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
Rajgir
Where the Buddha converted
Sariputra and Maudgalyayana
"King Ajatasatru possessed a very ferocious elephant. Devadatta,
hearing that the Buddha was coming to Rajgir, arranged to
have the elephant escape. As the Buddha came toward the city,
Devadatta went to the palace terrace to see the Buddha killed,
but when the elephant came rushing at the Buddha, the Enlightened
One tamed the elephant with a few words, and the ferocious
beast knelt at this feet."
Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya
 When
Gautama the ascetic first visited Rajgir on his way to Bodhgaya
he was met by King Bimbisara. The king was so impressed by
the bodhisattva that he tried every means to persuade him
to stay. Failing in this, he received a promise that Gautama
would return to Rajgir after his enlightenment. Accordingly,
after teaching in Sarnath, the Buddha travelled to Rajgir,
the royal capital of Magadha, followed by over a thousand
monks of the new order.
King Bimbisara welcomed
them all and offered the Veluvana Bamboo Grove. This was to
be the first property of the Order and one of the Buddha's
favourite residences. The site was ideal for a monastic order,
being not too near the city, calm by day and night, free from
biting insects and having mild air and tanks of cool water.
Thus it was suited to the practice of meditation, and here
Shakyamuni passed the first rainy season retreat following
his enlightenment. He was to return to this place for several
rainy season retreats later in his life. When Hsuan Chwang
visited Rajgir he saw a monastery and the Kalanda tank, where
Shakyamuni bathed and which still exists. Close to this stood
an Ashoka Stupa and a pillar surmounted by an elephant. Not
far away King Ajatasatru had built two stupas, one over the
portion of the Buddha's relics that he had received, the other
over half of Ananda's body. Later Ashoka unearthed the first
of these to obtain relics for his 84,000 stupas.
Perhaps the most
important event of the Buddha's first visit to Rajgir was
the conversion of Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. The story of
their conversion is as follows. Ashvajit, last of the five
ascetics to be converted by Buddha, was making his alms round
one morning and happened to meet Sariputra. Sariputra was
greatly impressed by the monk's noble and subdued demeanor,
and asked him what teachings he followed. Sariputra immediately
attained arhantship, and when he repeated what he had heard
to his friend Maudgalyayana, he also instantly achieved the
same. Later, stupas were erected at the places associated
with these events. The two left their teacher Sanjaya and
came with 500 of their former followers to meet the Buddha.
Buddha welcomed both as his chief disciples, Sariputra having
the greater intelligence, Maudgalyayana wielding the greatest
miraculous powers. Both were born near Rajgir and later, retiring
to their respective villages, entered nirvana before the Buddha
did.
During his stay in
Rajgir, Shakyamuni received two significant invitations: one
from his father King Suddhodana, the other from a wealthy
merchant who wanted him to spend the next rainy season in
Shravasti. Accepting both, the Buddha returned briefly to
Kapilavastu and sent Sariputra to Shravasti to prepare for
his visit there.
Shakyamuni later
visited Rajgir on a number of occasions. On several of these,
attempts were made on his life. Once a lay follower of the
nirgrantha jains concealed a fire-pit in front of his house
and invited the Buddha to a meal of poisoned food. However,
the pit changed into a lotus pond with a flower bridge and
the Buddha proved that one freed of all inner poisons could
not be harmed by external means. At another time he predicted
the birth of a son to the wife of a jain, who in defiance
killed her. But as her body was being burnt, the child came
forth from amidst the flames. Stupas marking these places
were later seen by the Chinese pilgrims.
 King
Ajatasatru, who had usurped his father Bimbisara's throne
and allowed him to die in prison, came under the evil influence
of Shakyamuni's jealous cousin Devadatta, who had tried to
force the Buddha to permit him to lead the Order. Failing
to achieve this, Devadatta invited the young king to harm
the Buddha. Professional assassins were hired for this purpose,
yet in the end they fell at the Buddha's feet in devotion.
The king then let loose a maddened elephant from his palace,
but the animal, affected by the Buddha's presence, fell on
its knees out of homage to him. It is also in Rajgir that
a young boy later to be reborn as the great king Ashoka came
to him and offered him a handful of sand, wishing it were
gold.
Yet the most important
of all associations of the Buddha with Rajgir is that with
Vulture's Peak, a small mountain just outside the city. Here,
sixteen years after his enlightenment, he set forth the second
turning of the wheel of Dharma to an assembly of 5,000 monks,
nuns and laity, as well as innumerable bodhisattvas. This
collection of teachings, which extended over twelve years,
includes the Saddharmapundarika Sutra and the Surangama
Samadhi Sutra, as well as many Prajna-paramita Sutras,
which, as the Buddha himself told Ananda, contain the very
essence of all his teachings. Mahakashyapa recorded these
latter teachings and Shakyamuni placed them in the custody
of the nagas until such time as men were ready to receive
them. The Buddha's respect for Mahakashyapa was such that
when they first met, the two exchanged cloaks. The great disciple
now resides within the Gurupada Mountain near Bodhgaya. Here
he awaits Maitreya, upon whom he will place the cloak of Shakyamuni.
When the Chinese
pilgrims visited Vulture's Peak they found the summit green
and bare. Fa Hien mentions a cave and Hsuan Chwang a hall
slightly below it, where the Buddha is said to have sat and
preached. Here also he once reached through the mountain with
his hand to calm Ananda, whose meditation was being disturbed
by Mara in the form of a vulture. Before the cave were the
walking and sitting places of the previous buddhas, and a
stupa where the Saddharmapundarika Sutra was taught.
 King Bimbisara built a causeway leading
up to the hill. At the foot of the hill was Amaravana, the
mango grove offered to the Buddha by the physician Jivaka.
The remains of what was once a monastery may still be seen
here. According to Hsuan Chwang, at one time on Vulture's
Peak there was a monastery occupied by many meditators and
several arhants.
The final journey
of Buddha's life, which ended with the mahaparinirvana at
Kushinagar began at Rajgir. Shortly after this, the First
Council—an assembly of 500 monks presided over by Mahakashyapa—met
under the patronage of Ajatasatru in the Shrataparna Cave,
a short distance southwest of Veluvana Bamboo Park, and compiled
the Buddha's teachings into a collection known as the Sthaviranikaya.
A stupa once marked the spot where, with great exertion, Ananda
achieved arhantship on the night before the council in order
that he might attend.
Ashoka later erected
a stupa in honour of this First Council at the place a distance
west of Shrataparna Cave where at the same time the mahasanghikas,
regarded by some as proto-mahayanists, compiled their canon.
According to Nagarjuna, an assembly of bodhisattvas also met
on Vimalasvabhava Mountain, located to the south of Rajgir,
and compiled the mahayana scriptures. Nagarjuna states that
Samantabhadra presided over this meeting, while Vajrapani
recited the Sutras, Maitreya the Vinaya and Manjushri the
Abhidharma.
The sites of many
of these events may still be found in and around Rajgir, which
is also a flourishing pilgrimage centre of hindus and jains.
A Burmese temple offers resting facilities for pilgrims and
there is a new Japanese temple near the remains of Ajatasatru's
stupas. Vulture's Peak retains a quiet peace, but just as
Pa Hien warned of lions and tigers at certain places of pilgrimage
during his lifetime, here present pilgrims should beware of
bandits.
The Ratna Girl Hill
above the Vulture's Peak is now crowned by the beautiful Vishwa-Shanti
Stupa, built recently by Japanese buddhists. On four sides
golden statues of the Buddha depict his four great actions:
birth, enlightenment, teaching and passing away. In a nearby
temple, Japanese monks continue their strident practice of
resounding sutra and drum.
Lastly, one may remember
that the Buddha sent the sixteen arhants to various parts
of the world to safeguard his doctrine, and one of them, Kshudrapanthaka
came to and still resides on Vulture's Peak.
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