Now until October 4: in McLeod Ganj

October 4-10: trip to Gangotri, on my friend Gaurav’s suggestion. It’ll be a lot of travel: overnight bus to Rishikesh, long bus to Uttarkashi, short bus to Gangotri, 2-day hike to/from the Gaumukh glacier, then a long bus back to Dehradun.

October 21-23: hang out in Rishikesh for a couple days

October 24-26: back to near-Delhi to celebrate Diwali with the Mohans. (thanks to them for inviting me!)

Which leaves a gap from October 10-21, doesn’t it. Well, I’ve just signed up for a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat in Dehradun.

The organization (it’s legit; internationally known and recommended by my Seattle Buddhist friends)

The daily schedule during the retreat:

4:00 am              Morning wake-up bell

4:30-6:30 am           Meditate in the hall or in your room

6:30-8:00 am           Breakfast break

8:00-9:00 am           Group meditation in the hall

9:00-11:00 am           Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions

11:00-12:00 noon           Lunch break

12noon-1:00 pm           Rest and interviews with the teacher

1:00-2:30 pm           Meditate in the hall or in your room

2:30-3:30 pm           Group meditation in the hall

3:30-5:00 pm           Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher’s instructions

5:00-6:00 pm           Tea break

6:00-7:00 pm           Group meditation in the hall

7:00-8:15 pm           Teacher’s Discourse in the hall

8:15-9:00 pm           Group meditation in the hall

9:00-9:30 pm           Question time in the hall

9:30 pm           Retire to your own room–Lights out 

Yikes! But this is it, this is an actual substantial retreat. It’ll be a test, for sure. But I think I can do it, and I like how it’s all practice with little talking. I don’t imagine I’ll go through it and not make progress. Well, wish me luck!