You should start planning it now mate. It sounds like a life changing experience, and it might give you a whole new purpose. Found this:
Estimated Costs
Accommodation: $20–$100 per night
Meals: $5–$15 per day
Transportation: $50–$100 for round-trip flights from major Indian cities
The biggest cost will be the flight, of course. But if you are willing to base yourself further away, I’m sure you can do it much cheaper than that, you could just travel there by bus or train, which will also be dirt cheap. Maybe you could search online for lodgings in some rural area somewhere? The Indians are known for being extremely hospitable, and if you could make connections before you travel, then food, lodgings and perhaps even a guide might be available for next to nothing.
I wish I could do something like this, I really do. In short though, if you work around the local tourist trap, it should be doable.
I sometimes wonder if Buddha would survive this post modern world. They would probably arrest and terrorize a modern day Buddha within the scope of this technological post modern civilization of ours. This modern era tends to break and destroy the spiritual will where spirituality along with religion is very difficult to maintain in what otherwise is a world of living demons amongst us. This world sucks and drains the soul essence of human beings in the most cruelest of manners, it is an unforgiving world.
So hard to find a spiritual center or foundation in this modern world although I do constantly try my best.
I often wonder if Buddha lived amongst us what his thoughts would be and if some of his own beliefs would change seeing the horrors of this place. I try to be optimistic and hopeful, but it is a very long difficult path full of many perils everywhere.
Here’s a story. There’s a creep on a philosophy forum who tries to pass himself off as a ‘buddhist’. He’s clearly the exact opposite of a buddhist. Please ensure that he is reincarnated as a tapeworm.
I wonder what the Buddha would do in the modern world? Would he use the internet, at all? Would he escape danger by living like a hermit? I don’t think he would just put himself in danger, I mean, he wasn’t stupid. We pretty much have the sum of human knowledge (or not) at our fingertips, would the Buddha be tempted to take a peek?
- that many characters.