Sri Lanka 2019

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Our 2019 journey to the Buddhist island of Sri Lanka took 28 pilgrims, including families with kids, from the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy to the iconic laying Buddha of Polonnaruwa, to the ancient capital of Anuradhapura where we completed the Athmasthana circuit of eight great temple visits. While Geshe Tenzin Zopa was not with us, we were led by several local wisdom keepers including the late Bhikkuni Kusuma, we chanted in the Dembulla caves, meditated under the original outgrowth of the Bodhi Tree, and took refuge at the great stupa of Jetavanaramaya. Our tour coincided with the terrorist Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, so undeterred our group collected 289 sea shells off the coast of Florida, carried them with us as we prayed along the pilgrimage route, and released them in the Indian Ocean on our last day, to commemorate the lives lost. — Dr. Miles Neale