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Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Great Buddha Statue" at Bodh Gaya

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

There are number of historical Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the Republic of India.

Places associated with the life of Buddha

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Primary sites

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Buddhism offers four primary sites of pilgrimage: Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha), Bodh Gaya (the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment), Sarnath (the location of the Buddha’s first sermon), and Kushinagar (the location where the Buddha attained parinirvana). All of these sites are located in India except Lumbini, which is located in southern Nepal.

Places visited by Buddha for discourse

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Other prominent historic Buddhist sites by state

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All are the historic ancient sites of learning, and the list includes very few relatively new sites which have been specifically highlighted accordingly. Most of these sites have association with Ashoka and other Buddhist kings.

Andhra Pradesh

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Assam

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Bihar

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Goa

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Gujarat

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Haryana

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In 2021, it was announced that Buddha Haryana circuit will be developed by the Centre for yatra (pilgrimage).[6]

Also see above the "places visited by Buddha for discourse" which has additional sites in Haryana.

Jammu and Kashmir

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Madhya Pradesh

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Maharashtra

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  • Ajanta, site of intricate Buddhist cave paintings depicting Buddhism
  • karla caves site of intricate Buddhist cave paintings
  • Ellora, site of intricate Buddhist cave paintings
  • Deekshabhoomi, a new 20th century site associated with Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar[9]

Odisha

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Telangana

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Tripura

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Uttar Pradesh

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Tibetan Buddhist sites

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By state

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Sikkim

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Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim, India

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dhamma patthana, dhamma.org.
  2. ^ Aastha Pugdal Pagoda at Kumaspur (Kamas Nigam in Sonepat, SDBST.
  3. ^ a b "Dept. Of Archaeology & Museums". Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  4. ^ "Top Buddhist Sites In India To Visit".
  5. ^ New Buddha site found in Gujarat
  6. ^ Cleanliness of tiraths a challenge in Haryana, Hindustan Times, 27 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Haryana misses the Buddha moment : The Tribune | the Buddhist Forum". Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  8. ^ Lat of Feroz Shah
  9. ^ Lelyveld, Joseph (2011). Great soul Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle with India (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 210. ISBN 978-0307595362. Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din.
  10. ^ "Monasteries". sikkiminfo.in. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  11. ^ "Monasteries in Sikkim are of three types". Dubdi Monastery. Sikkim Info. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  12. ^ "Pemayangtse Monastery". Buddhist Tourism. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
  13. ^ "Ralang Monastery". Buddhist-temples.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
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