back to thomasriddle.net/pv Bodh Gaya and the Pragya Vihar School, Script for the 2010 movieThis sacred cow is walking down one of the main streets of the village of Bodh Gaya. Bodh Gaya is the place where the Buddha achieved his full awakening. It is also one of the poorest places in India. Bodh Gaya is in the Indian state of Bihar, in Northeast India-- more than halfway between Calcutta and New Delhi, the capital. According to Indian government statistics, 55% of Bihar's 82 million people live below the poverty line. Bihar is the poorest state in India. Nearly half of those 82 million people in Bihar are illiterate. 70% of the women cannot read or write. In some isolated hamlets around about Bodh Gaya less than 1% can read right or know basic arithmetic. Pilgrims have been
coming to Bodh Gaya for more than 2000 years to pay homage to one of the
most remarkable events in human history. For it was here 2500 years ago
that, after six years of learning under different teachers and experimenting
with intense fasting and austere spiritual practices, that Prince Gautama
arrived on the outskirts of this village that at that time was called
Uruvela. Like Indian villages even today, Uruvela had a tree that served
as a shrine where people would pray to have their wishes fulfilled. And it was under this
tree that Prince Gautama began his meditation on the full moon night of
May. He probably chose this locality because unlike the fearful forest
where he had lived in the recent past, the environment around the tree
was peaceful and non-threatening. As he practiced, people in the village
came to offer him food. Today there is a stupa or monument to mark the place where the Buddha reached his awakening. It is still the tallest structure in Bodh Gaya. From different places in Bodh Gaya you can see it peeking above the trees. On the western side of the stupa is a descendent of the tree that the Buddha sat under. At the foot of the tree is a stone platform that marks the very place where the Buddha sat on the night of his awakening. He spent the next seven weeks reflecting on his awakening and cultivating a skillful means to resolve the primary issue facing humanity, namely suffering. To enter the stupa grounds, called the Maha Bodhi Temple, is to enter a place where the spirit of the Buddha is very much alive. TEXT ON SCREEN AS SCENES OF THE STUPA AND SURROUNDING GROUNDS APPEAR: The 52-meter tall stupa was built in the fourth century. Some of the Tibetan pilgrims carry prayer wheels to generate merit for all beings. Pilgrims often pray, meditate, and recite mantras as they walk around the stupa. A few pilgrims prostrate around the stupa again and again. In the temple grounds different monasteries often conduct ceremonies where monks chant, meditate, and offer blessings. In one area of the Temple grounds pilgrims can light votive butter lamps. Reading scriptures is another way to generate merit. Many Tibetan Buddhist practitioners do 100,000 prostrations as one of the "Four Purifications." Some people can do more than 2000 full prostrations in a day. A WESTERN NUN SPEAKS: I think that I was quite overwhelmed the first time that I came here; I was so emotional. Yes I was. And now it just feels like it's become part of me, so, yeah, I just feel at home here and very comfortable. A TIBETAN NUN SPEAKS: We believe that if we come here and prostrate and circumnavigate the stupa we get more merits. That's the reason why the Buddhists and all the peoples from the world come here to visit this holy place. NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: As the number of pilgrims have increased over the years, so have the markets and services to the pilgrims. More and more monuments, guesthouses, monasteries, and temples from Buddhist countries have been built, including the Thai monastery. It is in this monastery for the last 30 years that I have taught intensive 10-day meditation retreats. After the retreat in 1990 one of the participants felt the need to give something back to the villagers of Bodh Gaya. He decided that he wanted to help the children here since the plight of so many of the children is desperate. AS THE NARRATOR IS SPEAKING THIS TEXT IS ON THE SCREEN: Around 10,000 children in and around Bodh Gaya receive no education. NARRATOR CONTINUES: In the next year he and I contacted Western friends who have been to Bodh Gaya asking them to give donations to support a teacher and two classes. These were the first steps to establishing one of the most remarkable schools in India, where Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians meet together in shared appreciation of their respective faiths. It is a school where girls and young women feel their potential to live a full and creative life. Now we have 650 pupils from kindergarten up to grade 10. So far, since 1990, our single largest gift from an individual has been $6,000. For example, we rely upon donations from retreatants, a Swiss town making a collection, small functions in Australia and monthly gifts. In January, 2010, we decided to purchase land next to the school for $22,000 for extra classrooms and playground for the children. It costs $50 a year to educate one child. Yes, just $50 for an entire year's education. So a small donation goes a long way. Every dollar donated goes directly to the school-- the making of this film is a donation to the school. The Pragya Vihar school, it means the school of abiding wisdom, is a lovely school, located right in the middle of rice fields within sight of the main stupa. NARRATOR ENDS -- HE DOESN'T SPEAK AGAIN TEXT ON SCREEN AS THE NEXT SPEAKER APPEARS: Rashida Wahid is one of three Muslim teachers. Rashida speaks: I'm Rashida. I'm teacher from class three. I'm teaching here from nine years. Yeah this is my students. I like them very much. I like to dance with them. I like to laugh with them. I like to read with them. I share with them our all moments. This is my life. And my children is called me "Miss." "Miss you come here." "Miss sit with me." "Miss go with me." "Miss eat with me." And I like it very much. Thank you. AS THE NEXT SPEAKER APPEARS, SO DOES THIS TEXT: Sapna Sen is one of our Hindu teachers. SAPNA SPEAKS: I like teaching and in particularly Pragya Vihar school because the school has one motto that is for the poor children. And I want to teach poor children only. SISTER YOGITA'S VOICE APPEARS BEFORE WE SEE HER FACE. WHEN WE SEE HER FACE WE SEE THIS TEXT: Sr. Yogita is the head teacher. Sr.YOGITA SPEAKS: And I have noticed that the girls are very weak in studies. When I go to the class, in my own classroom where I am teaching plus the others, I find that the girls are really very weak in studying. And we can't blame them. That is, the situation at home is like that -- so they have to work and plus they are kind of all always kept / pushed behind. The boys are given more preference than the girls. So we want to encourage them and we want them to come up in and do well in their future. Not just stay at home and be a under their parents and husbands. We want them to stand and fight for their rights. Yes. CLOSING CREDITS: Video stills editing by Tom Riddle. Script and narration by Christopher Titmuss. Music by Kevin McLeod. The school relies totally on the generosity of the international community. To donate directly to the school, via Paypal, For more information and our international
End You can e-mail the movie maker, Tomriddle@att.net or look at his home page, thomasriddle.net
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