Buddhist Sites

From Siddharta to Sakyamuni and finally to the Buddha or the Enlightened one - an incredible transformation of a prince to an enlightened teacher, who walked the earth more than 2500 years ago. Upon seeing sorrow, misery, pain and death, in the prime of his youth, prince Siddharth decided to discover their causes and means of overcoming their occurrences. Thus renouncing worldly pleasures and leaving home and family behind , he traveled from place to place until finally attained enlightenment by fixed meditation under the Bodhi Tree. He then preached the truth he discovered, and exhorted his disciplines to follow the Eight Fold Path for the cessation of the endless cycle of birth and re-birth.

KAPILAVASTU (PIPRAHWA)
The capital city of SAKYA clan, and one of the earliest republics, it was in Kapilavast,s opulent environs, that holy soul of prince Siddharth (Gautam Buddha) spent his childhood. Here he saw sorrow and pain , disease and death. The place holds significant value for Buddhist pilgrims and has several Stupas. The archaeological excavations have revealed stone caskets containing relics believed to be that of Buddha's.

BODHGAYA
The four most holy places associated with Buddha are Lumbini, in Nepal, where he was born; Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he first preached his message; Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur, where he died; and Bodhgaya, where he attained enlightenment. For the traveller, Bodhgaya is probably the most interesting of the four, being much more of a working Buddhist center than an archaeological site. It’s also the most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world.

The focal point is the Mahabodhi Temple which marks the spot where Buddha gained enlightenment and set out on his life of preaching.
Buddhists from all over the world flock to Bodhgaya, along with non-Buddhists who come to learn about Buddhism and meditation. Bodhgaya is small and quiet, but growing rapidly and accumulating all the usual ‘tourism’ paraphernalia. However, it is still a pleasant place to stay a few days. The best time to visit is during winter when Tibetan pilgrims come down from Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama often spends December here. When the Tibetans leave in mid-February they seem to take some of the atmosphere with them.

Mahabodhi Temple
Standing adjacent to a descendent of the original bodhi tree under which Buddha meditated on the excesses of life and the formulated his philosophy of a balanced approach to it, this temple is a place of pilgrimage for all Buddhists.

A sapling from the original Bodhi tree was carried to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka by Sanghamitta (the Emperor Ashoka’s daughter). That tree now flourishes there and, in turn, a cutting from it was carried back to Bodhgaya when the original tree died. A red sandstone slab under the tree is said to be the Vajrasan, or diamond throne, on which Buddha sat.

The Mahabodhi Temple stands on the site of a temple erected by Ashoka in the 3rd century BC. Topped by a 50m pyramidal spire, the ornate structure houses a large gilded image of Buddha. The current temple was restored in the 11th century, and again in 1882. The stone railing around the temple, parts of which still stand, is considered to be from the Sunga period (around 184-172 BC). The carved and sculptured railing has been restored, although parts of it now stand in the museum in Calcutta and in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Stone stupas, erected by visiting pilgrims, dot the temple courtyard.

There is a great sense of peace and serenity within the temple compound. Pilgrims and visitors from all walks of life and religions come here to worship or just admire.

SARANATH
The Buddha came to this hamlet, 10km north-east of Varanasi, to preach his message of the ‘middle way’ to nirvana after he achieved enlightenment at Bodhgaya. Later, the great Buddhist emperor Ashoka erected magnificent stupas and monasteries here.

Sarnath was at its peak when the indefatigable Chinese traveller Fahsien visited the site early in the 5th century AD. When Xuan Zhang, another Chinese traveller, dropped by in 640 AD, Sarnath had 1500 priests, a stupa nearly 100m high, Ashoka’s mighty stone pillar and many other wonders. The city was known as the Deer Park, after the Buddha’s famous first sermon, The Sermon in the Deer Park.

Soon after, Buddhism went into decline and when Muslim invaders destroyed and desecrated the city’s buildings, Sarnath became little more than a shell. It was not until 1835 when British archaeologists started excavations that Sarnath regained some of its past glory. It’s now a major Buddhist center.

RAJGIR
This was the capital of the Magadha empire until Ajatasatru moved to Pataliputra (Patna) in the 5th century BC. Today, Rajgir, 19km south of Nalanda, is a minor Indian holiday centre. In winter, visitors are drawn by the hot springs and healthy climate.
Rajgir is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site since Buddha spent 12 years here, and the first Buddhist council after Buddha attained nirvana was held here. It’s also an important place for Jains, as Mahavira spent some time in Rajgir and the hills are topped with Digambara (the ‘sky-clad’ Jain Sect) shrines. A mention in the Mahabharata also ensures that there is a good supply of Hindu pilgrims.

Thing to See
Most people rent a tonga for half a day to see the sites, as they’re spend out over several kilometers.
Main sites include parts of the ruined city, caves and places associated with Ajatasatru and his father Bhimbisara, whom he imprisoned and murdered. The pink building by the crowded hot springs is the Lakshmi Narayan Temple.

There’s also a Burmese temple, an interesting Jain exhibition and a modern Japanese temple. On the top of Ratnagiri Hill, 3km south of the hot springs, is the Japanese Shanti Stupa, reached by a chairlift (10 am to 5 pm)

Monasteries
Most countries with a large Buddhist population have a temple or monastery here, usually built in a representative architectural style. Thus the Thai temple looks very much like the colourful wats you see in Thailand. The Tibetan temple and monastery were built in 1934 and contain a large prayer wheel.

The Burmese, who led the campaign to restore the Mahabodhi Temple in the 19th century, built their present monastery in 1936. The Japanese temple (Indosan Nipponji) has from Japan – across the road is the Daijokyo Temple. There are also Chinese, Sri Lankan, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Korean, Taiwanese and Bangladeshi monasteries. The Tai Bodhi Kham Monastery was built by Buddhist tribes from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.