The Four Important Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites

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This year, Buddha Jayanti is being celebrated on the 29th of April as per the Gregorian calendar. It is believed that Lord Buddha was born around 2500 years ago in Lumbinion, the Poornima day of the month Vaishakha. The 29th of May, 2018, will be the 2580th birth anniversary of this divine Guru.

Purnima Tithi Begins = 06:37 AM on 29th April, 2018

Purnima Tithi Ends = 06:27 AM on 30th April, 2018

Lord Buddha had been born as Siddhartha - A Prince born to King Shudhhodhana and Queen Maya. It had been predicted that Siddhartha would either go on to be the greatest King that the world has ever known or he would renounce the worldly pleasures and become a monk.

As predicted, Siddhartha did not find an allure in the life within the confines of the palace grounds. When he ventured out of the grounds, he was stuck by the poverty, sufferings and sorrow of the world. The world was infested with Old age, diseases and death.

The world was not a happy place and this made Siddhartha think. He wanted to help the world by teaching it to rise above these miseries that life had to offer.

These miseries, however worrisome they were, are an important and necessary part of the life. The goal is to deal with these truths of life and still be at peace and be happy.

To realize this, Prince Siddhartha renounced his extravagant life and became an ascetic. He roamed through jungles and cities. He did a hard penance by living only on alms, and eating fruits and roots available in the jungle.

Sometimes, he even gave up eating food altogether. Even after all these efforts, he could not find an answer to the questions in his mind.

He realized that the truth does not lie in the place where you live. You may live in a palace or live in a jungle, but unless the answer comes from within, both the places are one and the same for the one who is in searches for the truth. Therefore, he sat under a Peepal tree where, he finally found enlightenment.

With his knowledge and wisdom, he founded Buddhism and the doctrines that it contains. He preached his way for over 40 years and transformed many lives.

Today, the places that he travelled through and the sites that witnessed major incidences in Lord Buddha's life have become pilgrimage sites.

There are thousands of sites that are important to Buddhism; but four of them stand above the rest. This is due to the fact that these places have been major milestones in Lord Buddha's life. Read on to know more about these sites of Buddhist pilgrimage.

Lumbini, Nepal
Lumbini, which is now in Nepal, was the birth place of Prince Siddhartha. It is said that Queen Maya Devi was on the way to her parents' place when her labour pains started.

She grabbed the branches of a tree and with its support, gave birth to the boy who became Lord Buddha. It is believed that the child took seven steps immediately after birth and a lotus flower bloomed under each of his steps.

Here, you may visit the Maya Devi temple. The temple is dedicated to the mother of Lord Buddha. To the South of this temple, you will find a pond. It is in this pond that Maya Devi took bath before giving birth to Lord Buddha.

This is also where the two dragons bathed the newborn Siddhartha.
You can also visit the four stupas and one Iron pillar which were built by Emperor Ashoka.

Bodhagaya, Bihar, India
Bodhgaya is considered to be the place where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment. This was where Siddhartha became Gautama Buddha. This is a very important site for the Buddhists.

Here, you may visit the Maha Bodhi temple. It was built by the Emperor Ashoka in the honour of Lord Buddha. You must also visit the Bodhi tree.

It was under this tree that Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The Bodhi Sarovar, Chankramana and the Vajrasana are important sites you must visit too.

Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India
Sarnath is where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. It is a very important place for the people who follow Buddhism, as this is where Buddhism started.

The most famous mantra of Buddhism - 'Buddham Sharanam Gachhami, Dharmam Sharanam Gachhami, Sangaham Sharanam Gachami' finds its origin in Sarnath. The important Buddhist relics that can be seen here include - the Dhamekha Stupa and the Chaukhandi Stupa. Many Buddhist monasteries call Sarnath their home.

Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Kushinagar is where Lord Buddha attained salvation. It is also the site where Lord Buddha gave his last sermon. A 102-year-old Brahmin was the last Buddhist monk to be ordained by Lord Buddha himself.

This happened in Kushinagar too. Lord Buddha was 81 years old when he breathed his last. He was cremated here and it was here that the remains of his body were divided among his disciples.

The Mahaparinirvana temple depicts the death of the Lord. The statue of the Lord is in the reclining position, and this position denotes the resting soul of the Lord.

The Nirvana Stupa is another relic worth visiting. The Mathakuar shrine is thought to be the site of the last sermon. Ramabhar Stupa stands on the place where the Lord was cremated.