On the Path of the Buddha Pilgrimage Program

After breakfast, we will visit the birthplace of Buddha and other historical places in Lumbini. Shakyamuni Buddha, or Gautama Buddha, the founder of the Middle Path of Buddhism, was born in this holy place in the 6th century BC. According to Buddhist history, Mayadevi gave birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama on the full moon day of 564 BC (according to Nepal and Sri Lanka 623 BC) while on her way to her maternal home in Devdah. Feeling labour pains, she held on to a tree branch and gave birth to the future Buddha, Prince Siddhartha Gautama.

In 249 BC, Emperor Ashoka visited Lumbini on his 20th birthday. On that occasion, he built four stupas around Lumbini, erecting a symbolic pillar later called the Ashoka pillar. Engraved on the signpost erected by Emperor Ashoka is “Lord Buddha Shakyamuni was born here” and “Piyadasi Raja” (Ashoka), which means “beloved king of the gods”.

After disappearing for hundreds of years, the German archaeologist Dr Fuhrer and Nepalese Army General Khadka Shamsher rediscovered Lumbini, and the inscriptions on the Ashoka pillar identified Lumbini. The birthplace of Buddha has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site only since 1997.

Nowadays, countries including China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Germany, Thailand, and Korea have built monasteries in Lumbini in their respective architectural charms. So we will visit most of them. We will also visit the World Peace Stupa and Lumbini Museum and enhance our understanding of what happened here 2600 years ago.

After lunch, we will visit the ancient city of Kapilvastu, 29 km west of Lumbini. This district is now named after the ancient Sakya kingdom, Kapilvastu. The name Kapilvastu is believed to have been derived from the great sage Kapil, who suggested that the exiled princes and princesses of the Kosala kingdom should be established in the real Tilaurakot. Kosala was known as the Shakya royal dynasty and their empire. This holy place is where Prince Siddhartha spent the first 29 years of his worldly life as a prince and is the region that produced two Buddhas before Gautama Buddha. He renounced his prince, court and kingdom at the age of 29 and became a monk. He spread the dynamic message of freedom of thought, humanity, equality, brotherhood, peace, and non-violence to the entire human race and how to get rid of human sufferings like birth, old age, sickness, and death. Buddha changed the consciousness of the entire human world until his last breath and continues to this day. Kapilvastu is also a sacred place associated with the Buddha’s subsequent visits.

We will also visit Kudan Stupa, an ancient site of Nigrodharma, 3 km south of Taulihawa. Kudan is currently called Kudan or Lori-ki Kudan. Shakyamuni Buddha met his father, King Suddhodhana, here for the first time after attaining enlightenment, and the Kudan Stupa was built to commemorate this great event. It is also the holy place of Shakyamuni Buddha’s five Majjimnikaya Sutta discourses. The stupa was renovated and restored during the Maurya, Sunga, Kushan and Gupta periods. This place is also known as the birthplace of Kakusandha Buddha and Konagaman Buddha. The most known traditional Buddhas are Kakusandha Buddha 800 BC (first Buddha of Bhadrakalpa), Konagaman (second Buddha of Bhadra Kalpa), Kasapa (third Buddha of Bhadra Kalpa), Gautama (fourth and current Buddha of Bhadrakalpa) and Maitreya (fifth and future Buddha of Bhadrakalpa). Early Chinese travellers Fa-Hsien (seventh century AD) and Hiuen Tsang (fifth century AD) have described various events in their travelogues, including the arrival and reception of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni by King Suddhodhana at Nigrodhara.

Another important site is the Rahula Stupa, which was built to commemorate the acceptance of Buddha’s son Rahul into the monastic monk. There is also an octagonal Shiva temple on the stupa, which Hindus later built. Nearby is another Ashoka pillar at Niglihawa. After completing the sacred tour, we will return to Lumbini, have dinner, and spend another night at this holy place.

After breakfast, begin the drive to Shravasti. Shravasti is one of the eight sacred pilgrimage sites of Buddhism. At Sravasti, you will visit ancient stupas, the vast ruins of a Buddhist site called Sahet Mahet, Angulimar’s cave and the Sujata’s house.

Sir Alexander Cunningham identified Sravasti in 1863 based on the travelogue written by the Buddhist Chinese traveller Fa-Hsien.

Fa-hsien writes that there was a forest of evergreen trees around the Gandha (fragrance) hut. Colourful flowers were blooming, and the atmosphere was delightful because of the smell of the flowers. Therefore, the name of this holy place came to be Gandha Kuti.

Gandha Kuti was in the middle of Jetavana, and Buddha’s abode was in Gandha Kuti. Buddha used to stay here most of the time. It was here that Buddha spoke most of the time. According to Fa-Hsien’s account, Buddha spent at least 25 years here and preached 844 suttas there.

According to Fa-Hsien, Anathapindika also built rest houses for monks within Jetavan. A copper plate was found buried in the foundation of meditation room number 19, and Jetavan was written on it. This copper plate shows that the real Jetavan is only here; otherwise, Jetavan was being sought everywhere.

The copper plate was found in an earthen box two feet high. The copper plate is said to be 18 inches long, 14 inches high, and a quarter of an inch thick and has 27 lines written on it. That copper plate was issued by Gahadwal Naresh Govindachadra from Varanasi on the day of Samvat 1186 Ashadha Purnima, Monday (full moon day of June 1243 AD). Ashadha Purnima is Guru Purnima, and on this day, Buddha gave the sermon for the first time in Sarnath after the enlightenment. On this very day of Gurupurnima, King Govindchandra considered the Buddha and Buddhist monks his guru (supreme teacher). He donated the income of 6 villages to the Bhikshu Sangha (monk community) of Jetavan.

After breakfast, drive to Kushinagar, passing through various settlements and Gorakhpur city. After reaching Sravasti in the afternoon, you will be taken on a tour of Mahaparinirvana Temple and Rambhar Stupa. Rambhar Stupa is the holy place where Lord Buddha gave his last sermon and said, “All things must perish. The legacy of decay is in all things”. Kushinagar was an important centre under the Maurya King Ashoka, a great Buddhist follower. Rambhar Stupa is the most important landmark of Kushinagar, and the stupa is said to have been built in 543 BC at the site of Lord Buddha’s cremation. According to an ancient Buddhist text, this stupa is called ‘Mukut-Bandhan Chaitya’.

Mahaparinirvana Temple is another holy site of Kushinagar, where a massive statue of Lord Buddha is in Mahaparinirvana position. In it, a 6.10-meter-long statue of Buddha is placed in a sleeping position. This statue was found during excavations in 1876. The reclining Buddha statue on the right side of the Mahaparinirvana mudra is carved from sandstone. The inscription under the statue mentions the fifth century. It is a pitiful sacred image of Lord Buddha, the Ocean of Compassion, in Mahaparinirvana posture, created by Dinna, a great sculptor from Mathura.

Mathakuvar Shrine is the place where Lord Buddha gave his last sermon. Mathakuvar Temple is about 400 yards from Nirvana Stupa. Here, a stone statue of Lord Buddha was excavated in Prithvi Sparsh Mudra/Bhumisparsha Mudra(all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground) under the Bodhi tree—the inscription on the statue’s base dates back to the 10th-11th century. The ruins of a monastery were found near this temple.

After breakfast, if we miss any sacred places, we will visit and travel to Patna. Also, on the way, we will visit the holy sites of Vaishali. The name Vaishali comes from King Bishal, and it was the capital of Lichchhavis. One of the eight portions of Buddha’s relics received after Mahaparinirvana was brought to Vaishali with reverence, and a stupa was built. Vaishali is the third important place where Buddha gave his third sermon after attaining enlightenment. It was here that Buddha organized a monastic association for nuns and handed it over to Mother Mahaprajapati Gautami for further care. After visiting Vaishali, we will start our journey to Patna. After arriving and checking into the hotel, we will visit the Patna Museum to see the relics related to Buddha and Buddhism found during the archaeological search and excavation from different parts of Bihar state.

After breakfast, we will leave for Nalanda. Before reaching Nalanda, we will visit the Rajgir mountain on the way. Rajgir is the second important place where Buddha gave his second sermon after attaining enlightenment. After the sightseeing tour of Rajgir mountain, we will visit Saptaparni cave, hot spring, Giddha Kut mountain (Chyago phupoi ri), Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World Peace Stupa) of Rajgir and ruins of Nalanda University, Museum, temples and stupas of Nalanda.

After breakfast, if we miss visiting any holy places, we will visit and then take a leisurely journey to Bodh Gaya. After reaching Bodh Gaya, we will stay at the hotel and rest for the rest of the day.

We will visit the Mahabodhi Temple, one of the most popular and sacred temples in Bodh Gaya and one of the most famous temples in the Buddhist world. There, under the Bodhi tree, Lord Buddha attained enlightenment about 2,600 years ago on a full moon day. Emperor Ashoka built the Mahabodhi Temple during his visit to Bodh Gaya 250 years after Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. We can visit many temples and monasteries built by people from different countries, such as in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. After visiting the Mahabodhi Temple and the Bodhi tree, you can participate in religious activities for the rest of the day. We continue to visit the following places of religious importance related to Buddha.

• Seelwachhal Turtho.
• Lotuk Kava.
• Naranjan River
• Big Buddha Statue.
• Many monasteries.
• Jeeksu Runvi Turtho.

After breakfast, drive to Varanasi via Sarnath. Sarnath is famous as the place where Gautama Buddha gave the first sermon (dhamma deshana) after attaining enlightenment. This place is also where the original Sangha of Buddhism (monastic association) was founded. On the occasion of Buddha Purnima (Lord Buddha’s birthday), a religious rally takes place here. The famous mantra of Buddhism, ‘Buddham Saranam Gachami’, also originated from Sarnath. The Three Jewels – “Buddham Saranam Gachchami” I seek refuge in the Buddha, “Dhammam Saranam Gachchami” I seek refuge in the Dhamma Chakra, “Sangham Saranam Gachchami” I seek refuge in the Sangha – the Dhamma oaths was first initiated here, which has remained unchanged ever since. So, every Buddhist pilgrim tries to get blessings for visiting Sarnath in his lifetime. After visiting the holy place of Sarnath, we will proceed to Varanasi for an overnight stay. Later, Varanasi became the religious capital of Hindu India and a microcosm of Indian life, but it is the holy place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon of the Four Noble Truths to his five disciples.

The birth of Varanasi is unknown; when Lord Buddha arrived in Varanasi in 500 BC, he found an ancient settlement. Thus, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world (estimated to be 5000 years old). The place is famous for its spiritual and cultural history, and Hindus believe that death and cremation in Varanasi will lead to salvation. In Varanasi, you will see many old temples, river banks, small lanes, food, culture and the ancient look of the whole environment. In the afternoon, we will visit the old part of the city, and in the evening, we will visit to watch Aarti Puja at sunset.

From Varanasi, we will return to Kathmandu by road. The drive back is equally beautiful, and we will be back in no rush. The total driving distance is 525 km, but it will take a minimum of 15 hours, including rest time. Those who want to take the flight must fly from Varanasi to Delhi and from Delhi to Kathmandu.