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After
leaving Varanasi at noon yesterday, we took the bus for
seven hours to reach Bodhgayā at eight o'clock in the
evening, because there are a lot of holy places which are worth
visiting, so we would stay for two nights here and begin the
journey booked in the early morning from today. Bodhgayā
lies in the south of Bihar of Indian, there is a
tributary of Ganges River named Nairaņjanā
nearby. In the past Bodhgayā was the manor of the
ancient big country Magadha of India.
According
to the records of Buddhist sūtra, when Prince
Siddhartha leaved Kapilavastu, he walked far in
all parts to pursue his studies. He reached Vaiśālī at
first and then the capital of Magadha named
Rajagŗha later, because the teachers from there were unable
to answer his doubt to the Dharma, so he came to the
Ascetic Forest which was the southern of Uruvilvā
village of Bodhgayā, and began his ascetic life for 6
years. During his practice time the diet was abnormal that
caused the damage of his health, but still could not realize
more better reason for him, so he gave up ascetic and leaved
this forest. Originally there were Five Bhikşu who his
father King Śuddhodana sent to accompanied him to
practice together. They misunderstood him that gave up his
practice and spurned him because they saw Siddhartha's
leaving.
After
abandoning ascetic he came to Nairaņjanā River to take
a shower, and drink milk gruel which shepherd girl offered. Then
he sat in meditation under a Pippala Tree in
Bodhgayā after resuming his physical vigor, the 49th days
later he attained enlightenment and became a Buddha finally. As
for this tree became Bodh tree (bodhivŗkşa ) of
Śākyamuni too. So Bodhgayā was the important
place of ascetic practices and becoming Buddha to Śākyamuni,
and then with Lumbinī: the birthplace of Buddha,
Sārnāth: Buddha gave the first turning of the wheel of
Dharma, and Kuśinagara: the place of Buddha's
nirvana, above mentioned major places were called the Four
Holy Places of Buddha.
Obeying
the leads of the above-mentioned story of Buddha, we found
several focal points here, for example the place that the
Ascetic Forest and living cave of Siddhartha , the bank
of Nairanjanā River that he took a shower and drank the
milk gruel, the Bodh Tree and seat (vajrāsana) where he
became a Buddha at that time. It made us to experience
Siddhartha how to become a Buddha's course before 2,700
year ago.
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