August 2006
Old Student: Guruji, I wanted to ask you one more thing – I heard that talks are on about finding a place for Pariyatti study classes to be conducted by Tandon ji in Jaipur. Is this is our project? Do you think this should happen?
SNG: Yes, it is necessary because we also need a Pariyatti section. I am not
happy with the fact that our teachers have not yet completely understood the theoretical aspects of the Dhamma. Tandon ji can be a useful resource person in this situation due to his skilful methods of teaching and command over the language. Therefore, he will need a place to teach, whether in Jaipur or in Igatpuri.
Old Student: I’ve bought some land, if he would like to use…
SNG: Where?
Old Student: In Jaipur, at a distance of about 30-45minutes from the airport, in a good, wholesome environment..
SNG: How far is it from our centre?
Old Student: It is about 75-90 minutes away.
SNG: So, we will need to arrange transportation for him.
Old Student: He can stay there itself…
SNG: He will need to come back at some point.
Old Student: Yes, but the bus connectivity is good. There is a direct bus from Jaipur, a ticket will cost twenty rupees and will drop one off right at the place. In this way, it is better, more accessible than our centre. There is no bus connectivity to the centre. Ground water is also available at 25-30 ft, unlike at other places in Jaipur where it has reached a depth of 250 ft.
SNG: Good.
Old Student: Surrounding the land on 3 sides is forest area, so it’s a very nice land. I’ve purchased a portion already, and will purchase a bit more. The idea was a monastery or Tandon ji’s workshop, or both. I spoke to Dhananjay ji and he said that they go well together – if a monastery is to come, then it will also be teaching Pariyatti. Since all this has happened, I thought I would let you know and take your blessings for it!
SNG: Go ahead, go ahead. The chance for performing a wholesome deed
(punya ka avsar) has arrived. Keep growing in Dhamma.
August 2008
Translation from Hindi
Old Student: Guruji, around four years ago, I bought a piece of land near Jaipur with the idea that a centre for the study of Pariyatti could be opened up, but, later came to know that such a centre was already planned for Mumbai. As a result, the land that I bought is lying vacant, so, I thought we could experiment by opening a centre for long term meditators, including monks, though not necessarily for monks. With your permission, we could start work on it. I could report to you regularly about it’s progress…
SNG: Yes, you can start it off for now. When the number of meditators increases, and you have a….. (person) who can manage , the number of rooms can slowly be increased. Then it will be a vihar… a Vipassana Vihar.
Old Student: Yes, then the serious meditators in our tradition who want to become monks will not be led astray.
SNG:Absolutely…
Old Student: Then they will remain contained within the
tradition and have an opportunity to grow.
SNG: Correct. Nothing wrong with that.