{"id":9671,"date":"2022-12-26T04:29:28","date_gmt":"2022-12-25T21:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/?p=9671"},"modified":"2022-12-26T04:30:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-25T21:30:36","slug":"bodh-gaya-the-site-of-the-buddhas-enlightenment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/bodh-gaya-the-site-of-the-buddhas-enlightenment\/","title":{"rendered":"Bodh Gaya: The Site of the Buddha\u2019s Enlightenment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/category\/author\/khan-academy\/\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 160%;\">Khan Academy<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9672 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1028\" height=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b.png 651w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-300x181.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1028px) 100vw, 1028px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: impact, sans-serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Bodh Gaya: The Site of the Buddha\u2019s Enlightenment<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">For centuries, religion, politics, myth, and history have converged around a small town on the banks of the Phalgu River just south of the state capital Patna in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9673 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/z.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"959\" height=\"1086\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/z.jpg 530w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/z-265x300.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 180%;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; color: #993366;\">Bodhi tree with shrine, eastern gateway, Sanchi Stupa no. 1, 2nd\u20131st century B.C.E. (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:Gangulybiswarup\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Biswarup Ganguly<\/a>, CC BY 3.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">This extraordinary place\u2014Bodh Gaya\u2014is understood to be the site of the enlightenment, or \u201cgreat awakening\u201d (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em>mahabodhi<\/em>), of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/ap-art-history\/introduction-cultures-religions-apah\/buddhism-apah\/a\/the-historical-buddha\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Siddhartha Gautama<\/a>, the Buddha. It was here that Siddhartha Gautama sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree, having renounced his princely life to wander and practice asceticism. Here, he defeated temptation in the form of the demon Mara, and set a great world religion\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/ap-art-history\/south-east-se-asia\/india-art\/a\/introduction-to-buddhism-2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buddhism<\/a>\u2014into motion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The events of the Buddha\u2019s life are understood to have taken place sometime in the 5th century B.C.E. More than 2,500 years later, Bodh Gaya is a sprawling pilgrimage town dense with ancient, medieval, and modern shrines, monasteries, temples, and hotels. The historical and archaeological record at this sacred Buddhist center stretches back to at least the 3rd century B.C.E.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9674 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/x.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"891\" height=\"838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/x.png 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/x-300x282.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Plan of Mahabodhi Temple Complex, drawn from Cunningham,\u00a0<em>Mahabodhi<\/em>, 1892, plate XVII (drawn by the author)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">At the heart of ancient Bodh Gaya is the Mahabodhi Temple Complex, which is busy with shrines, monuments, and sculpted images established over more than 2,000 years. Three of the most important monuments will be discussed in this essay:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The Bodhi tree<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The Vajrasana, or \u201cDiamond Throne\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The Mahabodhi Temple<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9675 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1007\" height=\"744\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/c.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/c-300x222.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1007px) 100vw, 1007px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #993366;\">Buddhist convention in front of the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, 2013 (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/eLS1hR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Triratna_Photos<\/a>, CC BY-NC 2.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 250%; color: #ff0000;\">The Buddha\u2019s Great Awakening<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Siddhartha Gautama arrived at Bodh Gaya in middle age, having renounced his life as a prince on seeing the \u201cfour sights\u201d of aging, sickness, death, and\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\" aria-describedby=\"uid-tooltip-20-aria-content\">asceticism. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">It was the fourth sight that encouraged him to begin practicing extreme asceticism and meditation. Having done this for some time he became disillusioned with this extreme path and departed his ascetic companions wandering in north India until he arrived at the Bodhi tree (pipal tree or\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">ficus religiosa<\/em>) on the banks of the Phalgu River. [1] Taking a seat under this tree to begin a long meditation, the Buddha-to-be was seen by the servant of a local noblewoman who, thinking he was a tree spirit, presented him with a bowl of rice and milk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9676 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1208\" height=\"1817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l.jpg 266w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1208px) 100vw, 1208px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #800080;\"><em>Buddha calling on the earth to witness<\/em>, 9th century, Bihar, India (<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clevelandart.org\/art\/1935.146\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Museum of Art<\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">With this nourishment he continued to meditate under this tree and saw off the attacks of the demon Mara; who had sent both his demonic armies and daughters to distract the meditating Siddhartha Gautama. Finally, on that very night, the Buddha attained enlightenment. At that moment the Buddha was asked to provide a witness to this miraculous feat; and so the Buddha touched the earth with the fingers of his right hand, calling the Earth Goddess to witness. Buddhist traditions diverge on some of this account but this moment and the place at which it occurred, under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, is significant to all Buddhist traditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9677 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-1024x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-1024x533.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-768x399.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b-1536x799.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/b.jpg 1838w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 250%; font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Bodhi Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">As the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment, Bodh Gaya appears to have become a significant place for Buddhists soon after the death of the Buddha and the formation of the Buddhist community of monks and nuns (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">sangha<\/em>) and lay people. Very little is known, however, about the earliest structures at Bodh Gaya, and centuries of addition and alteration make it difficult to imagine how this site appeared at any particular moment in the past.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9678 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"868\" height=\"253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/n-300x87.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 868px) 100vw, 868px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #800080;\">Timeline of key events at Bodh Gaya (drawn by the author)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">From depictions of Bodh Gaya in art dating from the 2nd century B.C.E and early narrative accounts it can be surmised that devotion at this site initially focused on the Bodhi tree itself. It is likely that this tree was surrounded by a wooden enclosure-shrine (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em>bodhi-ghara<\/em>) by the 3rd century B.C.E., if not before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9679 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1036\" height=\"777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/m.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/m-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1036px) 100vw, 1036px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 190%;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; color: #800080;\">Bodhi tree inside stone railing (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/76326214@N00\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">manbartlett<\/a>, CC BY 2.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">According to one early narrative, the enclosure around the Bodhi tree provided a platform from which the famous early Indian King\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\" aria-describedby=\"uid-tooltip-21-aria-content\">Ashoka Maurya <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">anointed the sacred Bodhi tree with milk. [2] The stone railings enclosing a descendent of this tree at Bodh Gaya today likely date to the 1st century B.C.E., and these reveal that this wooden shrine was later replaced by a stone structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-style: inherit; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\">The Diamond Throne<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9680 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1213\" height=\"1002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/a-300x248.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1213px) 100vw, 1213px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Diamond throne at excavation (Alexander Cunningham, Mahabodhi, 1892, Pl. XIII)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">A few centuries after the Buddha, a stone platform or throne was established under the Bodhi tree to mark the spot where the Buddha sat in meditation and acts as a second focus of devotion there. In some Buddhist traditions Bodh Gaya itself is referred to simply as the \u201cDiamond Throne\u201d (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em>vajrasana<\/em>), indicating the significance of this throne to the identity of this sacred site. Some of this throne remains in-situ, though it has been moved around the site at various times in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9681 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/s.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1071\" height=\"153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/s.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/s-300x43.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Goose and palmette motif. Diamond throne at excavation (Alexander Cunningham, Mahabodhi, 1892, Pl. XIII)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The distinctive goose and palmette motif appearing in relief on the upper register of this polished sandstone slab allows art historians to date it to the time of the Mauryan dynasty (4th to 2nd century B.C.E.), and possibly even to the time of Ashoka Maurya.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9682 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1086\" height=\"1268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/d.jpg 514w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/d-257x300.jpg 257w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1086px) 100vw, 1086px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #800080;\">Diamond Throne of Ashoka at Bodh Gaya (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Vajrasana_Diamond_Throne_of_Ashoka_at_Bodh_Gaya.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Christopher J. Fynn<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">This throne has been moved around, restored, and altered many times in the past and is located today at the rear of the Mahabodhi Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9683 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/g.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1084\" height=\"568\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/g.jpg 500w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/g-300x157.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1084px) 100vw, 1084px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Atlas-like figures. Diamond throne at excavation (Alexander Cunningham, Mahabodhi, 1892, Pl. XIII)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The squat, atlas-like figures depicted in relief below the uppermost Mauryan throne likely date to the time of the Gupta dynasty (4th\u20136th century C.E.), if not a century or so earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9684 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/h.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1099\" height=\"1744\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/h.jpg 378w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/h-189x300.jpg 189w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1099px) 100vw, 1099px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Bharhut relief with Diamond throne and Mahabodhi Temple around the Boddhi Tree (from Sir Alexander Cunningham,\u00a0<em>Mah\u00e2bodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya<\/em>, 1892)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The combined image of this throne and the Bodhi tree was a popular image in early Buddhist art, which appears to have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/ap-art-history\/introduction-cultures-religions-apah\/buddhism-apah\/a\/images-of-enlightenment\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">eschewed the depiction of the Buddha himself<\/a>. The empty throne under the tree often acted as a sign for both the absent presence of the Buddha and for Bodh Gaya as a sacred site. The throne and the tree has remained an important sign for the Buddha and the moment of enlightenment throughout the history of Buddhist art, as can be seen in the early relief of the Bodhi tree with a shrine (at the top of this page) and in the common image of the Buddha calling on the earth to witness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9685 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/j.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"867\" height=\"650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/j.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/j-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #800080;\">Mahabodhi Temple today, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/76326214@N00\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">manbartlett<\/a>, CC BY 2.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-style: inherit; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\">The Mahabodhi Temple<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The accounts of Chinese pilgrims who visited Bodh Gaya from at least the 5th century C.E. onwards give historians an idea of the next phase of construction at Bodh Gaya. Their accounts reveal that at some point in the early centuries of the Common Era the Bodhi tree and the Diamond Throne were partly superseded\u2014or added to\u2014by a towering temple housing a sculpted image of the Buddha.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9686 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/43.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1014\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/43.jpg 440w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/43-264x300.jpg 264w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #800080;\">Mah\u0101bodhi plaque, 3rd century C.E. (Bih\u0101r Museum, Pa\u1e6dn\u0101 Museum no. 4419)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Some art historians argue that a terracotta plaque from the 3rd century C.E. found near Patna represents the earliest Mahabodhi Temple. Whether or not this is the case, it is likely that the first iteration of the Mahabodhi Temple looked something like the one depicted: a tall straight-sided structure comprised of multiple layers of small arched \u201ccow\u2019s eye\u201d windows (<em>gavaksha<\/em>) tapering slightly at the pinnacle and surmounted by parasols and banners marking the presence of the Buddha and surrounded by a railing on all sides. The temple depicted in this plaque also houses an image of the Buddha.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">This broadly agrees with the description of Mahabodhi Temple given by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang who visited Bodh Gaya centuries later, at the end of the 7th century C.E. He describes a temple that is \u201c160 or 170 feet high . . . [with] niches in the different storeys [holding] golden figures. The four sides of the building are covered with wonderful ornamental work.\u201d <strong><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">[4]<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9676 \" style=\"text-align: justify; color: #333333;\" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"966\" height=\"1453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l.jpg 266w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/l-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 966px) 100vw, 966px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; text-align: justify;\">Buddha calling on the earth to witness, 9th century, Bihar, India (<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clevelandart.org\/art\/1935.146\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Museum of Art<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">According to Xuanzang and other pilgrims accounts, the Mahabodhi Temple housed a sculpted image of the Buddha in a seated position with his right hand touching the earth, recalling the moment of enlightenment when the Buddha \u201ccalled the Earth to witness.\u201d This image became an increasingly popular theme in Buddhist art around the 7th century C.E., as we see in the\u00a0<em>Buddha calling the earth to witness<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9687 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/q.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"955\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/q.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/q-300x262.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 955px) 100vw, 955px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Model of the Mahabodhi Temple (front and side), 11th\u201312th century, Bihar, India (<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/73214\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">In subsequent centuries this \u201cearth touching\u201d Buddha image was combined with representations of the Mahabodhi Temple itself. These \u201cpilgrim plaques\u201d and miniature \u201cmodels\u201d of the Mahabodhi Temple give historians an idea of what this temple looked like at this time. Depictions of the Mahabodhi Temple also suggest the increasing importance of the temple housing the Buddha image in its own right as a sign for Bodh Gaya and the events there, although the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi tree continue to be depicted alongside them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">It is around this time too that inscriptions begin to refer to the Mahabodhi Temple as the \u201c<em>vajrasana-gandhakuti<\/em>,\u201d literally the \u201cperfume chamber (i.e. temple) with the Diamond Throne.\u201d These inscriptions, the depictions of the Mahabodhi Temple in art, and other evidence for royal and foreign-sponsored programs of restoration suggest an important shift from tree shrine to the building of temples, shrines, and monasteries at Bodh Gaya over the course of the 1st millennium C.E. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>[3]<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9688 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/u.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1084\" height=\"723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/u.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/u-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1084px) 100vw, 1084px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/yqDPQh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Santosh Kumar<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-style: inherit; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\">The Mahabodhi Temple today<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The Mahabodhi Temple as it appears today is mostly the product of restorations undertaken in the late 19th century: first by a Burmese mission and then overseen by the recently established Archaeological Survey of India (see the timeline above). The towering brick, stucco and concrete temple seen at Bodh Gaya today comprises a large primary straight-sided spire (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">shikhara<\/em>), rising out of a central image chamber (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">garbha-griha<\/em>). Four smaller spires sit on the corner of the main chamber and each of these is, like the primary spire, surmounted by the form of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.khanacademy.org\/humanities\/ap-art-history\/introduction-cultures-religions-apah\/buddhism-apah\/a\/the-stupa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buddhist relic mound (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">stupa<\/em>)<\/a>. The surface of the temple is studded with receding levels of Buddha images set into niches alternating with circular \u201ccow\u2019s eye windows,\u201d not unlike the accounts of Chinese pilgrims and early depictions of this building in art.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">The late 19th-century restoration of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya made significant alterations to the site, however. Although these were based on architectural remains and models such as that shown in the model of the temple, pre-restoration paintings and photographs reveal how much was invented, such as the gateway pavilion on the second storey, the four corner spires, and much of the surface ornament. This period of restoration and partial excavation of the complex also brought to light the many small \u201cvotive\u201d (pertaining to a wish) shrines and images which had steadily built up around the temple over centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9689 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1032\" height=\"774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/e.jpg 700w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/e-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1032px) 100vw, 1032px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Mahabodhi Phaya, Pagan, Myanmar (photo:\u00a0<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/79721788@N00\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">David-Stanley<\/a>, CC BY 2.0)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 200%;\">Many Mahabodhis: replication of Bodh Gaya<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">An important feature of Bodh Gaya and the Mahabodhi Temple Complex is its replication across Asia. What might be called \u201creplica\u201d Mahabodhi temples were built across Asia from the 13th century onwards: the Mahabodhi Phaya in Myanmar, Wat Chet Yot in Thailand, Wuta Si in China, and the Mahabuddha Temple in Nepal are important examples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-9690 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/r.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1307\" height=\"1860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/r.jpg 281w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/r-211x300.jpg 211w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1307px) 100vw, 1307px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Model of the Mahabodhi Temple, 11th\u201312th century, Bihar, India (<a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/73214\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Each of these structures imitate the form of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, though they vary in style, building technology, and materials. Each temple works with similar assumptions of the Mahabodhi Temple form, being mostly organized around four towers surrounding a central larger tower. It is likely that some of these replicas were built from the recollections of pilgrims, if not on even small portable artworks and \u201cmodels\u201d carried away from Bodh Gaya such as that shown in model of the temple at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These other Mahabodhi Temples may have been constructed because access to north Indian Buddhist sites was not easy for Buddhist pilgrims, especially at a time when monastic Buddhism had declined in the region. How and why these many Mahabodhi Temple were built, however, remains unclear; likely each of these buildings was built for a specific purpose in each context but all of them can be understood to, in a sense, transfer the Buddhist \u201choly land\u201d abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">This replication of Bodh Gaya in the medieval and early modern period in Asia finds an earlier precedent in the account given in the Sri Lankan chronicle (<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">mahavamsa<\/em>) which records how a branch of the Bodhi tree was brought to Sri Lanka and planted in the city of Anuradhapura in the time of King Ashoka, where its descendant grows to this day. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>[5]<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: inherit; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 250%;\">Bodh Gaya Today<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">International interest in Bodh Gaya increased from the 1880s onwards, particularly after the Archaeological Survey of India restored and landscaped much of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex. This ushered in a new phase of patronage, construction, and contention at the site. Over the course of the 20th century, international Buddhist communities and associations began to establish temples, monasteries, and guest houses in the town. Today at least forty different Buddhist organizations are represented in Bodh Gaya\u2014a town with a mostly Hindu and Muslim population.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Many of the sculptures found at Bodh Gaya\u2014including those used in worship today\u2014date to the time of the Pala dynasty (8th\u201312th century C.E.) and depict both Buddhist and non-Buddhist deities. And it is likely that Bodh Gaya held significance within a network of sacred and pilgrimage sites in the region, both for Buddhists and other religious communities. It is also important to note that Bodh Gaya neighbors the major Hindu pilgrimage town of Gaya: an ancient sacred center associated with ancestor rites (Sanskrit,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">shraddha<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Indeed a major Shaiva (pertaining to the Hindu god Shiva) monastery was established just north of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in the 18th century C.E., and this community of renunciates (people who renounces earthly pleasures and lives as ascetics) assumed administrative control of the complex around this time. Until recently the Shaiva Mahant (head of monastery) took up residence in a small building just opposite the Mahabodhi Temple and worshipped images of Buddhist deities installed there as forms of Hindu gods.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Relationships at Bodh Gaya became strained in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the ownership and authority of the Mahabodhi Temple in particular became contested. It was initially in order to \u201creclaim Bodh Gaya for Buddhists\u201d that the Sri Lankan-born Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala established the Maha Bodhi Society in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1891. The Maha Bodhi Society campaigned to overturn Shaiva Hindu authority at the Mahabodhi Complex by appealing to first British colonial authorities and then to the independent Republic of India after 1947. After a lengthy legal battle, the question of ownership of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex was partially resolved in 1949 after the Indian Government assumed control of the site for the State of Bihar and established the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), which was composed of both Hindu and Buddhist members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">With the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002, responsibility for this place shifted once again. While its new status as \u201cWorld Heritage\u201d brought international attention and renown to Bodh Gaya, it has also caused some concern that the spiritual and devotional character of Bodh Gaya will be altered and even that Bodh Gaya will be \u201cmuseumized\u201d\u2014its built remains being preserved at the expense of the range of sacred, devotional, and architectural practices that have characterized the place for more than 2,000 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9691 \" src=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p-1024x595.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"821\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p-1024x595.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p-768x446.jpg 768w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p-1536x893.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/p.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 821px) 100vw, 821px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 250%;\"><strong>The Timeless Seat of the Buddha<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Bodh Gaya has a long and complex history. Over millennia it has been reconstructed and reimagined; it is steeped in significance and stories. The variety of perceptions of this place across the Buddhist world and more locally are reflected in the site\u2019s physical history: the densely packed amalgam of structures, shrines, and sculptures that span the breadth of two millennia. Each addition, whether physical or conceptual, has built upon an earlier layer, changing Bodh Gaya without entirely erasing that which came before. The Bodhi tree, the railing, and the Diamond Throne remain at Bodh Gaya alongside the towering temple, the Buddha image, the Shaiva Mahant\u2019s residence and \u2014 a hotel and a museum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 300%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong style=\"font-style: inherit;\">Notes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">For the life of the Buddha see, Patrick Olivelle, Life of the Buddha, Clay Sanskrit Library; 33 (New York University Press, 2008); and The Play in Full, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">See John S. Strong, The Legend of King Asoka. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984), pp. 250-266.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">See Geri H. Malandra \u201cThe Mahabodhi Temple\u201d in Janice Leoshko, Bodhgaya, the Site of Enlightenment. (Bombay: Marg Publications, 1988), pp. 9\u201328.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">See Samuel Beal trans. Si-yu-ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World (London, 1884; reprinted Delhi, 1981), 118\u2013119.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">See Vidya Dehejia, \u201cBodh Gaya and Sri Lanka\u201d in Janice Leoshko, Bodhgaya, the Site of Enlightenment. (Bombay: Marg Publications, 1988), pp. 89\u2013100.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\">Additional resources<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #282828;\"><a style=\"color: #282828;\" href=\"https:\/\/asi.nic.in\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Archaeological Survey of India<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #282828;\"><a style=\"color: #282828;\" href=\"https:\/\/artsandculture.google.com\/partner\/archaeological-survey-of-india\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Archaeological Survey of India on Google Arts and Culture<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">David Geary, Matthew R. Sayers and Abhishek Singh Amar,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on a Contested Buddhist Site<\/em>\u00a0(Routledge, 2012).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Janice Leoshko,\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">Bodhgaya, the Site of Enlightenment<\/em>\u00a0(Marg Publications, 1988).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Prudence R. Myer, \u201cThe Great Temple at Bodh-Gaya,\u201d\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">The Art Bulletin<\/em> vol. 40 (1958).<\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'arial black', sans-serif; font-size: 250%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>ENLIGHTENMENT OF BUDDHA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha had been dwelling and thinking about the misery, pain and suffering of people while he was in the palace. Realizing these severities led him into the path of achieving the Enlightenment. One day he decided to get out of the palace in search of the real happiness and freedom in life. So, while wandering he found a place in India called Bodhi Gaya where he regularly without any worries practice meditation. Gautama had a belief that through his constant effort and commitment for rejoicing himself with the greatest knowledge and attainment of enlightenment, he sat under a tree for indulging himself in meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">As Gautama Buddha sat in deep meditation, the internal vibes like emotions, freedom, the joy of being in outside world tried to pull him. Further, Mara the Lord of illusion appeared to him with an intent of distracting. But Mara failed because when Buddha touched the earth, the holy earth under him shook and defeat the demon armies. In this epic battle, the compassion and wisdomof Buddha win over the illusions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\"><strong>The Maha Bodhi Temple and Bodhi Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">Bodhi temple where Buddha achieves the enlightenment now has been one the historical and famous pilgrimage site for devotees. After the 250 year of Enlightenment, the emperor Ashokavisited the site and erected a diamond throne shrine monastery. Inside the temple there is a big statue of Buddha \u201cBhumisparsha mudra\u201d. The colossal is said to be 1700 years old and is facing towards east precisely where the Buddha meditate and at his back there is a bodhi tree.Buddha continued to meditate for seven weeks under the bodhi tree after enlightenment. And the seven things he observed are as:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Under the Bodhi Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">During the first week he sat under the tree, enjoy the experience and freedom of being the awakened one. He was independent from wrong thoughts, serene and ecstatic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Gazing at the Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">During the second week, he pays gratitude to the Bodhi tree which provide him shed during his struggle for\u00a0<strong>Bodhisattva<\/strong>. The Buddha stood in front of the tree and meditates without moving his eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Golden Bridge<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">In the third week, the Buddha saw through his minds the delusion in Gods mind in heaven about that whether he has really achieved the enlightenment or not. Henceforth, he created a golden bridge in the air and walk fro and thru it for a whole week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Jewelled Chamber<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">During the fourth week, he generates a beautiful jeweled chamber and sat inside it meditating, which is now also known as detailed teaching or\u00a0<strong>Abhidhamma<\/strong>. His body and soul were so much purified that, the six different color rays reflect from his body. The six colors were red, orange, blue, yellow, white and a mixture of these which gives out a Buddhist flag.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Three Girls<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">In the fifth week, while meditating under a banyan tree. The three beautiful girls came up in front of him and try to seduce him through seductive dance in a cajole way. The every temptation was failed in front of\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>\u00a0meditation and\u00a0<strong>Tanha<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Rati\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Raga\u00a0<\/strong>return their own way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Mucalinda Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">During sixth week,\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>\u00a0went to meditate under a\u00a0<strong>Mucalinda tree<\/strong>. And it began to rain during the course of meditation. In order to protect a huge king cobra appeared to him and coiled his body seven time to keep his body warm as well cobra placed his hood over the\u00a0<em>Buddha\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0head to protect. The rain stopped after seven day, the\u00a0<strong>King cobra<\/strong>\u00a0turned out to be a man and pay his respects to\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>. The\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>\u00a0than offered his sacred lessons of happiness to the man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Rajayatana Tree<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 200%;\">In the last seventh week,\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>\u00a0meditated under the\u00a0<strong>Rajayatana tree<\/strong>. On the fifth day of his fasting, the two merchants\u00a0<strong>Tapussa<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Bhallika<\/strong>\u00a0appeared to him and offered him rice, cakes and honey to break his fasting. The\u00a0<em>Buddha<\/em>\u00a0then told the lessons to them he achieved during his enlightenment. Later these two merchants become the first\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.originalbuddhas.com\/blog\/ten-great-disciples\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>disciples of Lord Buddha<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Khan Academy Bodh Gaya: The Site of the Buddha\u2019s Enlightenment For centuries, religion, politics, myth, and history have converged around a small town on the banks of the Phalgu River just south of the state capital Patna in India. Bodhi tree with shrine, eastern gateway, Sanchi Stupa no. 1, 2nd\u20131st century B.C.E. (photo:\u00a0Biswarup Ganguly, CC [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,219,234,590,261],"tags":[591],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9671"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9694,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9671\/revisions\/9694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phapnhan.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}