Buddhism is an ancient tradition that came into light when Gautam Buddha attained supremacy in spiritual and life teachings in mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE. Gautam Buddha travelled to the beautiful place presently called as Bodhgaya temple situated near banks of the sandy Niranjana river, for finding answers to the human sufferings. The Buddhist pilgrimage in India gives an in-depth knowledge of spiritual and life lessons to the tourists. Gautam Buddha delivered these sermons to all the followers and devotees of Buddhism. Followers of Buddhism gained popularity in 20th Century as West got familiar with the sacred teachings of Lord Buddha, Spreading from South East Asia to China, Korea and Japan and rest of the world.
The teachings of Buddha was known as Tathāgata and Sakyamuni which meant “thus-gone” and “the sage of the Sakyas” respectively. The scriptures and the texts of Buddha’s teachings have been preserved since ages, tourists can have a look at it while they visit the Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. The Bodhgaya Buddhist tour gives insight of Gautam Buddha’s life, his teachings and the way he grew up practising asceticism and meditation and how he attained supreme enlightenment.
These are the pilgrimage sites of Buddhism where one can inherit authentic teachings of Lord Buddha-
- Bodhgaya temple, Mahabodhi temple- where he sat under the Bodhi Tree in a meditative posture, the statue of Gautam Buddha can also be seen inside the temple facing east.
- Tibetan Monastery- that houses ornate statues of Maitreya Buddha.
- Sujata Kuti Stupa- the house of Sujata, she was a cow-herder who fed Kheer to Lord Buddha. Sujata Mandir is where Gautam Buddha sat in meditation reflecting on his sermons.
- Prayagbodhi- now known as Dungeshwari caves where Buddha is believed to have spent seven years of his austere life. In the site, ruins of few stupas can also be found.
- Barabar caves- the cluster of 7 caves, carved in monolithic granite that was built by one of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka for the use of Ajivaka ascetics
Travelers who are interested in historical backdrop of Buddhism can have a closer look in the foot steps of Lord Buddha by exploring the Buddhist pilgrim sites namely, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sarnath, Lumbini, Kushinagar and Sravasti.
Conclusion:
Tourists will have the feeling of contentment at the completion of their Buddhist pilgrim tour as the teachings of Buddha have the ability to de-stress(minds) and fill the mind of tourists with practical knowledge of life.