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Buddhist -
Tourism in India |
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The
four famous places of Buddhist Pilgrimage are Lumbini,
Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar which are associated
with the life and Teachings of the Lord Buddha.
Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, is the birthplace of
Gautama Buddha. The others are in India: Bodh Gaya was
the place, under the pipal or Bo tree, where the Buddha
was enlightened after practicing meditation for several
years. Sarnath was the scene of His first teaching and
Kushinagar was the place of His death or final Nirvana.
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After the death of the Buddha, the relics of His body
were collected from the funeral pyre and divided into
eight parts. These were distributed to the
claimants and Stupas, or burial mounds, were erected on
the relics. The practice of pilgrimage in Buddhism
probably started with visits to these places, the
purpose of which was to achieve personal advantage such
as rebirth in a good location, as well as to honour the
great master. Thus the custom of pilgrimage has been
widespread among Buddhist for many centuries and is
common to both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions.
Some of the Well known Piligrimage locations are:
Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya
One of the holiest of holy pilgrim places for the
Buddhists of the world is Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh
Gaya
The Mahabodhi Temple built on the east of the sacred
tree stands majestically 170 feet high on a base 50 feet
square, and consists of a soaring pyramidal tower
surmounted by a stupa. The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang
who came here in A.D. 637 gave a vivid description of
the temple at that time. Much of this ancient glory has
been lost however and what exists of the temple today is
a result of repairs and renovations since Emperor
Ashoka's time.
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BODHI TREE
The Vajrasan or Diamond Throne lying between the Bodhi
Tree and the temple marks the actual spot where Buddha
sat in meditation and attained supreme knowledge. A
gilded Buddha smiles upon the visitors from a niche in
the wall of the temple, and his footsteps carved in
stone hold flower offerings from the devout.
Unbelievable peace pervades the atmosphere giving
credence to legend.
CHAUKRAMANA THE JEWEL WALK
On the northern side of the temple is Chaukramana the
Jewel Walk where the Buddha is said to have strolled in
meditation, pondering whether he should reveal to the
world the message he had received. To the south and the
west are richly carved 2nd century B.C. railings, the
oldest remains at Gaya, with medallions depicting the
lotus, sacred to Buddha, flowers, birds and animals.
Animeshlochan Chaiyata within the temple walls, is a
small temple sanctifying the spot where the Buddha stood
gazing at the tree in gratitude, after he had attained
enlightenment. The garden in Mohantas Monastery, a
Shaivite monastery, is dotted by hundreds of small
samadhis - commemorative stones in the shape off
upturned urns. Adi Shankaracharya spent many days here
in heated debate with Buddhist philosophers.
RATNAGAR
Ratnagar is another small interesting shrine close to
the Mahabodhi temple, where the Buddha spent a week in
contemplation, while rays of five different colors
emanated from his body.
So
great is the sanctity of the place that several
international Buddhist communities from different
countries of the world have set up temples and
monasteries, retaining their native architectural
styles. Ratnagar has Monastery of Tibetan, Japanese,
Thai and the Bhutanese .
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TIBETAN MONASTERY
The temple in the Tibetan monastery with sloping tiled
roofs has an immense Dharma Chakra or wheel of Law. It
is believed that anyone rotating this heavy wheel three
times in succession will be freed of all sin.
THE THAI TEMPLE
The Thai Temple is startling in the sunlight, with gold
lacquered tiles, sloping roofs, curled dragon forms
making graceful silhouettes against the sky. Inside lies
a magnificent Buddha with curly hair tied in a knot on
top of his head. There are few rooms behind the temple
to accommodate pilgrims and Thai Buddhist monks.
THE JAPANESE TEMPLE
The Japanese temple with a blue tiled roof is vast
and under a canopied ceiling the Buddha contemplates his
visitors. The larges complex of the international
societies in Bodh Gaya, it has buildings with offices,
study areas, library and rooms for visitors.
BHUTANESE TEMPLE
With its traditional architecture the Bhutanese temple
lies in a beautifully landscaped garden while the
Burmese temple is shaped like a pagoda, reminiscent of
Pagan, the city of five thousand pagodas. The Chinese
have built a temple too. White in colour, its
architecture is a blend of traditional Chinese and
Indian styles. The fine Buddha statue inside is said to
have come from Chinese two centuries ago.
Across the dried bed of the Niranjan river nearby is a
sacred spot Sujatha Sthane. Here Sujatha, a young
village woman offered prince Siddhartha a bowl of rice
gruel after which he gave up penance and took to the
middle path.
On Buddha Jayanti, Buddha's birth anniversary, Buddhists
from all over the world converge at Bodh Gaya to offer
their prayers.
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RAJGIR
Thirty-four kilometres from Gaya lies Rajgir in a
verdant valley surrounded by rocky hills. Here on
Griddhakuta or Vultures Peak the Buddha set in motion
his second Wheel of Law and for three months every year
during the rainy season preached many inspiring sermons
to his disciples.
The Buddha Sangha of Japan have constructed a massive
modern stupa, the Shanti (peace) stupa at the top of the
hill in commemoration. The view from the top is
breathtaking. One can climb up to the top along a bridle
path. However, the aerial chairlift is far more
exciting.
SAPTPARNI CAVES
On the Vaibhara hill are the Saptparni caves where
the first Buddhist Council was held. The Saptparni cave
is also the source of the Rajgir sulphur springs that
have curative properties and are scared to the Hindu's.
NALANDA
Twelve kilometres from Rajgir is Nalanda which was
in Buddha's time a lovely resort of Saints and ascetics.
Lord Buddha visited Nalanda several times and delivered
some important sermons. It emerged as a university in
the 5th century A.D. and remained the greatest seat of
learning for 700 years. Great thinkers like Nagarjuna,
the Mahayana Buddhist Philosopher. Dharmapala the
Brahman scholar, Aryadeva, and Padmasambhava taught
here.
Hiuen Tsang spent many years here too, both as a student
and teacher. At his time there were some ten thousand
students from the entire Buddhists world: Tibet, China,
Mongolia, Turkestan and Korea as well as from different
parts of India. The courses included the study of
scriptures of the Mahayana and Hinayana schools of
Buddhism, Brahminical and Vedic texts, philosophy,
logic, theology, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.
In 1951 an International Centre for Buddhist studies was
set up here. Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, a university of
Buddhist learning has many rare Buddhist manuscripts,
and is a worthy successor of the ancient university of
Nalanda.
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VAISHALI
Lord Buddha visited Vaishali on the Gandak river
often and at Kolhua close by preached his last sermon
and announced his approaching Nirvana to his disciples.
Emperor Ashoka built a pillar of sandstone at this spot.
On the summit of the pillar sits a life sized lion
facing northwards, the direction the Buddha took on his
last journey.
A hundred years after the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha,
Vaishali hoisted the second great Buddhist Council. Two
stupas were built to commemorate this event, Buddha's
funeral ashes were found in caskets buried in the relic
chambers of both these stupas. Vaishali is 56 kms north
of Patna.
SARNATH
At Sarnath 10 kilometres from Varanasi Buddha
preached his first sermon after attaining Enlightenment,
revealing his doctrine of the Eight Fold Path and
enshrining the principles of his teachings into laws.
The ruined Dharmrajika stupa and the great Dhamekh stupa
mark the spot where the Buddha set in motion the Wheel
of Law.
Explorations during the recent Japanese-funded UNESCO
project have yielded in the words of Dr. R.C. Agrawal,
superintending Archaeologist "the biggest Buddhist
settlement in all of Central India". The remains
point to monasteries of enormous proportion. Earlier
eight structures had been identified. Now 14 more
monasteries and 23 stupas have been found. The
Archaeological Museum here as well as the Chinese and
Tibetan Temples are all worth a visit.
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KUSHINAGAR
To the north of Sarnath s the sacred site of
Kushinagar where Buddha at the age of 80 passed away
into Mahaparinirvana, the state of permanent bliss.
Kushinagar's partial exploration till today has revealed
the remains of at least ten ancient monasteries. The
Mukutabandhana stupa is believed to have been built to
house the relics of the Buddha while a smaller renovated
shrine nearby encloses a great recumbent figure of him.
Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang and I-tsing, the three great
Chinese scholar travelers to India all visited
Kushinagar.
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