4 Buddhist Places to Ignite the Spirit

If you have the opportunity to visit, these special Buddhist places will inspire you!

4 Buddhist Places to Ignite the Spirit

Lumbini is the first of the Buddhist Places we are Spotlighting. Lumbini was the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the prince of the Shakya clan who would later become the Buddha. It is estimated that Buddha was born about 500 to 600 years before the Common Era, or even more, as some investigations point out.

In Lumbini, there is a significant number of temples and monasteries representing the various traditions of Buddhism. The Mayadevi Temple is the most sacred temple and marks the exact location of the Buddha’s birth. In addition to the temples, you can find an assortment of places of Interest such as a museum, monuments, buildings supporting the pilgrims, hotels, restaurants and a wide green area. Lumbini was granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1997.

( This educational video follows the path of Buddhist pilgrims from around the world as they visit Lumbini, Nepal, the site of the Buddha’s birth; Bodh Gaya, India, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment; Sarnath, India, the site of the Buddha’s first sermon; Rajgir, India, the site of the Vulture’s Peak, where the Buddha gave several famous sermons; Vaishali, India, where the Buddha first accepted women into the order of nuns; and Kushinagar, India, the site of the Buddha’s death.)

The Second of the Buddhist places we are talking about Boudhanath. Boudha, bodhnath or Boudhanath stupa with prayer flags, the oldest, biggest and Holiest Tibetan Buddhist located in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu city. Boudhanath is one of the largest semi-spherical stupas in the world and is the most sacred Tibetan Buddhist temple in the world outside of Tibet. Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Boudha,  is also called the Khasa Chaitya, Newari Khasti, Jarung Khashor, Wylie: bya rung kha shor.

Located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa’s massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. What makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal.

The Third of the Buddhist Places Is Bodhgaya. Bodhgaya is the most important place of a Buddhist pilgrimage, for it was there that Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became a Buddha. It was also in Bodhgaya that the Buddha made the decision to teach the Way. Like Lumbini and other important places where the Buddha passed, there are temples and monasteries of the various traditions of Buddhism.

The most important Temple is the Mahabodhi, which marks the exact location of the Buddha’s awakening. Under the Bodhi tree, Buddha meditated and awakened, a relative of that tree remains in the complex. The Mahabodhi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Fourth and last sacred Buddhist Place is Sarnath. Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit Saranganatha which means “Lord of the Deer and relates to another old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill. The king is so moved that he creates the park as a sanctuary for deer. The park is active in modern times.

Sarnath was the site of the first teaching uttered by the Buddha and the beginning of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The Stupa Dhamekh is the most important monument, it marks the site of the first teaching. It was built by Emperor Ashoka.

“Ananda, there are four places that when seen will awaken a sense of urgency and emotion in the devotees. Which four? ‘Here the Tathagata was born,’ is the first. ‘Here the Tathagata accomplished the perfect enlightenment’, is the second. ‘Here the Tathagata set in motion the unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma,’ is the third. ‘Here the Tathagata performed the Parinibb?na’, this is the fourth. ” – Buddha, Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16)

Pictures: Wikipedia and Bigstockphotos