Huge Buddhism Conversion Ceremony

Late on Sunday I went out to the northern, non-touristy, part of Mumbai with an Australian mate from the hostel to see a mass conversion to Buddhism. It was 50 years since low caste Hindus started converting to Buddhism, so it was a huge event. Many people were worried about violent opposition from Hindu extremists, but things ended up being peaceful. Of the 100,000 + people their, we were the only 2 white people, so the heavily armed guards at the gate did not allow us in. A bunch of Buddhists started arguing with the guard in Hindi on our behalf, and they ended up letting us in. It was an amazing atmosphere and their were sooo many people. At one point, everyone chanted harmoniously, and it was one of the most spiritual things I have ever experienced.



All of the people were amazingly nice and it was the first time since I arriving in India that I went a few hours without people selling me things, asking for money, or trying to scam me. We met many Buddhist converts who wanted to talk to us and they were some of the sweetest people I have ever met.



We talked to soooo many different people, and some even asked to have our picture taken with them. I think my hair and glasses suggested that I was somehow involved in Buddhism.



I even had a cool pro-Buddhism baseball cap, which I bought to protect my head from the sun, but I gave it to a sweet little kid who had his photo taken with us. It was an amazing and spiritual event, even for someone not actively involved in Buddhism.

Here is a news write-up on the event.