Buddha Parikrama

My first brush with Buddha happened when I was just twelve years old, through a lesson in our Hindi textbook. I was not happy with the way he left his wife and newborn son and went to seek answers to his seemingly inane questions. Thus began my quest about Buddha. It has been more than three decades now and my fascination about this great philosopher has turned into deep respect. Some years ago, I met a few people who were also equally intensely charged about Buddha – one of them was a Korean. We decided to travel the Buddha circuit, see and feel all the places visited by Buddha – from Lumbini, where he was born to Kushinagar, where he passed away – though not in the same order.

The long journey began from Delhi by train to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. After visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple, we went to the ghats of the river Ganga.   Buddha came crossing the Ganga to the ghats of Kashi, as it was known then, from Bodh Gaya, after attaining enlightenment, looking for his five companions who had abandoned him earlier. Early morning with the rising sun if you cross the river and go to the other side, from where you get a panoramic view of the ghats … it is not difficult to imagine Buddha walking alone on those sands…

From Varanasi we took a jeep to the nearby city of Sarnath. Rishipattana, the Deer Park, in Sarnath, was where Buddha found his ex-companions. Chaukhandi Stupa marks the spot where he first met them. It is a derelict monument, but once you manage to climb up to the top, you are able to see the Dhamekh Stupa at a diatance. A magnificent monument the sheer size of which makes you feel very small literally and figuratively, Dhamekh Stupa was built by Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha preached Dharmachakraparivartana for the first time to his five followers and started the sangha.

In the came complex, Dharmarajika Stupa, now in ruins, marks the site where Buddha gave his first sermon. Remains of a massive Ashokan pillar mark the exact location. And Mulgandhakuti Vihara is the place where Buddha meditated during the monsoons. It enshrines the relics found in Taxila. Suddenly the realisation hit us that we have entered the world of Buddha. The peace, the monks… there was a certain sanctity in the whole environment.

Our next halt was at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. Known as Uruvela earlier, it is situated on the banks of river Phalgu (ancient Niranjana). On the banks of the river, under the Bodhi tree, for 49 days Buddha sat facing the east, till he attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya jolted us back to the present, with its beggars accosting the tourists, pavements spilling over with vendors selling rosaries, incense, Buddha images et al. The roadside dhabas selling chai-pakoras were no different from any tourist spot.

A little away from the main city, in the Pragbodhi caves, on the Brahmayoni hill, Buddha practiced severe austerities for 6 years. After which Sujata, the daughter of the village chief of Senani, offered him a bowl of kheer. Sujata’s village, her house, are not a part of the regular tourist circuit, so not very many people get to see them. We were lucky to have a Professor of Buddhist studies as a guide taking us to these beautiful spots where as we listened to him telling us the story of Sujata, we could actually feel the presence of Buddha. After all it was here that he became Buddha!

The famous Mahabodhi temple in the city of Bodh Gaya has seven spots within its precincts, including the Bodhi tree, which are sacred because Buddha spent a week each here, soon after his enlightenment. The Bodhi tree here is said to have been planted from a sapling from the original tree – under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The entire temple complex seems like a small monastery, with monks all over, praying, chanting, meditating… the vibrations make you sit, and if not pray, just watch the others praying – and suddenly you realise that you have begun praying too.

Overcoming the temptation of revisiting the Mahabodhi temple, after having being there twice already in a day, we set out for Rajgir. The roads, or lack of them, reminded us constantly that we were in Bihar. Indiscriminate stopping of vehicles on the roads by lathi-weilding villagers got scary at times. But then we had two hard-core Biharis with us who were adept in handling such unpleasant situations. Known as Rajgriha back then, Rajgir was the capital of Bimbisara. After renouncing his royal heritage, Siddhartha came to this city first seeking salvation. Bimbisara offered half of his kingdom to him if he stayed back. Siddhartha declined promising to return after getting enlightened. He did that.

Rajgir the city was not as commercial as Bodh Gaya and neither as dirty, but again there was a pervading sense of unease in the evening and night. We had a security guard with us throughout our brief stay. In the rock cut caves of the Griddhakuta hill, in Rajgir, Buddha spent many rainy seasons meditating. Here he preached the Lotus Sutra and the Wisdom Sutra. Here Devadutta tried to kill him by hurling a boulder at him; and also by sending a mad elephant to him. Close by is Jivakamravana vihara, a mango grove presented to the Buddha by Jivaka, the royal physician. Only ruins remain indicating the existence of a monastery once. The only pace in Rajgir where one gets transported back to Buddha is Venuvana vihara, a bamboo grove, where Buddha used to bathe in the Karanda tank. After Buddha attained mahaparinirvana, the first Buddhist council was held in Rajgir to codify his teachings.

Our next halt was Nalanda, the most renowned university of ancient India. Buddha came here often and stayed at Setthi Pavarika’s mango grove. Sariputra, one of Buddha’s very close disciples, attained nirvana here. To call the ruins of Nalanda impressive would be grossly understating the fact. They told us that besides what can be seen today, there is a lot more still unexcavated at Nalanda. Standing atop the ruins of one of the hostels in the Nalanda campus, hearing that in its heydays a hundred subjects were taught here to students from all over the world was a proud moment indeed. Our Korean friend was busy clicking photographs. But it was not possible to capture the magnitude of the fact that once hundreds of students were living and studying here, in a well-planned, well-designed university campus. We felt blessed in being a part of such glorious heritage.

Situated on the banks of Ganga, Patna, once known as Pataliputra, was our next destination. Ajatashatru built a fort here, which the Buddha saw in his last days and prophesied that the city would always be threatened by fire, flood and feud. The ruins of the city are seen in Kumrahar. The remains are housed in the Patna museum. Unfortunately nobody seemed to have the time or inclination towards Buddha even in the museum. Politics is all that one gets in the city, again with the warning not to venture out alone in the night.

With much relief, we headed towards Vaishali. The vast stretches of fields overflowing with vegetables all through the drive took away the discomfort of broken roads to a great extent. Because of being a part of the Ganga basin, Bihar happens to be a very fertile state. Buddha taught Ratna Sutra in Vaishali and women were ordained in the sangha for the first time here, starting from Buddha’s foster-mother Gautami. At Kutagarshala vihara, Buddha gave his last discourse, and declared the imminent mahaparinirvana. Ashoka has built a Stupa to mark the spot. Vaishali is also known for Amrapali, the famous courtesan, who invited Buddha to her house. Amvara, the neighbouring village, is the site of her mango grove dwelling. She gifted it to the sangha and joined the order herslf. This was the best part of the trip for me as I felt a strong sense of déjà vu… so much so that I guided the guide through the thicket along a mud track right upto the point where Amrapali lived. A well is there where her house must have been once. Needless to say that the guide was suitably impressed, as this spot is not a part of the regular tourist circuit, so very few people know of it. Buddha’s favourite disciple, Ananda attained nirvana on the outskirts of Vaishali. A hundred years after Buddha’s passing away, the second Buddhist council was also held in Vaishali.

We left Bihar at Vaishali and entered Uttar Pradesh in Kushinagar. Kushinara, as it was known then, was the place selected by Buddha for his mahaparinirvana. After his last sermon at Vaishali, he came here. On the way he stopped at Pava, where Chunda, a metalsmith, gave him his last meal. On a bed, prepared by Ananda, under two Sal trees, Buddha attained mahaparinirvana. The Mahaparinirvana temple enshrines a statue in that posture. On the seventh day after the mahaparinirvana, Mahakashyap lighted the funeral pyre at Mukutabandha vihara. Remains of the stupa can be seen. In fact more than the Mahaparinirvana temple, it is here at this stupa that one gets a sense of peace and a strong desire to meditate.

Kushinagar is close to the Indo-Nepal border and we crossed it to reach Lumbini in Nepal. There is a custom check at the border, so it is advised not to carry much luggage with you. We stepped across the border straight into a sardarji’s dhaba to have a breakfast of choley-bhature! Lumbini is the sacred site of Buddha’s birth. A temple complex houses the tank where Mahamaya had her bath before delivery. The Sal tree and the sacred stone slab are present at the exact location. Ashoka erected a pillar, Rummendei pillar, to mark the place. Hardly any tourists are seen here. The locals come to the tree and seek its blessings and when their wishes are granted they come back to tie a flag on it. None of them seemed Buddhists.

Back to Uttar Pradesh, this time to Kapilavastu. Buddha spent the first three decades of his life here. Ruins of the palace can still be seen. We spent some time roaming about the ruins, imagining the grandeur that young Siddhartha must have left behind… so powerful must have been his urge to find the truth…

Our last stop was at Sravasti, near Kushinagar. It was the annual monsoon retreat of Buddha for 25 years. Jetavana vihara built by Sudatta, contains the ruins of Anandakuti and Gandhakuti, where Buddha stayed and expounded the major part of the Tripitakas. The vast lawns of the vihara and the ruins transpose you yet again to Buddha. A few monks scattered here and there complete the picture. It was in Sravasti that Buddha performed the miracle of levitating on a thousand petalled lotus, causing fire and water to leap out of his body and multiplying in the air, in response to a challenge from six non-believers.

We were back to Kushinagar to catch a train for Delhi; tired physically yet refreshed mentally.