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Another site on the Buddha trail, Kushinagar is held in great
reverence by the believers. For, it was here that his teachings
reached a culmination –the body left its mortal coils and he quietly
ascended to Nirvana (bliss). And as always, a legend is attached to
it. Poisoned by his own disciple, the Lord was taken ill one night
at the ripe old age of 80. He desired to leave his corporeal body at
the Sal grove on the banks of the Hiranyavati River in Kushinagar.
On a bed which Ananda had prepared under two Sal trees, after giving
his last sermon about the ephemeral nature of existence, the Lord
entered the sphere of No Nothingness then the sphere of Infinite
Consciousness, then the sphere of Neither Perception, nor
Non-Perception.
Today, Kushinagar is being rediscovered and it has turned into a
center for international Buddhism. Myriad viharas, including a
Tibetan gompa devoted to Sakyamuni, a Burmese vihara, and temples
from China and Japan have sprung and continue to pull the faithful.
How to Reach there
Kushinagar is connected by road to Gorakhpur, that is further linked
by air to Delhi, Calcutta, Lucknow and Varanasi.Rail: The nearest
railway station is at Gorakhpur and that is linked to important
destinations. Kushinagar is well connected to other parts of the
state of Uttar Pradesh by bus. There are regular buses to Gorakhpur
(51 km), Lumbini (173 km), Kapilavastu (148 km), Sravasti (254 km),
and Sarnath (266 km), and Agra (680 km).
| Places to visit |
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Nirvana Temple
Located in a
verdant park, the Nirvana Stupa, dates back to the
Kumaragupta It’s reign (413-55AD). In the early hours of the
evening, the mellow light from the candles and the chanting
of mantras render a sacred aura to the temple. The
Mahaparinirvana temple enshrines a 6 meter long statue of
the Buddha in the Parinirvana (reclining) posture. Carved
from black stone, the statue now looks metallic gold because
of the application of gold leaves by pilgrims. |
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Japanese
Temple
The single
circular chamber is brilliantly lit through small,
stained-glass windows and houses a golden Buddha image. |
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Rambhar Stupa
Popularly
believed to be the place, where Buddha was created by the
Mallas, the Nirvana Temple is surrounded by rice, wheat and
cane fields. |
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Mata Kaur Shrine
Houses a
10th century blue schist image of the Buddha. |
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Chandramani
Bhikshu Dharamasala
The
oldest monastery in Kushinagar, it houses marble images of
the Buddha and the White Tara. |
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The Sri
Lanka -Japan monastery
has
an Ashta Dhatu (eight metals) statue of the Buddha flanked
by Japanese - style portraits of his ten principal bhikshus. |
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Kushinagar
Museum
Next
to the meditation centre of the Sri Lanka Japanese
Foundation is the new Kushinagar Museum. |
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