The road we were traveling had well trodden history. The area was called Magadha in the olden days. It was a land of prosperity and wisdom. The civilization of the historical native India developed in the area. Here was the first known Indian Empire. After being tired with the battle in Punjab, Alexander's forces were scared to face the elephant battalion of Magadha. This area gave birth to royals, warriors, poets, astronomers, philosophers and two of world's religions.
Bodhgaya is a location where the prince Siddhartha is said to have received his "enlightenment". He thought he discovered knowledge and preached what he discovered. Through years of meditative practices including deep penance, he determined that the prevailing norm of exploring the infinite must be contested. Whatever merit the concept of "infinity" might have, he observed that the society was ridden with the rituals, superstitions and animal slaughter. The general population was being exploited by the priests in the name of "liberation".
Siddhartha Gautama was a rebel. He left his palace, wife and a baby in search of "knowledge". He lived with the austere monks who were in a belief system that the human body itself was an impediment to gain knowledge about life. While almost dying, he was rescued by a woman who offered him some milk porridge. Having realized that neither the opulence of the palace nor the denial of bodily comfort was useful, he finally settled down to meditate under a peepul (Indian fig) tree for three days and three nights continuously. He announced that he "found" the truth. The tree in Gaya has come to be called the Bodhi (Enlightenment) tree.
His discovery was simple. Like any rationalist, he determined that the human beings must live their life in the "present" than speculating about the "future". Life must not be in indulgence or in denial. It should be in-between. One must do what is appropriate and acceptable. By rejecting the practices and the rituals directed towards "liberation", he announced that receiving "true knowledge" was the only path to "liberation". The "true knowledge" consisted of the realization that "world is sorrow." Human beings must try to get rid of "sorrow." The way to get rid of the "sorrow" was to follow various precepts prescribed by him. Thus he instituted a new religion. He called himself "the Buddha." The religion is lately known as "Buddhism" in English.
"World is sorrow" has a deep connotation. It meant that anything one did could result in sorrow. Sorrow is a product of want. Our wants can always leave us dissatisfied making us look for more. Thus any activity can lead to continued dissatisfaction. Prevention of dissatisfaction can be achieved by following the "middle path" which is summarily prescribed through the "noble eight-fold path" of appropriate view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration. "Appropriateness" here is defined by the Buddha's precepts.
When a religion is based on a person's teachings, the pilgrim stations follow the person's trail. In the Buddha's case, his birth place, the location of "enlightenment", the location of the first sermon and the location of his death are historically known and are visited. Buddhism spread to SriLanka, Burma, China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia and other southeast Asian countries. Flocks of pilgrims from these countries visit the locations. We were proceeding to one of them.
Bodhgaya is a mini United Nations of Buddhism. All countries having majority Buddhist population have their own temples built in the city. Each temple has an area of land and a hostel behind where the pilgrims can stay during their visit. Such facilities help the pilgrims with their nutrition needs. They provide language interpreters and tour guides. Some of the temples run their own schools. We met students attending a summer camp at the Japanese Temple.
The subtle difference between the meditative faces of the Buddha in different shrines is not easy to distinguish. The scholars and religious people associate various events in the Buddha's life to different poses. The temples do go through rituals as though a living Buddha presided in the shrine. Strictly to locate life in an inanimate object is against the Buddhist view. But the Buddha has been the "spiritual head" of the new religion. It grants wishes like the Hindu deities are believed to do.
The temples were fairly separated. We located them following a map. Some popular temples attracted push cart vendors who sold snacks and drinks. Here I noticed a vendor selling tea in old clay cups. Terracotta engineering is a signature of the time period of the origin of a population. The clay cup possibly never changed its production technology. It is used as an utensil in the area. Tea has a different taste taken from a low-fired clay cup. I took a cup.
We reached the main Mahabodhi Temple. The temple was built by Emperor Ashoka around 250 BCE. The construction of the present structure goes back to the Gupta period in 300 AD. It is made out of bricks. It is the oldest standing brick structure in eastern India. Currently it is declared as a UNESCO Heritage site. At about two hundred feet height, the temple structure is suggestive of Buddha's life and story. The Temple had large security arrangements. The admission was through a purchased ticket. Everybody had to be fully screened one by one. It is a fairly large complex, but the passage to the inner sanctum was very crowded. There were many monks and nuns from foreign countries. There was a gold-plated Buddha statue in the sanctum. I was told that the pose was that of Avalokitesvara, the popular form in Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana is a form of Buddhism that allows various new incarnations. Practice and understanding of religion is technical.
The Bodhi tree was right behind the shrine to the west outside the temple in an enclosed area. There were many monks and laymen reading Buddhist texts with extreme intensity on the two sides of the enclosed area. Their diligence was similar to any religious reading in a Hindu Temple. Long duration reading of religious texts is considered a penance for the devoted. It takes stamina and determination to sit through. The Buddhists read open air in rain and shine.
On the north side of the Temple there were many other deities including those of Hinduism set in a row. One could put money or light candles for a deity of choice. Apparently the Buddha walked this path after his "enlightenment" to thank his preceptors and teachers. It is a holy trail for the believers. I sat down a bit nearby. The river Phalgu flowed a mile to the west. The air was cool. The sun was just setting. The deities looked as living.
There was a park next to the Temple and some residential quarters were on the other side. The whole area was enclosed by a ten foot high wall. The guards told me that the local boys did pranks in entering the Temple riding the walls. They wish to avoid the small admission fee charged to enter the Temple. In 2013, bombs did blast inside the Temple. Some of the Islamic people strongly oppose any idol worship. Fanaticism leads to terror. Terrorists work hard to destroy historical sites.
Outside the Temple premises, there was a Sri Jagannatha Temple. It could have been constructed by a Hindu King to show a comparable presence in Hinduism. The Buddha is considered as an incarnation of Vishnu in late Hindu scriptural view. Sri Jagannatha is given the association to the Buddha because of some not-so-well-researched historical artifacts. Orissa was a center of Buddhism for a long time.
It was getting into the evening. The lights in the Temple were on. It looked serene and beautiful. After spending some more time in the temple premises we returned.
