Lumbini
Lumbini, the
birthplace of Lord Buddha, in the Terai plains of Nepal is one of the
greatest pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. More than 400,000 Buddhists and
non Buddhists visit Lumbini every year. It is also a UNESCO World
Heritage Site (Culture) and holds immense archeological and religious
importance.
Sacred Garden: It was here in the gardens of Lumbini
that Prince Siddhartha Gautam, who later became the Buddha, was born in
623 BC. The nativity site is marked by a commemorative pillar erected
by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka of India during his pilgrimage to the holy
site in 249 BC.
The inscription on the Ashoka Pillar indentifies the Sacred Garden -
spread over 9 sq. km – as the spot where the Enlightened One was born. A
large number of Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world visit Lumbini
to pray at the Mayadevi Temple where excavations have revealed the “marker stone” showing the exact spot where Siddhartha Gautam Buddha was born. The sacred Puskarni Pond
where Queen Mayadevi had taken a bath before the birth of Buddha lies
to the south of the pillar. It was also in this pond that the infant
Buddha was given his first bath.
Monuments: To the north of the Sacred Garden are
monastic zones where different countries have built temples and
monasteries depicting different sects of Buddhism. The Myanmar Temple (Lokamani Cula Pagoda) is a shiny gold and white structure that resembles the Shwe-dagon Pagoda of Yangon while the International Gautami Nuns Temple is a replica of the Swayambhu Stupa of Kathmandu.
The China Temple, built by the
Buddhist Association of China, is a complex of pagodas, prayer rooms and
meditation cells. Across the road is the Dae Sung Suk Ga Sa Korean Temple. The Japan Peace Stupa,
built by Nippon Jon Kyohoji of Japan, is a 41-m tall structure with
four different Buddha statues set into the stupa’s dome facing the four
cardinal directions.
Other beautiful monuments and temples have been built by Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, France, Germany and Sri Lanka. for morevisit here
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