My visit to Bodhgaya

Cheng Hui (China)
Visited: 2.5.2003

I visited India last year all the way from China as a Buddhist pilgrim. As India is the birthplace of Buddhist religion it still conserve our holy shrines in their virginal eminence. I planed my visit to India during the holy celebrations of Lord Buddha's birth, I decided to commence my pilgrimage with Bodhgaya, the place where Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment.

I reached Indra Gandhi Airport at New Delhi, from there I took a flight to Patna, the capital of the Indian state Bihar, and stayed over night at the hotel. My entire trip was organized by Patna Travel Company. Early next morning, after breakfast I started for my destination in a tourist cab that was arranged by the travel agent. Gaya the gateway to Bodhgayaya was 105 km from Patna, after driving for 3 hours through the streets occupied by cattle and buffaloes I arrived at Gaya. From Gaya it took us another 15 minutes, as Bodhgaya is just 7 miles from there.

I was spellbound to see the place thronged with thousands of devotees offering their prayers in their own native languages. The whole ambience was filled with divine feeling with people paying homage to Lord Buddha. After worshipping in the temple I also visited the Bodhi Tree the most divine of all as Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under this tree. It is considered as one of the oldest and the most Gothic trees in the world. My guide told me that below this holy tree lies the Vajrasana a pulpit where Buddha achieved his penance and is explicated as the heart of the Universe.

I also visited the Mahabodhi temple, my guide told me that the aboriginal shrine here is believed to have been constructed by Emperor Ashoka as Emperor himself was a great follower of Lord Buddha. The temple has an imposing 150 feet high tower with a gilded image of Buddha just a captivating sight. The walls of the temples are all embellished by the paintings and scripts on the walls of the temple portraying the scene from Buddha's life, I was completely baptized in that holy environ that I forget every thing for some time. There is also a museum well preserved with the treasures of gold, bronze and stone images of Lord Buddha, definitely force to think upon how spiritual, pure and celestial figure Lord Buddha was.

Next, I also paid my homage to the Tibetan, Japanese and Burmese monasteries situated neat the main center. There is the gigantic Dharma Chakra or the Wheel of Law well preserved in the Tibetan monastery. I was lucky to spend a night with the monks at the Japanese monastery where I had an opportunity to know more about the vital aspects on Buddhist religion.

My pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya reminds me of the great Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang who came to India in 7th century and gave a detailed description of Bodh Gaya in its scripts.