Bodhi Gaya is the beautiful and peaceful place. In 2013, my family and I went to visit India with a group of 120 people, leading by monks. As a Buddhist, I dreamed to visit the four Buddhist pilgrimage places at least one time in my life, and my dream came true.
This trip had lasted about 14 days, we had been traveling a lot by bus. We went from city to city, we visited Lumbini, Bodhi Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinaga.
Lumbini is one of the cultural heritage sites enlisted by UNESCO, situated in southern plains of Nepal. Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage.
His enlightenment was in Bodhi Gaya. Sarnath where Buddha found his five former companions, taught them what he had learned, and they also became enlightened. This event is referred to as “the turning of the wheel of the Dharma” and also marks the founding of the Sangha, or the community of monks. Kushinagar is the final resting place of Gautama Buddha where Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death.
In this blog, I will only talk about Bodhi Gaya, which is a popular place for Buddhists because this is the place where Gautama Buddha obtained Enlightenment under a famous Bodhi tree. For Buddhists, Bodhi Gaya is the most sacred of the main of four pilgrimage places, and The life of Gautama Buddha is related to these places.
What To See At Bodhi Gaya?
Bodhi Tree
Bodhi Tree is the scared Fig tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. Even the existing bodhi tree at the temple complex is not the original one that Buddha became enlightened under. Apparently, it’s likely to be the fifth succession of the original one. The other trees were destroyed over time by man-made or natural disasters.
The Bodhi tree lies directly behind the main shrine, to the west. The shrine faces east, which is the direction Buddha was facing when he was meditating under the tree. For 49 days he sat beneath the tree to meditate until he had found the answers he sought. After Enlightenment, Lord Buddha stood in front of the tree for 7 days as a gratitude.
Even now, I don’t know how to express my feelings while standing in front of this Bodhi tree. With my eyes closed, I imagined that more than 2500 years ago, Buddha was sitting here for days… I had been appreciated the great phiIosophy of education, life and many more things that he had teaching us! I had been feeling so peaceful, joyful and so lucky to be here. I am so proud and thankful that I am a Buddhist!
As the sun was setting, the monks instructed us to sit down to meditate.
Bodhi Gaya – The sacred land of Buddha. It is the most religious place for Buddhist. It is the center of the Buddhist World. This place has a very big temple, called Mahabodhi Temple Complex, which was first built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century BC. The present structure was built in the 5th century and restored by British Engineer JD Beglar in 1881. A central tower rises to 180 feet and is surrounded by 4 smaller ones. The entire structure was built by bricks. The sculpted stone balustrades are an outstanding example of sculptural reliefs in stone.
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of Enlightenment.
Inside the Mahabodhi Temple, there is a large image of the Buddha in sitting posture touching the earth by his right hand. Mahabodhi Temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. Around the Mahabodhi Temple there are several Buddhist temples, which built by the people of Bhutan, China, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam. Each monument especially reflects the architectural style prevalent in their country.
Apart from the main shrine that houses a gold painted statue of Buddha (made of black stone built by the Pala kings of Bengal.) We were waiting in line to get in and one by one, we knelt down in front of Buddha. I prayed to Buddha and wished peaceful to everyone, and his dharma would spread every where, then one could practice and live more happily!
The Mahabodhi Temple opens from 5 am to 9pm. It is a good idea to visit the Temple during the chanting which happens from 5-6 am and 8-9 pm.
80 Feet Buddha Statue
Entering the main temple complex, you will see a great Buddha statue 80 feet tall serenely meditating on a Lotus.
More Information
Find out more information about visiting Bodh Gaya in this Bodhi Gaya Travel Guide.
You can Watch Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World with Bettany Hughes, BBC in 2011 to know more about Buddhism.