Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya (Final Paper)

I have decided to embark on a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya, to see the Bodhi tree along with other holy shrines. Bodh Gaya is the place where the Buddha was enlightened, and it is the center of the Buddhist world (Geary, 2014). Generally when people decide to go on such a pilgrimage they will visit all four of the sacred sites that the Buddha told his followers to visit (Khoon San, 2001) but I have chosen to only go to Bodh Gaya because it is the place where the Buddha was enlightened, a very sacred place to me and I have only the resources for one pilgrimage destination, and decided one destination is better than not proceeding on a pilgrimage at all.

The reason that I have decided to embark on a pilgrimage is because it is a once in a life time chance and I have recently traded enough herbs that I have the means of physically going on the pilgrimage, by means in arriving there and having the means to not be working at this time. Besides the fact that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity my main reason for going on this pilgrimage is so that I may maintain a wholesome mental state (Khoon San, 2001). It is my hope that I am able to purify my action, thoughts and speech and I am hoping to attain this through displaying reverence and veneration while I am at the holy shrines located in Bodh Gaya (Khoon San, 2001). For my pilgrimage to have real meaning I must do this and it is my hope by displaying reverence and veneration that my journey will have right: thought, speech and action (Khoon San, 2001). It is important for me to have right speech, thought and action because I must be in a mental attitude that is correct for a spiritual pilgrimage in Bodh Gaya in lieu of a ‘vacation’ in Bodh Gaya to just see the sights. (Khoon San, 2001). I believe that I will persevere on this pilgrimage because of my strong chanda, or strong desire to do the pilgrimage (Khoon San, 2001). My desire is strong to do this pilgrimage because the Buddha had told all of his followers that the four sacred sites should be visited by them, and although I am only going to where he was enlightened instead of all four I believe that it is a important spiritual journey non the less.

I will have to make many preparations for this journey including my travel plans and researching the importance of the holy shrines in Body Gaya that I will be going to (Khoon San, 2001). In terms of my accommodations I will be flying to the location, I am happy that I am able to do this, and it is not like it was in history when people who went on these pilgrimages had to walk thousands of miles and cross different lands to reach their destinations. I will be going to the library to find all of the knowledge that I can on the holy shrines in Bodh Gaya, it is my hope that some of the Bhikkhuni’s will be able to assist me in finding the information that I need. It is important that I do this because I must be aware of the impact that each shrine had on the Buddha so that I may be able to construct a mental image of the Buddha there (Khoon San, 2001). This is essential, as it will help me attain a wholesome mental state, which is desirable for me because I should be in wholesome states when I conduct myself so I have the capability to alleviate my own, and other’s suffering which can eventually lead to me reaching Karma (Fink, 2012).

I will be going on this pilgrimage with other people from my village. It is important that we go as a group so that we all may not have all of the responsibilities of the pilgrimage (Khoon San, 2001). It is also important because all of us who are embarking on this pilgrimage together will get to know each other under circumstances where we are attempting to expand our wisdom in a loving-kindness manner and when we are in a wholesome mental state (Khoon San, 2001). We will be constructing a Buddhist fellowship by embarking on this pilgrimage as a group, and we will always have our memories and friendships to cherish once the pilgrimage is over because of it.

While I am on this pilgrimage I will renounce my desire to have luxuries (Khoon San, 2001). I must do this so that I can be in a state of mind that does not have greed, so that I am able to accept upsetting things with kindness, patience and love (Khoon San, 2001). It is my hope that if I am in this state of mindfulness while I am at the holy sites that I may cultivate wisdom by reflecting on the Buddha’s virtues (Khoon San, 2001). One of the more difficult tasks will be to keep the pilgrimage in mind in my everyday life once I return home, it will be an objective to keep my memories of happiness that I will attain at the holy shrines so that I am able to find happiness in those moments everyday. Keeping myself happy over moments in the past, and not wanting to have material objects to make me happy will higher my level of merit (Khoon San, 2001). It is also good that I do have these memories in case a time comes in my life where I fear that I will never see happiness again, times such as sickness and sorrow, I will need to recall my happy and wholesome actions that I did on my pilgrimage to attain happiness in these difficult times (Khoon San, 2001).

Now that I have gone to the library and done my research I have decided that once I am in Bodh Gaya the first place that I must go is the Bodhi tree because it is the most sacred place, as it is where the Buddha found enlightenment (Khoon San, 2001). While I am at the Bodhi tree it is important that I attempt to formulate a picture in my mind of what the Buddha did here and the importance that it has on Buddhism today. The Buddha had undergone much meditation while under the Bodhi tree once he defeated Mara (Penner, 2009). His first stage of meditation that I will have to think about while I am at the Bodhi tree was strict isolation; he did this by withdrawing his thought, which later led to pleasure (Penner, 2009). He then went into his second form of meditation concentration; which allowed him to no longer think and evaluate, giving him the feeling of well being (Penner, 2009). In the third stage of his meditation he became detached from his emotions, which led to delight and balance of the mind (Penner, 2009). In his fourth stage he acquired the feeling of mental calmness after not feeling pleasure and pain (Penner, 2009). While I am at the Bodhi tree and thinking of how the Buddha cleansed the mind during these different stages of mediation I will hopefully be acquiring some wisdom on such meditations, which will also hopefully contribute, to my merit.

I will also be going to Vajrasana also known as the diamond throne; this is because this is the actual place where the Buddha attained supreme enlightenment (Khoon San, 2001). This is also the place where the Buddha sat in meditation in the seven days after he attained supreme enlightenment. While I visit it and see the red sandstone slab that marks the exact place that it happens I will be thinking about faith while trying to maintain a calm state so that I may be able to have mindfulness meditation be able to develop insight as well as trying to picture the Buddha when he was meditating and contemplating the doctrine of dependent origination (Khoon San, 2001).

I will also be going to visit the Mahabodhi Temple although there is no significance at the temple from when the Buddha became enlightened I still believe that the temple will bring me great happiness and respect in regards to the Buddha (Khoon San, 2001). This is because it is the most beautiful building in Bodh Gaya and there are many images of the Buddha engrained in the building as well as a great image of the Buddha on the second floor. In the image he is sitting in earth-touching posture also known as bhumi phassa-mudra. When I come in contact with this great image I will try and fulfill the Buddha’s wish that I visit all the holy places while having a feeling of reverence (Khoon San, 2001), which although I haven’t seen the large image yet, I am sure I will have.

It is also in the plans to go to Mucalinda Sattaha where the Buddha spent his sixth week after becoming supremely enlightened (Khoon San, 2001). Here he sat at a Mucalinda tree for seven days that is nearby the Temple, here he “absorbed in the bliss of Arahantship” (Khoon San, 2001, p 83). As I am in the place of the tree I will want to attempt to visualize the Buddha in the joy of attaining Nirvana, it is my hope that in doing so I too will attain happiness. I will also go to the Mucalinda pond where the serpent king of the lake protected the Buddha from the untimely rainstorm and sheltered his body from the rainstorm; the serpent king snake therefore protected the Buddha from a week of gloom (Khoon San, 2001).

In visiting these places that had an impact on the Buddha in the time that he reached supreme enlightenment it is my hope that I will gain the benefit of happiness on this spiritual quest that the Buddha has lead me to. I also have hopes that I will gain stronger relations with people in my village who are a part of the Buddhist fellowship, as I have not any close companions as I am always trading on the road. I am hoping that the veneration on the pilgrimage will give me notable qualities that will help me gain merit. Not only is it a hope that I attain notable qualities but it I would also like to attain notable memories of happiness for darker times in my life that may come, so that I still can feel happy in a difficult or upsetting situation. My last hope is that I am able to gain knowledge that I did not have before on this pilgrimage through my experiences both with the holy shrines and with the people that I meet a long the way. If my research on the shrines that I have looked at in Body Gaya in correct than I see no reason that I am not able to attain these desires for myself, mainly because I have a strong desire to gain all of these things on this pilgrimage.

References

Fink, C. K. (2012). Buddhism, punishment, and reconciliation. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 19, 370+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA322562913&v=2.1&u=utoronto_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=a3f9e5318f2924b4c38d4bef296b111a

Geary, D. (2014). Rebuilding the navel of the earth: Buddhist pilgrimage and transnational religious networks*. Modern Asian Studies, 48(3), 645–692. doi:10.1017/S0026749X12000881

Khoon San, C. (2001). Buddhist pilgrimage. Subang Jaya: Subang Jaya Buddhist Association.

Penner, H. (2009). Enlightenment and Liberation. In Rediscovering the Buddha: Legends of the Buddha and Their Interpretation. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 Mar. 2015, from http://www.oxfordscholarship.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385823.001.1/acprof-9780195385823