Indian Tourist Sites – In the Footsteps of the Buddha

• Main Author: Batra, Adarsh
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: http://www.au.edu 2015
• Subjects: Buddha; Indian; Archeological Survey
• Online Access: http://www.assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/abacjournal/article/view/673

Across the world and throughout the ages, religious people have made pilgrimages. The Buddha himself exhorted his followers to visit what are now known as the great places of pilgrimage: Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Rajgir, Nalanda and Kushinagar. The actions of the Buddha in each of these places are described within the canons of the scriptures of the various traditions of his teaching, such as the sections on Vinaya, and also in various compendia describing his life. The sites themselves have now been identified once more with the aid of records left by three pilgrims of the past (The great Emperor Ashoka, The Chinese pilgrims Fa Hien and Hsuan Chwang).The practice of Buddhism flourished long in India, perhaps reaching a zenith in the seventh century AD. After this it began to decline because of the invading Muslim armies, and by the twelfth century the practice of the Dharma had become sparse in its homeland. Thus, the history of the Buddhist places of pilgrimage from the thirteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries is obscure and they were mostly forgotten. However, it is remarkable that they all remained virtually undisturbed by the conflicts and developments of society during that period. Subject only to the decay of time they remained dormant, waiting for rediscovery.From the middle of the last century, the Archeological Survey of India, under the auspices of the British Government, and one Englishman in particular--General Sir Alexander Cunningham--unearthed and identified many sites. Since that time, owing to a renewed Indian interest in Buddhism and the devotion and hardship of many individuals, the pilgrimage sites have been revived.The following account is intended less to present a purely historical record of the places of pilgrimage than to offer some information and perhaps inspiration to other pilgrims, with the wish that this revival may increase.