'We spent two days in Shravasti. We stayed there at a Korean Temple. It was very nice and extraordinarily clean. There was plenty of water, both hot and cold for washing and drinking. We cooked dinner and breakfast ourselves and ate lunch at a restaurant.
In the morning we went to Jetavana Park to visit this holy place. There were many things that have happened in this garden. We were very surprised to see that place. It was very special for us because we saw it for the first time. Outi and a monk explained to us about this holy place.
There is a Bodhi Tree there. Ananda had requested the Buddha for it to be planted there. The Buddha stayed in this park the third rainy season after His enlightenment. We visited His throne which was made of brick and stone. We did Puja in front of His old throne. We also visited many ruins.
We saw Angulimala’s Temple there, too. He became Buddha’s disciple in this area. Buddha showed several miracles during seven days in this garden. We visited the place where the Buddha went to heaven to teach His mother.
We were very lucky to get a chance to go on a pilgrimage. Otherwise it is difficult to go alone. We spent one or two days at every holy place where we went. It was just wonderful because we took our time and saw everything properly. Some kind people sponsored for us to go on this pilgrimage. That’s why we got this chance to go. We did dedications for them’.
Ani Rinchen Dolma and Ani Kalden Chotso
'On 20th of November we arrived at Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. It felt great at Lumbini. We visited His exact birthplace. Immediately after His birth, Buddha took seven steps. We could see His steps there. One of them was inside the Mayadevi Temple and six of them were outside.
We also saw the bathing place of the Buddha and His mother. We visited many temples there: Karmapa’s Temple, a Ladakhi Temple, Sakya, Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese Temples. The Ladakhi Temple was especially great because there are images in the circumambulation area displaying the twelve deeds of the Buddha’s life.
We stayed in Lumbini for three days at Gotami Nuns’ Temple. They lent us a gas stove and utensils. We cooked nice food there. On the 2nd day we were invited for lunch at the Korean Temple. There were many other Sanghas and lay people as well. There was a nice arrangement for Sanghas in a big hall.
We performed Pujas on the first and third day. We circumambulated the Buddha’s birthplace every morning and evening for the three days. We had a great time!’
Ani Dolkar Palmo and Ani Dekyi Chotso
‘We stayed at a Chinese Temple the first two days and next two days at a Burmese Temple in Kushinagar. We visited the holy place where Lord Buddha had attained Mahaparinirvana. We did some prayers, dedications and did kora around the main temple. We also visited the Buddha’s cremation site, Ramabhar Stupa and a river named Hiranyawati where Lord Buddha’s body is said to have been washed before the cremation. The river was dirty because there was no one to take care of it. The people who were in charge of the Mahaparinirvana Temple were monks and lay people from Kushinagar. There was only one small Tibetan Monastey called Namgyal Dastang there. We visited a place where Lord Buddha drank His last sip of water.
When we first saw the holy body of Lord Buddha lying down at the Mahaparinirvana Temple, we felt very sad and tears fell down from our eyes. At that very moment we couldn’t pray or dedicate anything. After a while we realized about the impermanence of this life. We know that there are very few people who realize impermanence. We think we got this precious human body from the merits and virtues accumulated in our previous life. So, we as human beings have a chance and right to realize impermanence and do our best for our next life.’
Ani Yonten Lhamo and Ani Kunsang Chodron
‘After Kushinagar we went on pilgrimage to Vaishali which was the place where the monkeys offered honey to the Buddha. We needed to get tickets to get inside.
We saw a huge Ashokan Pillar there and also a beautiful garden. There was a big stupa and many small stupas. There was the pond that was dug by the monkeys. We did circumambulations and some prayers there. Outi took some photos of us near the pond. It was very nice and we liked it very much. We also saw a Shanti Stupa at Vaishali. It was a big and nice stupa. It has statues on four sides of the stupa depicting the life of the Buddha. Afterwards we had tea nearby the stupa.
Then we went to see Nalanda. It was a huge university. It was very nice and beautiful. We had a guide who explained how the Buddhist monks studied and how they cooked the food there. We arrived there late and couldn’t see all around Nalanda. We saw the kitchen and the main temple of Nalanda and some other ruins. We liked it very much. It was a very clean and quiet place.’
Ani Tsultrim Palmo and Ani Tenzin Desel
‘We arrived in Rajgir at 6 pm and stayed at a Burmese Temple. We went out for dinner in a restaurant. Next morning we went to see Vishva Shanti Stupa. We went there by chair lift. It cost 35 Rs. each. After that we visited Gridhakuta Hill from where the Buddha had set forth the Second Turning of the Wheel. We performed a big Puja there. There are also two caves there. One is Shariputra’s and another one is Anathapindika’s. We came down by foot. Then we went on to visit other places. It took us a whole day. One of the famous places we saw there was Bimbisara’s Jail and a park which Bimbisara had offered to the Buddha after His enlightenment.
Next morning we went to see the hot water springs and Buddha’s meditation place, Pippala Watchtower where He used to meditate after lunch. From there we climbed up to Saptaparni Caves.
Buddha’s jealous cousin Devadatta tried many times to harm and kill the Buddha in Rajgir. There we saw many, many things.’
Ani Drimay Palmo and Ani Lobsang Wangmo
‘Travelling in the train was a different experience. It was my first time in train. There are many facilities in the train. I was so happy to see some men serving all the foods, tea, coffee and so forth. Train has toilets and sleeping seats. I’m thankful to have this opportunity with the grace of the Three Jewels and our kind sponsors. I had a deep feeling that my pilgrimage shouldn’t be just the sight seeing but it should be for the sake of all sentient beings.
The first morning when I visited the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya and saw the statue of Lord Buddha, I wished all the sentient beings had this same opportunity. I realized about the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death when I saw the Lord Buddha Statue. I also thought that until I become tired I prostrate and circumambulate to purify my sins. All the people do offerings to the Three Jewels and give alms to the beggars to purify their sins and accumulate merit. The accumulation of virtue was like the fall of rain. Also the blessings of the Three Jewels. There were monks, nuns, boys, girls, so many people. I prayed that the enlightened activity of all lamas and teachings would flourish. May the teachings of the Buddha rise like the sun. May all sentient beings be happy and quickly achieve the ultimate state of Buddhahood.’
Ani Thupten Lhamo and Ani Choying Dolma
‘We had a pilgrimage for one month. We went to see many Buddha’s holy places. All three of us liked Sarnath the most which was our last pilgrimage site. We stayed there for three days.
The first day we bought tickets and went inside the holy grounds. We went to see the place where the Buddha had come to give His first teaching to His five disciples. We did many koras around the Dhamekh Stupa. There was also a very nice Deer Park with deer inside. We bought some food and fed them, too. And there was another park with some peacocks and crocodiles and other animals. That evening we met Khenpo Wangchuk. He is a very kind khenpo and he treated us very nicely. We all went inside the ruins of Dharmarajika Stupa and he explained many things to us nicely.
The second day we went to see the Ganga in Varanasi with Khenpo Wangchuk. He helped us very much. People were very busy there. They were washing their clothes and bathing their bodies. We all went on boat on the Ganga. After that we had lunch in a restaurant. We had Masala Dosas and Lassi. Many of us had never had it before. Khenpo Wangchuk paid for our lunch. Then we came back into our rooms and had a little rest.
The third day we did an Offering Puja in front of the Dharmarajika Stupa. We prayed for all sentient beings to have a long life and be peaceful in their lives. We were very lucky to see H.H. the Galwang Kharmapa in Sarnath. He gave us blessed seeds and a photo of White Tara. After lunch we went to see the Archaeological Museum. There we saw many old antique statues from the time when Muslims had destroyed the old precious Buddhist temples and statues in Sarnath. There were also many other Hindu statues. It was very nice and pleasurable to visit this holy place called Sarnath.’
Ani Jigme Chodron, Ani Wangchuk Chodron and Ani Yangchen Dolyang
‘Ani Tenzin Palmo asked me last summer when I was teaching English at the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, to accompany the nuns on their pilgrimage. Naturally I agreed to do that. November-December 2006 we did extensive travelling on our one-month pilgrimage. We covered quite a few miles and kilometers, both by train, bus and cars, and did a lot of walking, as well as climbing. Of course, at times it was exhausting, too. Travelling in India, and especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the poorest states in India, is a chapter of its own! However, it was worth the trouble, since all these Buddhist sites had a special energy about them, after all, the Buddha Himself had been there before.
The nuns have written about the various sites in their diaries, so I will not describe them in detail. On our travels we mostly stayed at monasteries and temples on the way. After our train ride to Lucknow, our first Buddhist site was Shravasti and from there we continued to Lumbini, Nepal where the Buddha was born. The drive there was quite difficult on cow paths which our two drivers decided to take. Finally we were not even able to cross the boarder to Nepal from there, but had to turn and go back the same way again... The drivers were very inexperienced, we must have been their first customers. They didn’t speak any English, I don’t speak any Hindi, and the nuns tried their best at translating but we had communication problems. So, the pilgrimage was not only a dance on roses. It required great amounts of patience from all of us as well.
Kushinagar was our next stop and from there we continued to Vaishali. Lovely places, each one of them. Nalanda came next. It was the only place we didn’t stay overnight, instead we drove to nearby Rajgir which had several places of interest for us. All this time we had only seen plains and plains with sugar cane and lentils growing in the fields. Now Rajgir was surrounded by hills and the landscape was very charming. The Buddha spent much time in this area on very beautiful locations. We climbed up to Griddhakuta Hill, Vulture’s Peak which was the Buddha’s favourite retreat. He also preached two of his most famous sermons there: the Lotus Sutra and the Wisdom Sutra. The view from this point was exquisite. There were also Sariputra’s and Ananda’s caves where we lit candles and incense.
One of my favourite places on this pilgrimage was the Saptaparni Caves where the first Buddhist Council was held after His attaining Mahaparinirvana, to compile His teachings into a collection. Hundreds of Arhats were present at that meeting. There is something special and timeless about caves. We were fortunate to see quite a few on our travels.
Veluvana-Bamboo Grove was the first piece of land owned by the Sangha and it was given to the Buddha by King Bimbisara. It was very pleasant and peaceful there, and the meditation place in the midst of it all was the one He liked the best.
After 14 days of travelling with our drivers we eventually arrived in Bodhgaya and waved goodbye to them. Bodhgaya is the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. There was a very special, vibrating and powerful energy around the Mahabodhi Temple built on that particular location. Buddhists from all over the world come to this holy place for pilgrimage. There were old, recently arrived Tibetans and children doing full-length prostrations around the site at all hours. Their humbleness and dedication cannot leave anybody untouched. Many people were doing their 100.000 prostrations around the Temple area.
We got up very early in the mornings to do kora. In the evenings one could hear charming polychanting in different languages, see the various Buddhists doing their special Pujas, walking with candles and flowers in their hands. We stayed eight lovely days in Bodhgaya. The nuns kept circumambulating from early morning on all day and I saw them getting quite tired and exhausted by the end of our stay. None of us had enough sleep or rest there. Everybody just wanted to be around the Temple.
From there we went to Sarnath, our last pilgrimage site. This is where the Buddha gave His first teaching. There is also an Archaeological Museum in Sarnath which has the most beautiful statue of the Buddha there, definitely worth a visit.
In Sarnath we met Khenpo Wangchuk, an uncle of a nun at the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery. He had been very helpful at organizing some accommodation for us on this journey. Khenpo Wangchuk is a professor at a Tibetan University for Higher Studies. He showed us around the campus and later took us very kindly to Varanasi to see the River Ganga. We took a boat to the main ghat where they cremate corpses 24 hrs a day. We saw how they dipped a body into the holy water before cremation. Wood was stacked everywhere for the pyres. At the next ghat people were brushing their teeth, bathing, washing their laundry, having picnics.
From Varanasi we travelled 30 hrs on a train to Pathankot and drove back to the Nunnery. And we were happy to be back. We learnt a lot, not only about Buddhist sites but from each other as well. We are all very grateful for having been able to participate in this wonderful pilgrimage. We were blessed in many ways. I wish many of you would have an opportunity to do the same in the future’
Outi Kourula, Volunteer Tour Leader
To celebrate the completion of their initial six year study programme, the senior DGL nuns left in November 2006 for a one month pilgrimage to the sacred Buddhist sites of India such as Bodh Gaya and Sarnath, and to Lumbini in Nepal. They were very excited about this opportunity to make merit and offer prayers for the world. For many it was the first time on a train!
