Buddha's Steps – Lab2
Ganges Sunrise
Sarnath
End of free day
We will wake up very early to arrive at Ganges, before sunrise. We will board our rowboat to go up the Ganges and witness the sunrise of the sun god, Surya, from our boat. We will watch pilgrims performing their pujas (rituals) at the beginning of their days, in this most sacred place in the Hindu tradition. Slowly, led by the goddess Ganga, we will return the way we have just taken to a ghat (a stairway on the riverbank) a little further on, where we will disembark and have the opportunity to walk through the many alleys, amidst thousands of small and large temples, in the old part of the city. There is a famous temple in this region, called the Golden Temple or Kashi Vishvanath. Its history is important for understanding the different periods of India.
Back in our vehicle, we will have a good breakfast at our hotel and then we will continue to SarnathWe will pass by the place where Buddha, after his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, met with his 5 fellow practitioners, and then we will visit the important Deer Park. A very peaceful place, where Buddha turned the Wheel of Dharma for the first time, that is, where he first taught, approximately 2500 years ago. We will, of course, do our practice. Then we will visit the Mahabodhi Temple where there are relics of Buddha and a "granddaughter" of the tree on which Buddha sat and became enlightened.
The end of the day is free to enjoy Sarnath a little more, then return to the ghats area in Varanasi, as well as other possibilities that we will discuss with the group later that day.
Car trip
Mahabodhi Temple
We will travel Today we will visit the place where Buddha became enlightened, the most sacred site in Buddhism, Bodhgaya. It will take approx. 6 hours with our own vehicle. We will check in to our hotel, have lunch and then visit the main temple complex of the city, the Mahabodhi. It was there that Buddha sat for a few days until he had purified all his obscurations and realized the nature of our mind. We can do the same, sitting near or even under the Bodhi tree, a ficus religisosa (fig tree), in the exact place where Buddha became enlightened. This place is also called the Vajra Seat, the seat of the diamond or the indestructible thunderbolt, as well as our natural condition, our essence. We will be among pilgrims, lay and monastic, from all over the world. Mantras, incense, mind training practices from different traditions for our different mental dispositions. After becoming enlightened, the Awakened One (in Sanskrit: Buddha) contemplated his experience for a few weeks at different points around the Bodhi tree. These places are marked so that we can contemplate the same reflections during our days in Bodhgaya.
Mahakala Cave
Sujata Village
Today we will head to a more remote region on the outskirts of Bodhgaya, to a mountain where there is a cave where Buddha meditated and practiced austerity before becoming enlightened. It will also be an opportunity to observe the rhythm of life in the villages that are more remote from the urban centers. Like all caves of great masters, it is a very special place to practice. After visiting the Mahakala Cave, we will visit the peaceful place where, when Siddhartha practiced eating only one grain of rice a day, the girl Sujata offered rice milk to the Buddha. At this point, as he ate and observed his mind functioning better with his stronger body, Siddhartha realized that it would not be through the extremes of self-indulgence or self-mortification that he would become enlightened, but through the middle path. We will take this opportunity to contemplate these experiences and teachings of the Buddha at these important points in his life.
We will return to Bodhgaya for lunch and have free time to enjoy the temple complex. Mahabodhi...other temples, cafes, walking, reading, however each traveller prefers to enjoy this late afternoon.
Walk
Temples
Mahabodhi Temple
Today, if we want, even if it is available for whatever we need, we don't need to use our vehicle. We will walk Around Bodhgaya, you'll see a large Buddha statue built by the Japanese, a Japanese temple, a Bhutanese temple, each with very beautiful and distinct styles. A very beautiful monastery that we can also visit is the Mingyur Rinpoche monastery. There's also a very special new monastery, a little further away, very beautiful, dedicated to Tara. There are many possibilities. We'll see how the group feels on the day and that's what we'll do. Including, of course, the main temple, Mahabodhi, which is always worth returning to. There are good lunch and café options in the city. We can always reserve the ever-welcome and requested free time in the temple, whether for shopping for Buddhist items, sitting a little longer near the Bodhi tree, reading, meditation, walking, taking photos, as each pilgrim prefers.
Bamboo Forest
Shanti Stupa
Vultures Peak
Today we will travel for approx. 3 hours to Rajgir. We will begin our visits with one of the places where Buddha and his monastic sangha lived for many monsoons, the Bamboo Forest. Since Buddha and his students lived on foot (throughout the places we are visiting), due to the dangers of a trip like this during the rainy season, during these months of each year they stayed in places offered by the kings of different regions. Lunch, check-in at our hotel and then we will continue to the Peace Stupa, or Shanti Stupa, in a beautiful place on top of a mountain, built by a Japanese Buddhist project for world peace, in many places around the world. From the stupa we will walk to the very special Vultures PeakThis is where Buddha had a hut. This is the location of the important text and teaching called the Heart Sutra, which we will have with us, as well as commentaries from great masters. It's a very peaceful place, also on a nearby mountain. We will take advantage of this special opportunity to offer incense, do our practice, and do the very special reading of the Heart Sutra.
Nalanda University
Kutagarasala Vihara
Ananda's stupa
In the morning, next to Rajgir, we will visit the archaeological site of the very important University of nalandaNalanda was for centuries one of the most important centers of Buddhist studies, attracting students from many parts of the world, especially between the 5th and 12th centuries. It housed approximately 10.000 students and 2.000 teachers, and boasted a library larger than that of Alexandria, for example. Among the many great scholars and masters of Nalanda, known as the Indian pandits, were Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita, Bhavaviveka, Chandrakirti, and Shantideva. For centuries, many of these yogis were invited by Tibetan kings to cross the Himalayas and bring the study of Buddhism to Tibet. Thus, the tradition of Nalanda remains alive to this day, studied and practiced in traditional Tibetan shedras (universities) and monasteries in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, as well as in important universities in Europe and North America, where there is a rich and important exchange with neuroscientists, physicists, and contemporary educators. We will visit the monasteries of Nalanda, as well as temples, important stupas, and its small museum. It is certainly a very special and inviting place for our practice, such as reading excerpts from important texts of this science, written in the same location where we will be, in this ancient university.
We will continue our journey for approximately 5 hours to Vaishali. On the way, we will pass through Patna, the capital of the ancient Ashoka empire, now part of the state of Bihar, and through which the Ganges River also flows. Upon arriving in Vaishali, quite close to Patna, we will check in, have a good meal, and then take a walk through the small village near our hotel. Vaishali, which, like Rajgir, is one of the eight most sacred sites in Buddhism, may have been the first example of a republic-type government organization, which Buddha visited numerous times. It was in Vaishali that Buddha ordained the first sangha of female nuns, demonstrated miracles, delivered his last sermon (sutra), announced his Mahaparanirvana, and it was also where the Second Council took place.
Near Vaishali, we will continue to the archaeological site of the monastery Kutagarasala, where is the stupa One of Buddha's principal students, Ananda, his cousin and attendant, played a significant role in the first council after Buddha's death, as he remembered all the sutras, Buddha's teachings. It was near Vaishali, on the banks of the Ganges, that Ananda passed into nirvana. Next to the stupa, we will see one of the pillars of Ashoka, the great emperor who supported Buddhism in India and several other countries in Asia.
Shanti Stupa
Relics stupa
Kesariya stupa
At the beginning of the day we will visit another one Shanti Stupa, as in Rajgir, and a much more ancient stupa, from the Lichwavi Empire, which housed relics of Buddha. There is a very pleasant and inviting lawn for our readings, practice, and always good conversations.
Time to continue our journey for approximately 5 hours across the Ganges Plain to Kushinagar, the site of Buddha's Mahaparanirvana.
On the way we will make a stop at the Stupa Kesariya. Built approximately 1500 years ago on the site where Buddha lived in a previous life, the site of one of his teachers before he became enlightened, where on a previous visit he taught what has come to be known as the Kalama Sutra. In this teaching Buddha emphasized the importance of using reason, testing and investigating the teachings on the workings of our mind, as opposed to blind belief and dogma. On his way to Kushinagar, on his last visit, Buddha offered his bowl here to the Lichavis, the inhabitants of Vaishali.