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Bodhgaya Pop: 26,000 Phone Code: 0631 Buddhists from all over the world have built temples in xe "Bodhgaya" Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is a small, laid-back town, and it is pleasant place to stay for a while. It is an active center for Buddhist learning, and many Westerners come here to study. If you are coming to see the sites, you can easily see everything in a day. The Dalai Lama
often spends time here in December and January. Tibetan pilgrims come
for the winter from Dharamsala. Bodhgaya is located about 13km from
Gaya, 450km west of Calcutta, and 90km south of Patna. You can change
money at the Bank of India near the Tourist Bungalow, and at the State
Bank of India in the shopping area. The inner sanctuary contains a huge Buddha. There is also a Siva-linga that was installed about 860. This temple is sacred to Hindus because Lord Buddha is considered by them to be the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Bodhi Tree here, behind the temple, is said to be a descendent of the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. Emperor Ashoka’s daughter (Sanghamitta) carried a sapling of the original Bodhi (pipal) tree under which the Buddha sat to Sri Lanka. That tree is at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. A cutting from that tree was planted in Bodhgaya when the original tree died. Under the tree is a red sandstone slab said to be the Vajrasana, diamond throne, upon which Buddha sat and attained nirvana. The tree is located behind the temple and is about 24m (80 ft) high and 125 years old. After attaining enlightenment, Buddha spent seven weeks in the area of the Bodhi tree. The first week he spent sitting under the tree. The second week he spent looking at the tree from the Animeshlochana Stupa, a spot now marked by a small white temple to your right as you enter the gate of the Mahabodhi temple. Animeshlochana means “the place of unwinking gazing.” The Jewel Walk
(Chankramana Chaitya) is a raised platform where Buddha walked up and
down in meditation during the third week. The platform was originally
built in the 1st century BC and is 1m high and 18m (60 ft) long. Carved
stone lotuses mark the spots where he put his feet. It is said that Buddha spent the fifth week under the Ajapala Nigrodha tree. By the northern
wall of the compound is the Lotus Pond, called Mucalinda Lake (abode
of the snake king). Buddha is said to have spent the sixth week in meditation
here. There is a life-sized Buddha covered by a cobra. A cobra is said
to have saved Buddha from drowning while he was in deep meditation.
This pond is full of beautiful lotus flowers. In front of the pond are
the remains of an Ashoka pillar, which is now about 6m (20 ft) high. After the seventh week, Lord Buddha went toSarnath to teach five Brahmins there. There are many
people at this temple that have made vows to offer 400,000 obeisances
at this temple. They do it in groups of 100,000 and then do extras to
make sure they did not miscount. It was later predicted
that if he saw the suffering of men he would take to religion and give
up his father’s kingdom. His father made every effort to ensure
that his son was spared from even seeing misery. He isolated him from
the outside world and gave him anything he wanted. After he grew up,
Siddhartha married and fathered a son. One day, he managed to leave
the palace, at which time he was exposed to sickness, old age, and death.
He met a wandering sage, and then decided to renounce worldly life and
take up the path of austerity to search for the Absolute Truth. He decided to sit
under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya and to meditate. After meditating for
forty-nine days, he was tempted by Mara, the Lord of Death, with all
material desires, but he rejected them all. Then he realized that human
life was an endless cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease, to
which people were bound by their material attachments. He realized that
he could not attain self-realization by performing austerities because
that in itself was a “desire”. Because he no longer desired
this stage of life, he attained nirvana (the ultimate goal of freedom
from the cycle of birth and death) and attained the state of pure bliss. At the Tibetan Mahayana Monastery (1938) there is a large Dharma Chakra (prayer wheel) or wheel of law. It is believed that an aspirant will be freed of sin if he or she spins the wheel three times in succession from left to right. The wheel is a 10m (33 ft) high metal drum painted gold and red. The Karmapa Temple and Sakya Monastery are also Tibetan. The Thai Temple is a colorful temple designed in the Thai Buddhist style. The Indosan Nipponji Japanese Temple has a beautiful Buddha in the temple. There are also
Burmese (1936), Bhutanese, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, and Nepalese
monasteries here. Buddha bathed in
the nearby Niranjana (now called Lilanjan) River after attaining enlightenment.
The Niranjana River is about 250m east of the temple. Prince Siddhartha
crossed this river to reach the Bodhi tree. It is said that the Buddha
sent his begging bowl upstream in this river. He made a solemn declaration
that if he was to become the Buddha, the bowl would float upstream and
join those of the previous Buddhas. The bowl floated upstream as he
desired. In Dungeswari (Mahakala),
12km from Bodhgaya, there is a cave where Buddha meditated for some
time and came to the conclusion that knowledge could not be gained through
mortification of the flesh. It is best to come here by car, as from
where the bus lets you off, it is a long walk (best only done in the
winter). Courses in the
Goenka school of Vipasana meditation are offered by the International
Meditation Centre at their center in Bodhgaya and their new center,
the Dhammabodhi xe "Vipasana" Vipasana Meditation Centre (400-437;
phone & fax 400-707), located about 5km from Bodhgaya. The Root Institute for Wisdom Culture (400-714; fax 400-548), 1½ km west of the Mahabodhi Temple, holds ten-day meditation courses and retreats between November and March. It was founded by two Tibetan lamas. It cost around Rs 200 per day for courses, accommodation and three meals. Contact Root Institute, Bodh Gaya, Dist. Gaya 824 231. Meditation courses
are also held at the Tibetan and Burmese monasteries. Where to
Stay—Lower Air The closest airport is in Patna (125km). Calcutta (480km) has an international airport. Train The closest train station is located in Gaya. Gaya is on the main train line from Delhi to Calcutta. Bus and
Rickshaw There are regular buses that go the 13km between
Gaya and Bodhgaya. You can rent a motor rickshaw for Rs 90. A crowded,
shared rickshaw is Rs 5 a seat. You can catch a shared auto-rickshaw
or minibus (Rs 5) from Kacheri in the center city area of Gaya. Several
government buses leave from the railway station in Gaya. If you know of a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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