Buddhism was born and thrived in India for 1,700 years. Between the 5th century BC and 12th century AD the whole of India was rich with the culture of Buddhist life that spread to other parts of the world.
The four famous places of Buddhist
pilgrimage are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar,
which are associated with the life and teachings of 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 site of his first teaching and Kushinagar was
the place of his death or final Nirvana
.
Among the
holiest of pilgrim places in the Indian Buddhist circuit
is the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. The Mahabodhi Temple
built to the east of the sacred tree stands majestically,
170 feet high on a 50 feet square base, and consists of
a soaring pyramidal tower surmounted by a
stupa. Vajrasan
or the Diamond Throne lying between the Bodhi Tree and the temple marks the actual spot where Buddha sat in meditation and attained supreme knowledge.
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.
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 sacred to the Hindus.
Twelve kilometres from Rajgir is Nalanda, which was in the Buddha's time a lovely resort of saints and ascetics. Lord Buddha visited Nalanda several times and delivered some important sermons.
The 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 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 km north of Patna.
At Sarnath, 10 km from Varanasi, the 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.
To
the north of Sarnath is the sacred site of Kushinagar where the 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 was perhaps 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 scholars who travelled to India all visited Kushinagar.
Today, there are over 500 millions Buddhists all over the world especially in the Far East and South East Asian countries. While the south Asians are followers of the Hinayan sects of Buddhism, the followers of the second sect, Mahayana, are mostly in Japan, Korea, Tibet, China and Mongolia. Though the sects and beliefs within Buddhism are many, they all look upon these sites in north India with great reverence.
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