Spiritual Trip to India

I have been travelling to many countries, however it has never crossed in my mind to travel to India, until last October 2010. That month I made a decision to join my friend for the 16 days spiritual trip to India in November - my first spiritual trip. Sounds funny right? I remember my friend did mention about the trip early the year, as i have never thought of going, I didn't bother to ask further. I really don't understand what are the factors that have lead to such a decision.

Anyway I am very grateful for making such a decision. My perception about India has totally changed after the trip. It really makes me appreciate more of what we have now and appreciate the teaching of Buddha.

Our spiritual trip started from Bodhgaya, followed by Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini and with Srasvasti the as final destiny. There were about 20 of us joining the trip. Everyone of us has to observe at least eight precepts and take only vegetarian food for the whole trips. From New Delhi, we took domestic flight to Patna, there onwards the travelling was all by coach. It's considered normal to travel for 6 hours from one destination to the other, the longest hours we experienced was about 12 hours. As a matter of fact, there is no 'express way' to link from one place to another, so everybody has to be patient enough to sit in the coach for long hours, going through small and bumpy roads; worse still you could rarely find any washroom or toilet along the journey. So you may wonder how to answer nature's call? particularly for lady? So here is the trick - one has the right to ask the driver to stop at anytime & anywhere, but usually driver would stop near trees or any abandoned building; then guys would go one side of the road and ladies would go to the opposite side with their umbrella or cloth to cover up.

Next i will share each and every places we have been to during the 16 days of spiritual tour with some photographs taken during the trip.

Bodhgaya, situated about twelve kms to the south of the Gaya town in the state of Bihar, is reckoned as the most sacred shrine for Buddhists. This is the place where Bodhisattva Siddhartha (a.k.a. Gautama Buddha) attained Buddhahood or enlightenment. Bodhisattva stayed in this place for six years. He practiced all kinds of penance here and also went to the extreme of torturing his body before attaining his enlightenment.

Bodhgaya is famous for it's magnificent Mahabodhi Mahavihara which is an architectural amalgamation of many cultures. The Bodhi tree, under which Bodhisattva enlightened after a long and hard meditation, is the core of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara. We spent four nights at Hotel Mahamaya Bodhgaya which is only about 1-2 minutes of walking distance to the Mahabodhi Mahavihara. It's only a 3-star hotel but quite comfortable of staying there.

Staying in Bodhgaya was really an eye opening for me. Every morning 4am we went to the Mahavihara to pray and meditate; to my surprise there are many devotees, monks & nuns from all over the worlds, be there even much earlier than us. I was told that majority of them stayed overnight there, some with their mosquito net. There were also a group of Tibetan monks setup their tents doing praying and meditation there throughout the day. I truly find that Mahabodhi Mahavihara is a holy place, our mind became really peaceful the moment we step in the compound, i suppose it's a good place for soul searching.

Surrounding the Mahavihara, are temples or monasteries built by the people from various countries - Japan, China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam etc. All the buildings have their own unique architectural styles.

We have also visited Sujata Kuti, a Stupa created in memory of Sujata, who offered Bodhisattva a meal of milk rice and honey, which is believed to be the first morsel of grain consumed by Buddha after so many years of hardship.

From Bodhgaya, it took us nearly 10 hours of journey to Veranasi due to traffic congestion. At Varanasi, we stayed at Clarks Hotel for three nights. As we arrived the hotel late night, we only started our tour to Sarnath in the next morning.

Sarnath, about 10 km from the holy city of Varanasi, is the great place where Bodhisattva , after becoming Buddha, chose to deliver his first sermon; at the Deer Park of Sarnath to be more exact. There are many Buddhist monuments and edifices in Sarnath, which were built at between the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD, but most of them were heavily ruined. Today this place represents the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail.

During our stay in Varanasi, besides visiting the ruins monuments and temples, we also visited a small archaeological museum. Few of us also took the opportunity to visit Holy River Ganges though it's not part of the itinerary. We took tricycle auto rickshaw (a.k.a "tri-shaw" or "tuk-tuk") to Ganges which is about 20minutes from our hotel; that was really an exciting and wonderful ride.

The Ganges is a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is also the place where Hindus pay homage to their Gods and ancestors by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it and letting it fall back into the river. When their loved one dies, they would also return to the Ganges to consign the ashes. As we arrived Ganges in the evening time, we had the chance to see the daily worship ceremony which began around 7pm. The whole river bank was packed with people when the worship ceremony started. We saw many people offer rose petals and flowers. There were also Hindus selling float shallow clay dishes with oil and lit with wicks for visitors to offer to the river with their wishes in mind.

Kushinagar is our destination after Sarnath, another important Buddhist pilgrimage spot, where Buddha have attained Parinirvana after his death. It was another long hour of bus ride which took about 10 hours from Sarnath to Kushinagar. We stayed at Kushinagar Lotus Nikko Hotel for three nights.

Our first visit was to the two important places in Kushinagar which are the Mahaparinirvana Stupa - built on the place of Buddha's Mahaparinirvana, and Makutabandhana - which is 1.6 km away, is the place of Buddha's cremation. There is a 1500 year old 6 meters long statue of reclining Buddha-image when Buddha attained Parinirvana, situated beside the Mahaparinirvana Stupa. Surrounding the Mahaparinirvana Stupa are the ruins of ancient monasteries.  We had our early morning chant and meditation at both the places, carried out some dana activities there as well.

Besides these two places, we also visited Matha Kuar Shrine, where the last sermon by Lord Buddha was given here.  A black stone image of the Buddha in the bhumi sparsha mudra was recovered and installed here. 

After Kushinagar, we left for Lumbini (in Nepal) which took another five hours of bus ride. In Lumbini, we stayed at Hotel Buddha Maya Garden for two nights. It's a nice and comfortable hotel, and convenient too as most of the pilgrimage spots are just within walking distance.

Lumbini is the place where Buddha was born. Emperor Ashoka, in the twenty first year after his coronation, visited this Birthplace and raised a pillar on the spot. Next to this Ashoka Pillar is the the shrine of Maya Devi (Buddha's mother), also known as Maya Devi Temple. Therein contains a stone relief depicting Buddha's native scene, and the remains of structures of the early Maya Devi Temple dated back to the 3rd century B.C. to 7th Century A.D. The upper floor remains open for meditation. Puskarni, the Sacred Pool, is believed to be the pool where queen Maya Devi, took a holy bath before the delivery, is located at the south of the Ashoka pillar.

Within few kilometers of radius from Maya Devi Temple, several beautiful shrines have been built by devotees from Buddhist countries, and an older Lamaist gompa. A visit to Lumbini is not only for spiritual enlightenment but also for inner satisfaction that one gets in such a calm and peaceful place.

Srasvasti (a.k.a. Savatthi) was our final destination. We left Lumbini at noon and arrived Srasvasti in the evening, the distance from Lumbini to Savatthi is about 150km which took nearly 5 hours to arrive. In Srasvasti, stayed at the Hotel Lotus Nikko for two nights.

Srasvasti, is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala. The Buddha passed the greater part of his monastic life in Srasvasti, whereby this great city has the honor to shelter Buddha for 24 rainy seasons - 19 in the Jetavana monastery, and 6 in the Pubbarama monastery. It's also the place where Buddha had preached the most suttas - 871 suttas in Savatthi, 844 in Jetavana, 23 in Pubbarama, and 4 in the suburbs of Srasvasti.

During our stay, we visited Jetavana which is a magnificent historical park, with remains of many ancient buildings including monasteries, huts, and stupas. The Anandabodhi Tree, where Buddha meditated for a night, is an important spot for devotees to pay respect. It is believed that whoever meditates under this tree would be blessed with good fortune. We also visited the stupa and cave of Angulimala. Locally known as Pakki Kuti. The word angulimala literally means "finger garland". It is believed that Angulimala was a wicked man who wore a necklace consist of all the fingers that were chopped from his victims. One day Buddha with His windoms and enlightening words managed to stop Angulimala from kiling his own mother. Angulimala then decided to give up his evil ways and became Buddha's disciple to follow his path.

Besides, we also spent few hours visiting Dean Mahamongkol Meditation Centre, a newly set up monastry, which is truly a holy place of devotion, meditation, dhamma teaching and to keep noble silence. The place is often visited by Buddhist from India and many other nations. No photographs can be shown as taking photographs is strictly prohibited at this point of time. Don't miss this great place if you have the chance to visit Srasvasti.

This 16 days of India trip was indeed something meaningful and eye opening to me. We kept at least eight precepts throughout the whole trip. Only vegetarian food was served. Chanting, meditating and listening to dhamma talk formed part of our daily activities. It was a wonderful experience and has truly changed my perception about India. It really makes me appreciate more of what we have now and appreciate the teaching of Buddha. For those of you who are searching for self wisdom, calm and tranquility, there are many pilgrimage spots mentioned in this hub which would be very beneficial to you.