On my nose

“Zen is like looking for the spectacles that are sitting on your nose.”
D. T. Suzuki

I remained silent as I listened to Ubud’s awakening. Purring motorcycles made their way through another splendid morning. Villas stood unmoving amidst the green. Birds sang to each other. Pink frangipani welcomed the morning freshness. The sun spread its rays for all. I remained quiet, savoring it all.

During my five days in Bali, one of the places I visited was Goa Gajah, a centuries old cave where the first kings of Bali came to meditate in alcoves hewn from the rock face. I found it full of positive energy, surrounded by ancient trees and a water temple where the spouts do not run dry. Ruins of a Buddhist vihara destroyed in an earthquake in 1917 strewn in a river bed. The community was finalizing preparations for the annual visit by the gods during the temple’s Odalan festival.
















A guide shared the history of the temple, and his personal history. A devout Hindu, he saw himself as the reincarnation of a temple abbot in the Java’s Majapahit era. For twelve years, he said, he allowed himself to be accompanied by a guardian from the “other world” with powers to make his wishes come true. In 2005, he broke the connection as he realized that he could move forward without such help. When he doesn’t guide visitors, he works as cook in the temple kitchen.

I found Bali full of contradictions and surprises. After days of enjoying the rustic rural charm of Ubud’s environs, spending a night in the rapidly expanding urban centers close to the airport seemed chaotic. Yet I also saw that temple festivals remain prominent in both rural areas and in the city. And I was told that Balinese people might spend as much as half of their income on temple festivals that are organized by their community. When dining in La Lucciola restaurant in trendy Seminyak (the Yak), I saw lots of devotees at the Odalan festival of the temple next door, praying on the beach.













Back at home, I marveled at life’s lessons from all around me. Open doors and windows bring a variety of smells of life, some pleasant, some not. Yet they all remind me how extraordinary life is. I think I found the glasses that Suzuki sensei was referring to.

Photographs: Temple guide (top) and meditation cave (middle) at Goa Gajah, and Odalan procession (bottom) in Ubud, Bali.