{"id":620,"date":"2019-11-27T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/?p=620"},"modified":"2019-11-27T09:25:19","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T14:25:19","slug":"four-places-of-the-buddhas-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encyclopediabuddhicaf19.andrewquintman.wescreates.wesleyan.edu\/blog\/f\/four-places-of-the-buddhas-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Places of the Buddha’s Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The four places of the Buddha\u2019s life signify the geographical sites at which the four most important events that occurred during his lifetime took place. These four events and locations, situated in present-day Nepal and India, include the Buddha\u2019s birth in Lumbini, his enlightenment in Bodhgaya, his first teaching in Sarnath, and his death in Kushinagari. Before his death, it is said that the Buddha distinguished these four sites as most deserving of pilgrimage by his followers. Since then, they have served as the most sacred destinations for Buddhist practitioners to visit, despite the fact that a pilgrimage is not explicitly prescribed by Buddhist doctrine. 
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Lumbini<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Located in the present-day Terai region of southern Nepal, Lumbini is the site of Shakyamuni Buddha\u2019s birth in 623 B.C. The first references to Lumbini as the Buddha\u2019s birthplace come from a narrative poem in the Nalaka Sutta<\/em> and in the Kathavatthu<\/em>, while the first canonical accounts are found in Sanskrit scriptures, the Mahavastu<\/em> and the Lalitavistara<\/em> (Encyclopedia Brittanica). According to Buddhist tradition, Mayadevi, the Buddha\u2019s mother, traveled to her garden in Lumbini, where she went into labor. As she stood between two sala trees and held onto a branch, she looked to the sky and yawned, and the Buddha was born from her right side without any pain. Upon birth, mother and child were showered with flowers and bathed from the sky by various gods. The Buddha is claimed to have taken seven steps, each causing the earth to rumble and a lotus flower to spring from the ground after him. He is said to have remarked in the following moments, \u201cThis is my final life, for I have transcended birth, aging, and death\u2026 I will be without equal among all living beings!\u201d (Chogyel, 20). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Lumbini serves as a popular site of pilgrimage for Buddhist practitioners. There, one can find the sacred garden of the Buddha\u2019s birth, a commemorative stone pillar erected by the Indian emperor Ashoka upon his pilgrimage to the site, the Maya Devi Temple, and remains of Buddhist monasteries and stupas. Lumbini was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 due to the presence of archeological remains associated with the birth of the Buddha that make it a sacred center for Buddhist pilgrimage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Tibetan Buddhist painting depicting the birth of the Buddha at Lumbini. Exotic India Art<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bodhgaya<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Situated in the modern-day Gaya District of Bihar, India along the banks of the Niranjana River, Bodhgaya is recognized as the site at which the Buddha, previously identified as a Bodhisattva, attained enlightenment. Buddhist tradition claims that the Buddha, as Prince Gautama, came to Bodhgaya and sat under a pipal tree, commonly called the Bodhi tree, to begin his ultimate meditation. During this time, he overcame death at the hands of the army of the demon Mara and temptation by Mara\u2019s daughters. Buddhist tradition narrates of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, \u201c…just before dawn, in an instant\u2026 the Bodhisattva understood. He understood the twelve links of dependent arising. He understood the four noble truths. And because of this instantaneous understanding he became truly enlightened\u201d (Chogyel, 61). Not only is Bodhgaya important as the site of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment, it is also where all buddhas of this world system have or will achieve the same, according to tradition. Additionally, Bodhgaya is said to be the location of seven sacred places, each a site where the Buddha stayed for a week in the seven weeks following his enlightenment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Buddha\u2019s death, Bodhgaya has served as the most significant place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The area contains many monuments, most notably the Mahabodhi Temple, which stands at the site of the Buddha\u2019s enlightenment. A tree, known as the Bodhi tree, is situated to the west of the temple and is said to be a descendant of the exact tree under which the Buddha meditated. For these reasons, Bodhgaya is a frequently visited destination for followers of the Buddha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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