Buddhist Circuit Tour

By Ravi Valluri

Gautama Buddha who lived between 563 to 480 BC was born Siddhartha to King Suddhodhana and Mayadevi of the Sakya dynasty. He was married to Yasodhara who bore a son named Rahula.

Siddhartha faced a severe existential crisis and donned ochre robes and became a mendicant. Upon attaining enlightenment he became a spiritual master and religious leader on whose teachings Buddhism was established. He was reverentially called The Buddha or The Enlightened One. Today Buddhism is practiced all over South-East Asia and is attracting droves of followers in search of peace. In particular, humans are getting attracted to the celebrated Vipassana breathing and meditation technique which provides succour to the distraught mind.

There are some prominent Buddhist spots of paramount significance. These include Lumbini (in present day Nepal) where Buddha was born, Shravasti (in Uttar Pradesh near Gonda) where Buddha is said to have spent the last twenty-four years of his life meditating and cogitating while preaching the tenets of Buddhism, Sarnath near the ancient city of Benaras (also fabled for the Kashi Vishwanath Temple). It was at Sarnath that the Sakya Muni delivered his first sermon upon experiencing the pristine truth. The next place germane to Buddhism is Bodh Gaya where Siddhartha, the Sakhya Prince attained enlightenment. Finally is Kushinagar near Gorakhpur in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, where Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (cast his mortal self and merged into eternity).

A group of Buddhist back-packers arrived from Colombo at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as the sun sank in the Indian capital and the skies became crimson red. The sightseers were received at the airport by the officials of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and escorted to a prominent hotel in Delhi.

At the crack of dawn the following morning they departed from Luyten’s Delhi by the Swarn Shatabdi Express for Lucknow, the City of Nawabs.

Upon arrival at Lucknow the group was suitably snowed by the hospitality as the trippers travelled by a SUV to Shravasti. The tourists alighted from the confines of their SUV and contemplated the place where Buddha was said to live during the last twenty-four years of his life. They were subsumed with peace and jollity and all cobwebs and demons in their mind were annihilated.

The logistics of the IRCTC were to planned to the T. Soon the tourists traversed to Nauthanva, a distance of 220 kms by the Panvel-Gorakhpur Express. Nauthanva is the gateway to Nepal. After the mandatory customs clearance and police-check, the globetrotters had a meal and visited Sahet and Mahet.

Then began the enchanting drive to Lumbini, nestled in the hills; Lumbini was a part of Kapilvastu, the erstwhile kingdom of King Suddhodhana. The guests stayed at a glitzy hotel at Lumbini and walked around for several kilometres paying obeisance at various Buddhist shrines till they reached the spot where Buddha is believed by the devout to have arrived on planet earth. Here they meditated at the shrine for a reasonable period of time, slipping into sync with the ethereal atmosphere.

IRCTC has harnessed skills in managing transportation and other logistics quite efficiently. Next the tourists saw the spectacle of an ancient Ashokan pillar and prayed at the Maya Devi temple. Later they drove down to Kushinagar, spending the night at a modest though well furnished hotel.

At the crack of dawn the sightseers proceeded to visit the Rambhar Stupa and Mahaparinirvana temple. To this day (centuries have elapsed) one can experience profound silence and amazing vibrations at these Buddhist shrines.

With much reluctance the Sri Lankan Buddhists departed from Kushinagar to Gorakhpur and boarded the Lucknow-Patliputra Express enroute to Patna, the capital city of Bihar, a 255 km journey.

Upon their arrival at Patna, after checking-in into a prestigious hotel, the pilgrims headed to Bodhgaya and saw the Mahabodhi Temple built to the east of the sacred tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The temple is a majestic structure, 17 feet high on a base 5 feet square, and consists of a soaring pyramidal tower surmounted by a stupa. The Vajrasana or Diamond Throne lying between the Bodhi Tree and the temple marks the actual spot where Buddha received illumination.

A gilded Buddha smiles upon the visitors from a niche in the wall of the temple, and his footsteps are carved in stone which hold flower offerings from the devout. Astonishing peace pervades the atmosphere as though lending credence to the legend that Buddha attained insight at this very spot.

The minds of the pilgrims were filled with serenity and calmness as they travelled by the Lichchavi Express from Patna to Benares covering 227 kms. That evening they checked into the estimable Radisson Hotel in Varanasi.

Varanasi is known for its pluralistic culture, famously termed as ‘Ganga Jamuna Tehzeeb’. The pilgrims paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath temple followed by Darshan at the Kaal Bhairav temple and Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. Thereafter they travelled to Sarnath where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon.

Sarnath is around 10 km from Varanasi and houses numerous Buddhist shrines which include the famous Dhamekh Stupa, the seat of the holy 'Buddha'. They also visited the ruins of Dharmarajika Stupa and Mulagandhakuti Temple, where Lord Buddha is said to have rested and meditated while in Sarnath.

Later on the pilgrims were amazed looking at the Ashoka Pillar, built by Emperor Ashoka. The Lion Capital atop this pillar is part of the National Emblem of India and stands apart for its excellent artistry and carvings.

A day filled with several peregrinations was rounded off after witnessing the majestic spectacle of Ganga Aarti at Assi Ghat on the banks of the Ganges.

After a hectic day, most travellers were weary and hit the sack. Two mettlesome tourists got up early the next morning, as their friends snatched a few extra winks of sleep, and were enthralled by the boat ride on the Ganges.

That afternoon the voyagers boarded the Vande Bharat (T-18), among the fastest trains in India and reached New Delhi at 11pm. The next day the group flew back to Colombo with misty eyes and fond memories.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment,” thus spake Lord Buddha.

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