment.
Today we spent the day on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, including a sunrise boat ride and a meditation on the opposite bank of the river 🙏 Scenes of Hindu rituals and cremation on the banks of the Ganges River aren’t terribly far off from what Siddhartha Gautama would have witnessed on his path to enlightenment.
Releasing candles
Today we spent the day on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, including a sunrise boat ride and a meditation on the opposite bank of the river 🙏 Scenes of Hindu rituals and cremation on the banks of the Ganges River aren’t terribly far off from what Siddhartha Gautama would have witnessed on his path to enlightenment.
We even had a table and sitar player on the boat!
Today we spent the day on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, including a sunrise boat ride and a meditation on the opposite bank of the river 🙏 Scenes of Hindu rituals and cremation on the banks of the Ganges River aren’t terribly far off from what Siddhartha Gautama would have witnessed on his path to enlightenment.
Whatcha doin’?? 😂
Ramee, our magical oil man!
Michele and some ghat dogs!
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🥰
We rented the entire rooftop for breakfast on the river!
From dogs to cows!
Sassiest little chai wallah!
Hanuman temple
Mediation on the banks of the Ganges
Our meditation tent
🐐
Sunil, our dear friend and amazing third generation boatman and tour organizer!
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Janie 😍
Ramee and his potions
Testing the essential oils
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Ganga aarti ritual
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Tere meditating on the banks of the Ganga ❤️
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Making offerings to the river
Creating our own candle offerings
Part of the sunrise rituals at Assi Ghat
Me in my usual stance, separating two street dogs (river dogs?! 😂) to give them treats
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Pilgrims walk clockwise around the temple, as well as sitting in meditation
Just past a quarter moon tonight!
Security lines for Monks & Nuns, a catchall for gentlemen and ladies
Inside the cave where the Buddha meditated
This is the classy way to get to the top of the hill!
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Inside the meditation cave
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The Buddha was near death from self-inflicted starvation before he discovered the Middle Path.
Buddhist flags against the gold-leafed cave exterior
Just a touch up
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The Giant Buddha at BodhGaya
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Sweet baby at a Sujata stupa
🥰🥰🥰🥰
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Michele’s new pals
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There’s a spot for everyone ❤️
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Sharing breakfast leftovers
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Nacecafe, huh?
Nacecafe inception.
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🥰
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Walking into the temple under a sea of Buddhist flags
Vaishali and a new friend
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Cindi at the Bamboo Grove
Helen sharing some words at Vulture’s Peak
Beth lighting a candle at Vulture’s Peak
Norma sharing the Heart Sutra at Vulture’s Peak
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🥰
Our mascot Toby enjoyed Bamboo Grove and Squirrel Forest!
Squirrel decor
🥰 sisterly travel ❤️
Some of the many ruins at Nalanda, an ancient Buddhist university
Buddha’s Relics stupa
Pod people! Or, rather, very snazzy mediation tents!
@vaishali
😲🤣
Dogs of the Buddhist Circuit 😍
Parinirvana stupa
At the Parinirvana stupa
Buddha’s cremation stupa
Parinirvana stupa
Cremation stupa
Around the Parinirvana stupa
Cremation stupa
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Parinirvana stupa
The reclining Buddha inside the Parinirvana stupa
The reclining Buddha inside the Parinirvana stupa
The reclining Buddha inside the Parinirvana stupa
Legend has it that Baby Buddha took 7 steps after his birth and declared that this was his last life, his last time being reincarnated. Regardless of the mythology, it’s a pretty vivid image!
Maya Devi temple in the morning mist
Misty meditation
Sweeping the path first thing in the morning
Giving alms to monks
An Ashoka Pillar at the Maya Devi temple
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Ashoka Pillar
The littlest tour guides at Nepal’s Kapilavastu
Perhaps the very wall where the Buddha escaped his domestic life
Looking out the palace wall ruins at Nepal’s Kapilavastu
Most of our amazing crew (plus a very photogenic dog!) at Sravasti
At Srvavasti, a place where the Buddha spent 25 rainy seasons in retreat
Today we wrap up our Walking with the Buddha journey, but we’ll still be sharing photos (BJ’s photos!) in the coming days, along with announcing the dates for our 2020 trip!
Sravasti
Sravasti
Sravasti
The Bodhi tree at Sravasti
Scenes from the bus
Scenes from the bus
Today we wrap up our Walking with the Buddha journey, but we’ll still be sharing photos (BJ’s photos!) in the coming days, along with announcing the dates for our 2020 trip!
Today we wrap up our Walking with the Buddha journey, but we’ll still be sharing photos (BJ’s photos!) in the coming days, along with announcing the dates for our 2020 trip!
Earl displaying some scarves in a true [bus] window shopping experience
![Earl displaying some scarves in a true [bus] window shopping experience](https://www.retreatours.com/wp-content/plugins/justified-image-grid/timthumb.php?src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fv%2Ft1.6435-9%2F74437268_3198149773590291_7128384172090982400_n.jpg%3F_nc_cat%3D107%26ccb%3D1-7%26_nc_sid%3Dcaaa8d%26_nc_ohc%3DecjiqqrOHZcAX-NX_I_%26_nc_ht%3Dscontent-ord5-2.xx%26edm%3DAC7C4-wEAAAA%26oh%3D00_AfDxCPUU4rdo4NCW4ANWiqAGpK2J1pLZIHBCmejSKjxGLw%26oe%3D64A2814C&h=255&q=40&f=.jpg)