Buddhist sites
Lumbini: Lumbinī
, which means ‘ the lovely’ in sanskrit is the Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi
District of Nepal. It
is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen
Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha
Gautama(the Buddha) in 623 BC. It is a world heritage site now.
I
was very excited about the visit having visited Sarnath earlier and Kapilvastu
was in my itinerary. Visit to Bodhgaya and Kushinagar will complete the famous
‘Buddhist Circuit”. I was a bit
disappointed to see the underdeveloped state of this town which gave to the
world Buddha and Buddhism. A local rickshaw puller told that the place was till
a couple of years back was a small ruin amidst the agriculture fields with cows
roaming around. However, with lot of international initiatives the place now is
undergoing massive construction activities and in a couple of years from now, I
am sure this holy place will get the look that it truly deserves.
Lumbini
currently has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi
Temple and several others which
are still under construction. Many monuments, monasteries and a museum — the Lumbini International Research
Institute — are also located
within the holy site. Also located there is the Puskarini or Holy Pond where
the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too,
had his first bath. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were,
according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate Enlightenment and finally
relinquished their earthly forms.
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| Mayadevi Temple |
Maya Devi temple is the major attraction being the
birth place of Buddha. The
Lumbini Temple marks the exact spot of the Buddha's birth. It sits over a slab
of stone on which his mother grasped a branch of a tree during the birth.
Coincidentally, the other three sacred sites mark an occurrence in Buddha's
life that also happened under a tree.
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| Birth spot of Buddha |
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| Asokan Pillar |
A
pillar now marks the spot of Ashoka's visit to Lumbiní. According to an
inscription on the pillar, it was placed there by the people then in charge of
the park to commemorate Ashoka's visit and gifts.The park was previously known
as Rummindei, .In the Sutta Nipáta (vs. 683) it is stated that the Buddha was
born in a village of the Sákyans in the Lumbineyya Janapada and stayed in Lumbinívana during his visit to
Devadaha and there preached the Devadaha Sutta.
This Bodhi
tree is located opposite the
Mayadevi pond in Lumbini. "Bodhi Tree", which is also known as Bo, is
actually a term used for the very old fig tree where The Buddha, Siddhartha
Gautama, is said to have sat under when he achived spiritual enlightenment in
India. Such a stage of enlightenment is known as Bodhi.
Today
the term Bodhi Tree has been given to several important trees in Buddhism. It
is said that the term Bo Gaha in Sinhalese means "Tree of Wisdom".
The Bodhi tree in Lumbini is often confused with a Sal or Ashokan tree that
Queen Mayadevi is said to have given birth to the Buddha under.
Next to
this temple is a sacred pool where Maya Devi is said to have bathed before the
birth. The newborn Buddha also reputedly had his purification bath in this
pool. The pool is fed by the Ol River, and it was on the banks of the river
that Furher found what he called a "flawless stone" placed there by
Ashoka to mark the exact spot of the birth. The stone is now under the current
temple, and a sacred bodhi tree grows next to the pool
Boudhanath
or Bodnath Stupa is
the largest stupa in Nepal and is the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside
Tibet. It is the center of Tibetan culture in Kathmandu and rich in Buddhist symbolism. The Stupa was
probably was probably built in the 14th
century after the Mughal invasions. After the arrival of thousands of
Tibetans following the 1959 Chinese invasion, the temple has become one of the
most important centers of Tibetan Buddhism. Today it remains an important place
of pilgrimage and meditation for Tibetan Buddhists and local Nepalis, as well
as a popular tourist site.
From above, the Stupa looks like a giant mandala, or diagram of the
Buddhist cosmos. And as in all Tibetan mandalas, four of the Dhyani Buddhas
mark the cardinal points, with the fifth, Vairocana, enshrined in the center of
the stupa. The five Buddhas also personify the five elements namely the earth,
water, fire, air and ether, which are represented in the stupa's architecture. The
nine levels of Stupa also represent the mythical Mt. Meru - the center of the cosmos; and the 13 rings
from the base to the pinnacle symbolize the path to enlightenment, or "Bodhi" — hence the stupa's
name.
At the bottom, the stupa is surrounded by an
irregular 16-sided wall,
with beautiful frescoes. In addition to the Five Dhyani Buddhas, Boudhanath
Stupa is closely associated with the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Padmapani), whose 108 forms are depicted in
sculptures around the base. The mantra of Avalokiteshvara - Om
Mani Padme Hum - is carved on the prayer wheels beside the images of Avalokiteshvara around
the base of the stupa.
Swayambunath
Stupa : The stupa is located atop a hill on the western edge of the
Kathmandu Valley. It is also known to the tourists as the Monkey
Temple.The sleepy, all-seeing Buddha eyes that stare out from the top have
become the quintessential symbol of Nepal. When this temple was founded about
2,000 years ago, Kathmandu Valley was filled with a great lake. According to
Buddhist legend, a single perfect lotus grew in the center of the lake. When
the bodhisattva Manjusri drained the lake with a slash of his sword, the lotus
flower settled on top of the hill and magically transformed into the stupa.
Thus it is known as the Self-Created (swayambhu)
Stupa.The earliest written record of the Swayambunath
Stupa's existence is a 5th-century stone inscription and thus Swayambunath is
one of Nepal's oldest Buddhist temples.
The primary approach to the temple is from the
eastern side, where 365
ancient steps lead up the steep forested hillside. The base is about a 20-minute
walk from the center of Kathmandu. This staircase is the only route pilgrims
would consider and is the most memorable way for any visitor to experience the
stupa. However, an alternative is to drive or take a taxi to the west side,
where there are only a few steps to climb to the top. The staircase is presided
over by three painted Buddha
statues from the 17th century near the base; another group further up are
from the early 20th century.
Strewn along the staircase are numerous mani stones,
inscribed with the Tibetan mantra Om mani padme hum ("Hail to
the jewel in the lotus"). Merchants sell smaller versions of the stones to
tourists. The stairs run through a beautiful forest, which is populated with
the hundreds of monkeys that
give the temple its nickname.
The central buildings and decorations of
Swayambhunath are rich with Buddhist
symbolism. The whitewashed dome of the main
stupa represents the womb of creation, with a phallic complement in the
square tower. Rising from the tower is a spire made of 13 golden disks,
representing the steps to enlightenment. The umbrella on top symbolizes
enlightenment itself. It is also
believed that it contains a bowl of precious stones.
The famous Buddha eyes gazing out sleepily from each side of the
tower (oriented to the four cardinal directions) are those of the all-seeing
Primordial Buddha. Between each of the pairs of eyes is a symbol that looks
like a question mark - this is the Nepali number "1" and represents
the unity of all things. Gold plaques rising above the eyes like a crown depict
the Five Dhyani Buddhas, celestial buddhas who are associated with the five
senses, the four cardinal directions plus the center, and many other symbolic
groups of five.
Northwest of the main stupa is another
important shrine, associated with a fascinating legend. Shantipur is a
small, plain, box-shaped temple said to contain a great treasure - a living
holy man who has been meditating in there for 1500 years. Legend has it that
Shanti Shri, who lived in the 5th century, locked himself in a vault beneath
the temple, vowing to remain there until the Kathmandu Valley needed him.
Entering a mystic state, he has achieved immortality and remains there to help
the local people when needed.
In 1658, King Pratap Mella descended into the
chamber alone to seek Shanti Shri's help with a drought. The king reported
making his way through several underground rooms, each more frightening than
the last. The first contained large bats and hawks, the second was home to
hungry ghosts that clutched at him in agony, and the third was full of snakes
that chased him until he pacified them with milk. The king found the saint in
the last room, skinny as a skeleton but still alive and meditating. Shanti Shri
presented the king with a mandala, which brought the needed rain.
