The Legacy of Lord Buddha

During the remaining 45 years of his life he travelled through much of northern India, spreading his teaching of the way to Enlightenment. The teaching is known in the East as the Buddha-dharma - 'the teaching of the Enlightened One'. Travelling from place to place, the Buddha taught numerous disciples, many of whom gained Enlightenment in their own right. They, in turn, taught others and in this way an unbroken chain of teaching has continued, right down to the present day.

The Buddha was not a God and he made no claim to divinity. He was a human being who, through tremendous efforts, transformed himself. Buddhists see him as an ideal and a guide who can lead one to Enlightenment oneself.

There are four principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites where most of the buddhist temples and shrines are located. The most important of these are located primarily in the Ganges Valley of India.

GAYA:
Where the Buddha preached his famous Fire Sermon

BODHGAYA:
Bodh Gaya is where Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha as he sat in meditation on the diamond seat under the Bodhi (Ficus Religiosa) tree.

RAJGIR:
Rajgir is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site since the Buddha spent 12 years here, and the first Buddhist council after the Buddha was hosted here at the Saptaparni caves. Lord Buddha often went into retreat at the Jivkamaravana monastery in a beautiful orchard. One of his most devoted and prosperous devotees, surgeon Jivaka also lived here. The rich merchant community here soon became the Buddha's followers and built many structures of typical Buddhist architecture.

NALANDA:
Nalanda, the most renowned university in ancient India It derived its name from Na-alam-da, meaning Insatiable in Giving, one of the names by which the Lord Buddha was known. Today it is identified with modern Baragaon village and is 90kms southeast of Patna and only 11kms from Rajgir. It is 80kms from Bodh Gaya and is easily accessible by well-maintained highways.

VARANASI:
The city of Varanasi is situated along the west bank of the Ganges in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Called Benaras by the British, Varanasi is an important pilgrimage centre for the Hindus. The city finds mention in the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. It was a flourishing trade center when Buddha came to Sarnath, about 10 kilometres away, to preach his first sermon in 500 BC. The renowned American novelist Mark Twain once wrote, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

SARNATH:
It was in the Deer Park at Sarnath that the Buddha gave his first significant sermons on the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to his five fellow seekers who became the first monks of the order.

KUSHINAGA:
The Buddha died in a Saal forest in Kushinagar and attained mahaparinirvana at the age of 80.

LUMBINI:
In the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal lies Lumbini, the SRAVASTI: Sravasti, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, has the honour for sheltering Buddha for 24 rainy seasons in the Jetvana Gardens.

The city believed to be founded by the mythological king Sravast, has age-old stupas, majestic monasteries and several temples. Buddha is said to have performed some miracles here.

This holy place also has the famous Anand Bodhi tree, an offspring of the one, said to have been planted by Buddha's main disciple gave birth to the prince under a tree.

SRAVASTI:
Sravasti, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, has the honour for sheltering Buddha for 24 rainy seasons in the Jetvana Gardens.

The city believed to be founded by the mythological king Sravast, has age-old stupas, majestic monasteries and several temples. Buddha is said to have performed some miracles here.
This holy place also has the famous Anand Bodhi tree, an offspring of the one, said to have been planted by Buddha's main disciple