An Introduction to Buddhism

To do no evil;

To cultivate good;

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html

To purify one's mind:

This is the teaching of the Buddhas.

--The Dhammapada

The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in
approximately 566 BC. When he was twentynine years old, he left the comforts of
his home to seek the meaning of the suffering he saw around him. After six years
of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead
sat in mindful meditation beneath a bodhi tree.

On the full moon of May, with the rising of the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama
became the Buddha, the enlightened one.

The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern India for 45 years more, teaching
the path or Dharma he had realized in that moment. Around him developed a
community or Sangha of monks and, later, nuns, drawn from every tribe and caste,
devoted to practicing this path. In approximately 486 BC, at the age of 80, the
Buddha died. His last words are said to be...

Impermanent are all created things;

Strive on with awareness.

http://www.khandro.net/practice_pilgrimage.htm

Buddhist Places of Pilgrimage

Buddhists travel to India and Nepal to visit the places where events in Buddha
Shakyamuni's life occurred.  Some do it to enhance their understanding of the
dharma and to draw themselves closer to him.  Many others perform these journeys
in the belief that they will accrue merit in this life and ensure an auspicious rebirth in
the next. 

At holy sites, people circumambulate the shrine doing what in Tibetan is called kora. 
This is an observance in the ancient tradition called in Sanskrit, pradakshina. 

In very remote lands, where there was no possibility of visiting holy sites, the sacred
landscape was re-created symbolically.  This could result in the  "secondary" place's
achieving an importance almost as great as that of the original.  

The 8 Locations
Lumbini

From Lumbini where he was born (near the Indian border; 350 km [218

miles] SW of Kathmandu and one of several UNESCO world heritage sites
in Nepal) and Kapilavastuwhere he lived until age 29, it is generally
thought that the Buddha did not venture any farther south than the place
today called Varanasi.  (Then it was called Kashi.)

At Lumbini, people today are shown the pond (Pushkarini) where Siddhartha's
mother bathed when she began experiencing labor. There is a pillar that Emperor
Ashoka erected in 249 BCE to certify the birthplace near an old tree by the pond. The
base of the tree is smeared with vermilion by those who consider it a shrine; the
branches are bedecked with prayer flag offerings.

 Restored Mayadevi Temple (2003) panorama.  Inside the white-

washed brick compound the archaeological finds are on view,
including the marker stone at the birth place of the 4th Buddha, the
"historical" Shakyamuni.

Bodh Gaya

Mahabodhi Shrine  in Bodhgaya is believed by some to mark the spot

where the Buddha sat under the tree, but others say that the tree of
Great Meditation is outside the city.

The Mahabodhi Temple 

 Details of its history: The last 500 years

When, in the late 19th century, the King of Burma requested the
Government of India undertake restoration of the Temple since it had
fallen into a serious state of ruin, a group of colonial administrators and
Indian scholars had it restored according to detailed records.  Some of the
oldest parts are now to be found in museums.

Sarnath

At Sarnath [>Sagarnath Lord of Deer; Pali: Isipattana] in the Deer Park which is

outside the holy city of  Varanasi [ancient Kashi ("Shining") formerly known as
Benares,] the Buddha gave his first public teaching known as the First Turning of
the Wheel.  It is said that the ascetics with whom he had spent the early years away
from home were among those present.  (Some believe that these few were the only
ones there.)  They now accepted him as their teacher.

In that sermon, Buddha Shakyamuni taught about The Middle Way:  moderation in

all things, including philosophy.  He expressed The Four Noble Truths which
culminate in the Eightfold Path to the end of suffering.

Rajgir

He went next to Rajgriha [Rajgiri], the site of a famous hot springs.  In ancient

times, it was in the kingdom of Maghada ruled by Bimbisara.  The king was so
taken with the Buddha and his teachings, that he gave him and his disciples around
100 acres of land on which to build a retreat house for the yearly 3-month rainy
season.  This first monastery was in a golden bamboo grove after which it was
named.

Here, one of his own monks, a cousin

called Devadatta was moved, it is said, to violent action by envy. 
He arranged that Nalagiri, a ferocious war elephant, be directed
to charge at the Buddha.  Accounts say that when the Buddha
spoke gently to the beast, it was pacified and knelt down in
homage.

The First Council was held in the Saptaparni (Pali: Sattapanni) Caves, where

the hot spring originates.  The conference was to determine what became the
canon [official collection] of scripture of the Theravada school of Buddhism,
the Tripitaka.  These were three baskets of palm leaf books on which were inscribed
the words and ideas of Buddha.  They include the  Dhammapada [doctrine],
the Vinaya [ethics and monastic code] and the Abhidharma [elaboration].

Vulture Peak
 Outside that town, at Vulture
Peak [Gridhrakuta], well-named for the rock at
its summit, Buddha Shakyamuni gave
the Second Turning of the Wheel of the
Law.    Mahayana tradition has it that this
discourse included The Perfection of Wisdom 
teachings. 

  ~ photo courtesy R. Graffis 

Sravasti  

Shravasti was the capital of Kosala.  Today called Sahet-Mahet, it is the site
of Jetavana [Jeta's Grove] Monastery where Buddha and his followers spent many
rainy seasons.  The place was said to have been purchased very dearly for the
Sangha by a layman.  The price was determined by the number of gold coins
required to cover the entire area.  It had been the property of a prince named Jeta,
who donated the remainder of the land when the merchant's funds ran out. 

Basantpur

There is a tradition that right after his Enlightenment, Shakyamuni returned to

Kapila- vastu to teach the Dharma to his family. 

He did not neglect to offer the Dharma to repay the kindness of his mother for
having carried him in her body and cared for him as a child though she died just
after his birth. It is recounted that he spent three months teaching in the Tushita
(satisfaction) heaven, one of the 33 celestial abodes of gods, where she had been
reborn -- some say in a male form.  This event is celebrated as Lhabab Duchen, as it is
called in Tibetan.

Then as the gods bowed to him on all sides, he descended to earth

at Sankasya or Sankisa, as it is called in India today [Pali:  Sankassa] by means of a
heavenly ladder.  Tradition holds that Shankashya is the spot where all  buddhas
descend to earth.  Today it is in Basantpur village, near the ruins of a fort.  Emperor
Ashoka erected a pillar with an elephant capital to mark the holy spot. About 500
yards away is a temple to Bisari Devi, and near it another with a statue of the
Buddha. 

There followed years of teaching and philosophical debate during which the Master
converted many thousands of people.  Frequently, brilliant teachers of other
doctrines would come to challenge him.  So, it happened, that despite the general
interdiction to his disciples against the performance of miracles, the Buddha
manifested  the power of the Doctrine in miraculous ways.

Once, when six highly-respected  proponents of various non-Buddhist philosophies,

[certainly Hindu and Jain, but possibly also Persian, Greek and even Middle-
Eastern] having heard of Shakyamuni's teaching, came to contend with him in public
debate.  It is said that he demonstrated the superiority of his knowledge by emitting
and transmuting fire and water.

A thousand years later, Padmasambhava, known as Guru Rinpoche, is said to have

performed the same feat.

Vaisali

Vaishali town (its name means Prosperity) was the capital of the Vrijian confederacy,
one of the world's earliest.  It was also the birthplace of Mahavira, founder of the
Jain religion. Here, a monkey is said to have offered the Buddha some wild honey on
a leaf, but after this act of generosity, was killed falling from his tree.  

Many of the women from Kapilavastu's palace had decided to follow the one who
had once been, according to the custom of royal households of that time, a husband
to them.  At the request of his step-mother, Mahaprajapati, also known
as Gotami [Gautami], the first Buddhist monastery for women was established here. 
A courtesan, Ambapali, donated the land which came with a mango grove. 

Tradition tells how the Buddha did not think that the time was right for the
establishment of a women's order of bhikshunis, but he agreed on condition that
they take 8 special vows that would maintain their subordinance to the bhikshus
[Pali: bhikkus].  

Kushinagar

Buddha Shakyamuni passed away aged eighty or eighty-one after having eaten a

meal which did not agree with him.  Some say it was pork, meat that had gone bad,
or a dish of truffles or poison mushrooms (which seems more likely.)  He had
retarded his demise so that a distant, beloved disciple could be present.  This event
which is not regarded as a death in the ordinary sense is referred to as
the parinirvana.  

It is also said that his favourite, Ananda, could have caused Buddha Shakyamuni to
remain alive on earth for much longer had he thought to ask his friend and teacher
to do so. 

After his cremation at Kushinagar, the remains were divided among different
communities.  One-eighth was enshrined in a stupa at Vaisali, even though he had
asked that memorials not be made of him.  A casket was discovered in 1958 which
may have been the one interred by King Ashoka after he had re-apportioned the
relics so that hundreds of communities could share them. [Scroll down to see the
container and the link to the story in Tribune India.]

 Drona Stupa:  the Buddha's last resting place. 

The relics went to Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Lumbini, Sarnath, Rajgir, Nandangarh (now
Rampurwa), Patiliputra and Piprawha.
The Buddha's immediate followers heeded the request not to make images of him,
but after a few generations, they became a widespread expression of devotion. 

One hundred ten years after his death, the Second Buddhist Council was held at
Vaishali.  This was the origin of the distinction between Theravada and Mahayana
Buddhists.

 SacredSites, on Buddhist pilgrimage

 Was Kapilavastu in today's Nepal or India? [Times of India, 24 April 2001] 
 See Benares or Varanasi.
 Buddhist Pilgrimage: short history of 4 main places
Dharamsala
The town of Dharamsala is situated in Himachal Pradesh, on the high slopes in the upper reaches of Kangra
Valley. With the Dhauladhar Mountains serving as its backdrop, the town presents a picturesque sight.

Lumbini 
In the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal lies Lumbini, the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who was later to
become the Buddha. Queen Maya Devi of the Sakya clan was on her way to her parental home when she gave
birth to the prince under a tree.

Bodhgaya 
Bodh Gaya is where Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha
as he sat in meditation on the diamond seat under the Bodhi
(Ficus Religiosa) tree.

Sarnath 
It was in the Deer Park at Sarnath that the Buddha gave his first
significant sermons on the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths
and the Eightfold Path to his five fellow seekers who became the
first monks of the order. 

Kushinagar
The Buddha died in a Saal forest in Kushinagar and attained
mahaparinirvana at the age of 80.

McLeodganj
The town of McLeodganj is situated in Himachal Pradesh, India.
The town dates back to the mid 19th century when it was
established as a British garrison. Mcleodganj was initially the
home of the semi-nomadic Gaddi tribe. 

Pilak
Pilak is situated in the state of Tripura, surrounded by flourishing green valley speckled with paddy fields. It lies at
a distance of approximately 100 km from the capital city of Agartala. 

Sanchi
Sanchi is situated in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. It lies at a distance of approximately 52 km from the
capital city of Bhopal and 10 km from Vidisha. The major attractions of Sanchi include a number of Buddhist
stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars.