When Gautama Siddhartha reached down to touch the earth on the night of his enlightenment, it was said to quake in response. The earth bore witness to his accumulated integrity. Through his gesture, enlightenment is understood to be an embodied and relational experience.

That earth remembers the potency of that act, and reaches across ages to us now.
Come and touch that same earth. Water the living descendant of the Bodhi tree that sheltered the Buddha, fire up your practice under the same eastern sun, and breathe the air of a country steeped in spiritual history and cultural riches.

Come to your senses, on this timeless path where the possibility of enlightenment feels as real as this present moment.

The journey starts in Kolkata. We will rest and relax for a few days at Sanjeeva Net in preparation for our travels.

We will savour time at the sacred Buddhist places, Bodhgaya, the place of enlightenment and Sarnath, the place of the first teaching that “set in motion the wheel of dhamma”. We will visit the site of the ancient Buddhist university at Nalanda, and drink in the atmosphere at the lofty ‘Vultures’ Peak’, site of significant teachings by the Buddha.

From the ancient to the contemporary, we will visit the Dalai Lama’s temple, and attune to the cultivation at monasteries led by Buddhist nuns, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Tenzin Sangmo, who keep the practice and teachings alive today.

Recognising the spiritual wealth and diversity of India, we will also travel to Amritsar – the spiritual heart of Sikhism and visit the iconic Golden Temple.

Dr Elizabeth Day will lead the tour, offering reflections about the Buddhist sites along the way and guided meditations to integrate practice and context. There may also be opportunities for half day retreats.

Elizabeth experienced India at the turn of this century and it blew her mind. She journeyed on a four-week contemplation through the Buddhist sacred sites in Northern India. Soon after that trip she ordained as a Buddhist monastic, to deepen her meditation practice. Several years later she returned in robes for a 6-month pilgrimage through India, visiting a wide range of adepts, ashrams and Buddhist sites.

Now, with her partner, Willa Thaniya, Elizabeth teaches yoga and meditation at their studio in Aotearoa New Zealand. She divides her time between dhamma teaching and work as a university lecturer in psychotherapy, and a therapist. She holds a doctorate in intersubjectivity, consciousness and identity.

Along with dhamma practice, teaching and leadership experience, Elizabeth brings on this trip with you her love and respect for many of the spiritual traditions of India, her enthusiasm for the cultivations of meditation and yoga, and her openness to adventure.