Inner Asia

With a history of spawning world religions, the Indian subcontinent has a thirst for the spiritual that runs deep in its collective unconscious. But these traditions are under threat as the might of modernity delivers its transformative blows.

With these two conflicting ways of life co-existing in a region of nearly 2 Billion, the Indian subcontinent provides and ideal backdrop for exploring the spiritual and the secular -- how they interact, clash, combine.

Inner Asia tell tales, offers travel recommendations and delivers reflections on four countries -- India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka -- culled from the author's three years of travel-living throughout the region.

The 25 stories in this travel book are told from the vantage point of some of South Asia's most spiritual sites (as well as some commonplace, but not any less interesting, places). From pilgrimage routes in Sri Lanka to mountains monasteries in Bhutan to the banks of the Ganga in India, the reader is invited to explore and celebrate this wild and wonderful part of the world.

The stories in this book are a mix of travel magazine articles, personal essays and narratives based on people living in a particular place. Most of the stories are available online on The Mindful Word.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

INDIA

SYMPHONY OF CACOPHONY
Walking the streets of India
LESSONS AT VARANASI
Reflecting on life and death in India's most sacred city
CLEARLY COMPASSIONATE
Seeing the Dalai Lama lights the way to true compassion
TAKING REFUGE IN SERVICE
An American doctor committed to the principles of seva-selfless service-assists Tibetan refugees in India
INTERNET WOES
The challenge of getting online in India
BANGALORE
One foot dangling in the future, one hoof rooted in the past
CHECKMATE
Play the game with mindfulness and equanimity
BORDER WALK
The tense Indo-Pak border is opening up to a brand of tourism that's unexpectedly calm
THIKSEY MONASTERY
Ladakh offers respite from India's busyness
SUSTAINABILITY AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Volunteer at Sadhana Forest to learn how to live sustainably
OM ARUNACHALA
Tiruvannamalai-a pilgrimage place for millions
KALARIPAYATTU
Experience the awesome acrobatics of this ancient martial art
SHIKARA HO!
Hop aboard for a look at the life of Dal Lake's boat hawkers
3 PEACOCKS & A MONKEY
Meeting sattva and rajas at Ramana's ashram
SPIRITUAL WARRIORS
Mahabodhi grooms tomorrow's spiritual leaders

BHUTAN

THE LONG ROAD TO HAPPINESS
Is Bhutan really the Shangri-La that people think it is?
ACCEPTANCE AND EQUANIMITY
A lesson learned from a falling mandarin
TIGER'S NEST
Sublimation and the essence of transformative travel
SOBA RIGPA
Good health is all in the mind

SRI LANKA

SRI PADA PILGRIMAGE
Christmas on Sri Lanka's most sacred mountain
KANDYAN DANCE
Sri Lanka's captivating traditional dance form
SLOW TRAVEL IN SRI LANKA
Slow down your pace to experience the culture of the place

NEPAL

PILGRIMAGE OF PEACE
Lumbini, Nepal-the site of the Buddha's birth
TRANSCENDENT BEAUTY
From Pokhara to Sarangkot, Nepal
VILLAGE THERAPY
Learning to live at the pace of "just enough" in