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Buddha was born in Shakya kingdom which lies in Rupandehi district, Lumbini zone of Nepal 10.74% of Nepal's population practice Buddhism, consisting mainly of groups of Tibeto-Burman origin. Lumbini-Buddhist Pilgrimage Buddhist influences are evident in the culture of Nepal owing to the fact that Buddha was born in a part of Ancient India within the borders of present-day Nepal and his clan Shakya moved to Kathmandu valley and have incorporated into Newars. Nepal has strong Buddhist background and has played role in spread of Buddhism to Tibet. Nepalese princess Bhrikuti played a significant role in development of Buddhism in Tibet and Far East. Tibetan Buddhist architecture has long been influenced by Nepalese artists and sculptors like Araniko. The sacred Buddhist texts in Mahayana Buddhism are mainly written in Ranjana script (the script of Newars) or scripts like Lantsa which are derived fron Ranjana. In the Tibeto-Burman tribes, Tibetan Buddhism is the most widely practised form. Newar practice Newar variant of Vajrayana Buddhism and Thervada Buddhism. Many Buddhist groups are also influenced by Hinduism. Buddhism is the dominant religion of the thinly-populated northern areas, which are inhabited by Tibetan-related peoples, namely the Sherpa, Lopa, Manangi, Thakali, Lhomi, Dolpa and Nyimba. They constitute a small minority of the country's population. Ethnic groups that live in central Nepal, such as Gurung, Lepcha, Tamang, Magar, Newar, Yakkha, Thami and Chepang, are also followers of Buddhism. These ethnic groups have larger populations compared to their northern neighbours. They came under the influence of Hinduism due to their close contacts with the Hindu castes. In turn, many of them eventually adopted Hinduism and have been largely integrated into the caste system. The Kirant tribes, especially the Limbu and the Rai, have also adopted Tibetan Buddhist practises from their Buddhist neighbours. The Jirel, which is considered a Kirata tribe, have also adopted Tibetan Buddhism.
Video of Buddhism in India and Nepal
Beliefs and practices of Buddhism in Nepal date back to the time of its founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautam who was born in Lumbini in the southern Terai region of the country in about 543 B.C. Up to the age of twenty-nine, the young prince led a very sheltered life in the royal palace of his father, completely unaware of the problems and suffering of everyday life outside of the palace walls. One day, he convinced his charioteer to take him outside the palace and was shocked at the sight of an old man, a cripple and a corpse. The realization that there was much misery and unhappiness in the world persuaded the prince to abandon his luxurious life in the royal palace in order to search for enlightenment and the real meaning of life. For many years, Gautam wandered from place to place looking for a solution to the problems he saw all around him. Finally, while meditating under a Pipal tree, he became spiritually enlightened. Henceforth known as Lord Buddha or the " the enlightened one," began to preach the "Four Noble Truths" to all who would listen. According to this doctrine, people suffer because of their attachment to things and people; in other words, the root of all the problems is desire. These desires and consequently, all problems and sufferings, can be totally eliminated by following the "eightfold path"-right views, right intent, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort right mindfulness an right meditation. Buddha journeyed from place to place, teaching and converting hundreds of followers and died at the age of eighty. However, his many disciples continued spreading his teachings. At the same time Buddhism splitted into two main schools of thought: Hinayana and Mahayana. The Followers of Hinayana do not worship idols of Buddha as the enlightened prince taught against idolatory. Very few other Nepalese Buddhists have adopted the Hinayana school of thought, choosing rather to follow Mahayana teachings. One of the central beliefs of Mahayanists is that one can achieve nirvana by following the example of Bodhisattvas, Bodhi meaning enlightenment and Sattva meaning essence.
Of the 1,200 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Nepal many were constructed in the latter half of the 20th century when the Chinese army moved into Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled to India, and many reincarnate lamas, called Rinpoches, entered Nepal as refugees. At the same time, Nepal also became a popular destination for tourists from Europe and North America. Their guides were followers of Tibetan Buddhism. As many people from the West became interested in Tibetan Buddhism, numbers of new monasteries were constructed in the Kathmandu valley. Kathmandu is now one of the best places in the world to study all four sects of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Know about the Budhist Monastery in Nepal: · A Buddhist Monastery in the Tibetan Tradition: Kopan Monastery · Tharmlam Monastery located in Kathmandu Boudhanath Bhudhist Pilgrimage Sites of Nepal Lumbini (Nepal)
Where Buddha was born as the Prince Shiddhartha Gautam. The site is in now in a beautiful Garden. Lumbini is about 20 minute drive from Siddarth Nagar, a town in mid western Nepal. Ashok Pillar, Maya Devi Temple, Archeological excavation sites, various Buddhist temples and monasteries from Buddhist countries from all over worlds are in the Lumbini Garden. Bodhgaya: Where Buddha enlightened under a Holy Banyan tree. Sarnath : Sarnath where Siddhartha Gautama who came to be known as the Buddha, the 'Awakened One', delivered his first sermon, after attaining enlightenment. Kusinagar: is revered as the site of the Buddha's Mahaparinirvana, his death and cremation, that marked his final liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth………………………more Swayambhunath Stupa
Three kilometer west of Kathmandu city complex locates the one of the worlds most glorious Buddhist Stupa, it is said to be 2000 years old. Visitors often call it "Monkey Temple". The main structure brick and clay which supports a lofty conical spire capped by a pinnacle of copper gilt. There are the all-seeing eyes of Lord Buddha on the four sides of spire. Being situated seventy meter above the level of valley, the hill of Swayambhunath is a mosaic of small stupa and pagoda temples. Aside, in front of the temple, one of the famous goddess with the shrine of Ajima called "Harati Mata" is there. This temple of goddess believes to be famous in the way of tantric. Both the stupa of Lord Buddha and temple of a goddess are surrounded by other temples and Tibetan monasteries. Being located in the top level of valley, this place is famous for visitors for sightseeing………………more Bouddhanath Stupa
One of the oldest and the biggest Buddhist monuments ever built in Nepal, Bouddhanath is an imposing structure standing some 36 meters. The Stupa stands on the massive three levels Mandala style platform surrounded by colorful private family houses. The basic feature of this great stupa is very much like those of Swayambhunath stupa except its finial displaying. It is much bigger than Swayambhunath Stupa and lies on the valley floor where s former one stands on the hilltop. This stupa is said to have been built in 5th century AD……………more Namobuddha
Namobuddha is the place where Lord Buddha, in an earlier life, offered his body to a starving tigress so she could feed her cubs. It is said that his hair, bones and so forth were made into a Stupa, the Stupa now known as Namobuddha. It is in east of Kathmandu valley near Panauti. Important Buddhist Stupa in Kathmandu valley are Swoyambhunath, Bouddhanath, four Stupa built by Ashok Emperor in Patan and one Chabhil, etc. There are several Tibetan monasteries around Kathmandu valley. Some of the monasteries are recently built. Thengboche Monastery is the highest altitude monastery in Nepal. Pictures of Buddhist Pilgrimage Nepal. click here Places where Buddha lived Gautama Buddha is said to have identified four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, saying that they would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency. These are:[1] - Lumbini: birth place (in Nepal)
- Bodh Gaya: the place of his Enlightenment (in the current Mahabodhi Temple).
- Sarnath: (formally Isipathana) where he delivered his first teaching.
- Kusinara: (now Kusinagar, India) where he died (Parinirvana).
The Eight Great Places In the later commentarial tradition, four other sites are also raised to a special status because Buddha had performed a certain miracle there. These four places, partly through the inclusion in this list of commentarial origin, became important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in ancient India, as the Attha-mahathanani (Pali for 'The Eight Great Places'). It is important to note, however, that some of these events do not occur in the Tipitaka and are thus purely commentarial. The first four of the Eight Great Places are identical to the places mentioned by Buddha: - Lumbini
- Bodh Gaya
- Sarnath
- Kusinara
The last four are places where a certain miraculous event is reported to have occurred: - Sravasti: Place of the Twin Miracle, showing his supernatural abilities in performance of miracles. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, being a major city in ancient India.
- Rajgir: Place of the subduing of Nalagiri, the angry elephant, through friendliness. Rajgir was another major city of ancient India.
- Sankasia: Place of the descending to earth from Tusita heaven (after a stay of 3 months teaching his mother the Abhidhamma).
- Vaishali: Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India.
Other sites Some other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of Gautama Buddha are: Pataliputta, Nalanda, Gaya, Kapilavastu, Kosambi, Varanasi, Kesariya, Devadaha, Pava and Mathura. All these places are located in the Gangetic plain. Famous pilgrims A few influential historical Buddhist pilgrims are: - King Ashoka the Great (250 BCE)
- The Liu Song and Tang pilgrim monks Faxian (399–412 CE), Xuanzang (630–646 CE), and I Ching (673–687 CE)
- The Silla monk Hyecho (723–727 CE)
- The Tibetan monk Dharmaswamin (Chag Lotsawa) (1235 CE)
- The Sri Lankan national Anagarika Dharmapala (1891)
Other pilgrimage places Other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage in various countries include: - Afghanistan: the Bamiyan Buddhas.
- Cambodia: Angkor Wat, Silver Pagoda.
- China: Yungang Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes. The Four Sacred Mountains namely Wǔtái Shān(五台山), Éméi Shān(峨嵋山), Jiǔhuá Shān(九华山), Pǔtuó Shān(普陀山).
- India: Sanchi, Ellora, Ajanta.
- Indonesia: Borobudur.
- Japan: Kyoto, Nara.
- Laos: Luang Prabang.
- Myanmar: Bagan, Sagaing Hill, Mandalay Hill, Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, Shwedagon Pagoda.
- Nepal: Boudnanath Stupa, Swayambhunath.
- Sri Lanka: Polonnaruwa, Temple of the Tooth (Kandy), Anuradhapura, Sri Pada.
- South Korea: Three Jewel Temples
- Thailand: Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Doi Suthep, Phra Pathom Chedi, Phra Buddha Chinnarat.
- Tibet: Potala Palace, Mount Kailash, Lake Nam-tso.
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