The Eight Places of Buddhist Pilgrimage
Jeremy Russell |
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First published in 1981 by Mahayana Publications, Tushita
Mahayana Meditation Centre. This article first appeared in Teachings
from Tushita, Journal of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Centre.
Born and educated in England, Jeremy Russell’s interest
in Buddhism was initially sparked during his first visit
to Dharamsala in the early 70. He subsequently studied
at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives for several
years. He has lived in Dharamsala with his family since
1981, dividing his time between working as an editor
for several offices of the Tibetan government-in-exile
and leading trekking groups into the nearby mountains.
He is editor of Chö-Yang, the Journal of Tibetan
Culture.
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Contents
- Introduction
- Lumbini—birthplace of
the Buddha
- Bodhgaya—site of Buddha's
enlightenment
- Sarnath—first turning
of the Wheel of Dharma
- Rajgir—second turning
of the Wheel of Dharma
- Shravasti—teachings
in the Jetavana Grove
- Sankashya—where Lord
Buddha descended from Tushita Heaven
- Nalanda—site of the great
monastic university
- Kushinagar—where Buddha
entered mahaparinirvana
- Conclusion and Books Consulted
Introduction
Across the world and throughout the ages, religious people
have made pilgrimages. The Buddha himself exhorted his followers
to visit what are now known as the four great places of pilgrimage:
Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar. Many great teachers
of the buddhist tradition maintained the practice of pilgrimage
and paying respect to the holy sites. Nagarjuna, father of
the mahayana, restored the temple in Bodhgaya and protected
the bodhi tree, while the great Indian master Atisha, later
on as important as Nagarjuna to the Tibetan tradition, also
often visited Bodhgaya and indeed attained many realizations
there.
Of the many places in northern India associated with the
Buddha, eight in particular have become special objects of
pilgrimage: the four great places above, and four others,
namely, Rajgir, Shravasti, Sankashya and Nalanda, each of
which is regarded as having been blessed by the Buddha. After
the Buddha's passing away and the cremation of his body, the
relics were divided into eight portions and various beings
erected a great stupa over each. So arose the tradition of
eight places of pilgrimage.
The actions of the Buddha in each of these places, recalling
which is an important aspect of making pilgrimage, are described
within the canons of the scriptures of the various traditions
of his teaching, such as the sections on Vinaya, and also
in various compendia describing his life. The sites themselves
have now been identified once more with the aid of records
left by three pilgrims of the past. The great Emperor Ashoka,
although initially opposed to Buddhism, later became a zealous
follower who in the second decade of his reign made a great
pilgrimage to numerous buddhist shrines. As well as other
buildings, he left inscribed pillars at each site to indicate
the significance of each place. Many remains of these ancient
structures survive even today.
In the early fifth century AD, the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien
walked from China to India in search of buddhist books on
discipline, the Vinaya. He was followed two centuries later
by Hsuan Chwang. Records of the travels of both, which contain
detailed accounts of the holy places they visited, have survived
in Chinese. Translated into English in the last century, they
are now available in most western languages.
The practice of Buddhism flourished long in India, perhaps
reaching a zenith in the seventh century AD, at which time
the Buddha's teaching began to be firmly established in Tibet.
After this it began to decline because of the invading muslim
armies, and by the twelfth century the practice of the Dharma
had become sparse in its homeland. Thus, the history of the
eight places of pilgrimage from the thirteenth to the mid-nineteenth
centuries is obscure and they were mostly forgotten. However,
it is remarkable that they all remained virtually undisturbed
by the conflicts and developments of society during that period.
Subject only to the decay of time they remained dormant, waiting
for rediscovery.
From the middle of the last century, the Archeological Survey
of India, under the auspices of the British Government, and
one Englishman in particular—General Sir Alexander Cunningham—unearthed
and identified many sites, including the eight places of pilgrimage.
Since that time, owing to a renewed Indian interest in Buddhism
and the devotion and hardship of many individuals, the pilgrimage
sites have been revived. Now, two and a half millennia after
the Buddha, there are once more active buddhist establishments
and practitioners of the Dharma from many lands resident in
all but one of the eight places.
The following account is intended less to present a purely
historical record of the places of pilgrimage than to offer
some information and perhaps inspiration to other pilgrims,
with the wish that this revival may increase.
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