Seeing the Pope in Sri Lanka
Seamless transition from airport to Mount Lavinia by 2 public buses for a total of $3. Woke up pre-sunrise and made my way to Galle Face Green to witness Pope Francis’ first visit to Sri Lanka. Stood among 1 million Sri Lankans as he delivered a service. A few moving moments as Pope Francis stated, “The process of healing also needs to include the pursuit of truth, not for the sake of opening old wounds, but rather as a necessary means of promoting justice, healing and unity.”
Initial impressions of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is much cleaner than I expected with very few people smoking. The locals are nice, but not quite as eager to strike up conversation as Indonesians. There is a sense of calm contentment I feel among locals. I experienced the jittery excitement as our plane landed in Sri Lanka, and I can now visualize what this country is like. Walked a total of 18 miles sightseeing – visited a few Buddhist temples and meandered through some parks.
Tourist information in Colombo near Galle Face Green gave me a Sinhalese lesson
So I have all the basics written down at least – still need to memorize. Stuti is thank you. Harima Rasai is delicious food. Walked from Colombo to Mount Lavinia – the last several kilometers down the train tracks as the sunset on the beach. Hotel owner gave me a nice Buddhist lesson – main topic was the ability to be consistently calm. Retribution will come in the form of karma. Altruism and karma can coexist so long as attaining good karma isn’t within the mind when doing good. Be content no matter what. There will be ups and downs. Remain calm. The hotel owner said I need to visit birthplace of Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal. Started the day with a cheap breakfast at Sukiya, pictures on beach, edited, did a swim, wrote and drew a sketch, perfect, sempurna.
