Bodh Gaya Attractions
Description
Venue: Mahabodhi Temple When: Daily
At sometime during the 6th or 7th Century, Prince Gautama Siddhartha was born into a noble family in a forest grove of what is today called Lumbini in the hilly region of north-eastern India and Nepal.
He grew up to be a questioning soul, and by the age of 29, the urge to explore the unexplained truths of life was so great he was prompted to leave the comforts of his wealthy family to embark on a personal pilgrimage. Following the great traditions of Hinduism which he inherited by virtue of his birth, Siddartha sought out a variety of spiritual advisers and practiced all the meditations they suggested. But he soon came to realise these practices were not answering all his questions, so he decided to combine them with journeying to sacred places.
The Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya marks the spot where the Siddartha realised his intention to become enlightened. After intense meditation, he discovered the essence of Being and so became a Buddha or 'Enlightened One' like others had before him. For the following seven weeks, he continued in meditation before moving south to give his first sermon on the tenets of what was to become Buddhism, an ever-growing philosophy of life.
One legacy of Buddha's subsequent prolific teachings has been the practice of pilgrimage. Some scholars believe this evolved as a mirror of ancient Hinduism, while others suggest it comes from the words of Buddha himself, who apparently counselled his chief disciple Ananda to visit four holy places in his lifetime.
Bodh Gaya makes up one of these four most holy places or 'Four Great Wonders', the others being Lumbini (Buddha's birthplace), Sarnath (where he gave his first preaching), and Kushinagar (where he passed away aged 80). But Bodh Gaya, where Siddartha (and indeed previous Buddhas) attained enlightenment, remains the most interesting, and important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus alike (who believe that the Buddha is incarnation of their Lord Vishnu).
The focal point of the tiny town is the Mahabodhi Temple near the River Falgu, which dates from the 2nd Century AD and has been subject to a number of refurbishments, the latest by Burmese Buddhists in 1882. The temple's square tower looms 54 metres high, and while the lower part houses shrines for devotion, the upper part houses relics of the Buddha in its stupa. Behind the temple are the two most venerated objects in the entire Buddhist world - the Bodhi tree (apparently a direct descendant of the original tree) and, beneath it, the seat of Buddha's meditation: the 'Vajrasana'.
As interest in Buddhism across the globe continues to increase, so does the number of visitors to the temple, which tends to test those seeking enlightenment themselves with exercises of patience and compassion. In fact, Bodh Gaya, with all its poverty, filth and overcrowding is an ideal setting to put Buddhism, with its emphasis on compassion and patience, into practice (as, indeed, the Dalai Lama frequently reiterates).
In the year 2000, plans were initiated to erect the largest statue of the 'Buddha of Compassion'. Locals are divided as to whether the hugely expensive project is a good thing for world karma, or whether the money is better spent on directly alleviating suffering in and around the poverty-stricken state of Bihar. The best time to visit is when the Tibetans come down from Dharamsala during the coldest of winter months (until mid-February), and indeed the Dalai Lama often spends December here.
At sometime during the 6th or 7th Century, Prince Gautama Siddhartha was born into a noble family in a forest grove of what is today called Lumbini in the hilly region of north-eastern India and Nepal.
He grew up to be a questioning soul, and by the age of 29, the urge to explore the unexplained truths of life was so great he was prompted to leave the comforts of his wealthy family to embark on a personal pilgrimage. Following the great traditions of Hinduism which he inherited by virtue of his birth, Siddartha sought out a variety of spiritual advisers and practiced all the meditations they suggested. But he soon came to realise these practices were not answering all his questions, so he decided to combine them with journeying to sacred places.
The Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya marks the spot where the Siddartha realised his intention to become enlightened. After intense meditation, he discovered the essence of Being and so became a Buddha or 'Enlightened One' like others had before him. For the following seven weeks, he continued in meditation before moving south to give his first sermon on the tenets of what was to become Buddhism, an ever-growing philosophy of life.
One legacy of Buddha's subsequent prolific teachings has been the practice of pilgrimage. Some scholars believe this evolved as a mirror of ancient Hinduism, while others suggest it comes from the words of Buddha himself, who apparently counselled his chief disciple Ananda to visit four holy places in his lifetime.
Bodh Gaya makes up one of these four most holy places or 'Four Great Wonders', the others being Lumbini (Buddha's birthplace), Sarnath (where he gave his first preaching), and Kushinagar (where he passed away aged 80). But Bodh Gaya, where Siddartha (and indeed previous Buddhas) attained enlightenment, remains the most interesting, and important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus alike (who believe that the Buddha is incarnation of their Lord Vishnu).
The focal point of the tiny town is the Mahabodhi Temple near the River Falgu, which dates from the 2nd Century AD and has been subject to a number of refurbishments, the latest by Burmese Buddhists in 1882. The temple's square tower looms 54 metres high, and while the lower part houses shrines for devotion, the upper part houses relics of the Buddha in its stupa. Behind the temple are the two most venerated objects in the entire Buddhist world - the Bodhi tree (apparently a direct descendant of the original tree) and, beneath it, the seat of Buddha's meditation: the 'Vajrasana'.
As interest in Buddhism across the globe continues to increase, so does the number of visitors to the temple, which tends to test those seeking enlightenment themselves with exercises of patience and compassion. In fact, Bodh Gaya, with all its poverty, filth and overcrowding is an ideal setting to put Buddhism, with its emphasis on compassion and patience, into practice (as, indeed, the Dalai Lama frequently reiterates).
In the year 2000, plans were initiated to erect the largest statue of the 'Buddha of Compassion'. Locals are divided as to whether the hugely expensive project is a good thing for world karma, or whether the money is better spent on directly alleviating suffering in and around the poverty-stricken state of Bihar. The best time to visit is when the Tibetans come down from Dharamsala during the coldest of winter months (until mid-February), and indeed the Dalai Lama often spends December here.
Error: failed to make map tab.
'bool' object is not callable
AU
BE
DE
DK
ES
FR
IE
IT
SE
NO
NZ
UK
US