Thai Buddhist pilgrimage to India

Given my super busy life, the idea of visiting India seemed like a far distant dream, so I was excited to be invited to join a short Jet Airways tour, targeting Thai Buddhist pilgrims.

The trip starts in Gaya, a small town, in Bihar in the Northeast of India. It was there that the Buddha famously achieved enlightenment, sitting under a Bodhi tree. The original tree was destroyed and replanted at least five times. The present tree was grown from a sapling brought from Sri Lanka, which in turn was planted by Emperor Ashoka’s son Mahendra, from a cutting from the original tree.

Since we were part of a group of Thai pilgrims, our first stop was the Thai temple where we met with the abbot, an Indian scholar. It was a fitting start to the journey as he gave an inspiring account of Buddhism and its history in India. He pointed out that although Buddhism is not widely followed in India today, it is unique among the religions as the national emblem of India is the “lion capital”, a statue created by Emperor Ashoka as a tribute to Buddha.

During our short visit of about two hours, busloads of Thais came and went from the temple. The Abbot said many Thai people like to go there to meditate or to be inaugurated as monks or nuns and the temple often has up to 50 people staying there at a time in the dormitory rooms provided.

In the late afternoon we headed to the Mahabodhi Temple, which was built on the site of the Bodhi tree. Despite the hundreds of visitors, mainly from India and Buddhist countries such as Tibet and Thailand, it maintained a serene atmosphere. There are many beautiful old Buddhist sculptures and artworks adorning the temple buildings, which are set out around a large circular courtyard, where pilgrims can walk around soaking up the atmosphere. The heart of the complex is the magnificent old Bodhi tree, with its huge spreading branches. The air cools as you approach the tree where people are quietly meditating. Groups of monks and devotees chant prayers in various Buddhist languages including Tibetan and Pali. Right next to the tree is a slab of rock adorned with gold leaf where people press their foreheads to absorb the vibrations and energy of the tree as well as to pray.

As night falls, thousands of birds descend on the branches of the tree for the night; the vibrations from their beating wings and syncopated chattering adding to the intensity of the religious atmosphere there. The temple is open from 5 am to 9 pm each day. On the nights of the full moon, it attracts many Hindus and people from other faiths as well as Buddhists.

On our second day we caught a bus 250 kilometres away to Varanasi, the holy city of the Hindus on the banks of the River Ganges. In the Buddha’s day Varanasi was a magnet for people of many religions including the Rishis and Jains and Vedics and the Buddha preached his first sermon in the outskirts of Varanasi, at Sarnath. His first sermon expounded on the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the Middle Way and it became the foundation of the Buddhist doctrines, known as the Sangha. Sarnath was thus the birthplace of Buddhism, becoming a centre of learning, attracting Buddhist monks, from around the world. To honour Buddhism, Emperor Ashoka built his famous “Lion Capital” statue at Sarnath, which despite being exposed to the elements and then buried for many hundreds of years, is still in almost pristine condition in the Sarnath museum. There are also many beautiful early Buddha images inside the museum, remarkably well preserved, despite dating back to nearly two thousand years ago.

Aside from the famous Buddhist sites of Bodh Gaya and Sarnath, the ancient city of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, is a major highlight for the Thai pilgrims. Varanasi has a lively street life, bustling with not only people, but cows and goats. As soon as we pulled up in our bus at the hotel, we were greeted by one man with dancing, drum playing monkeys and another with a python draped around his neck.

The narrow winding streets of Varanasi lead down to the waters’ edge where palaces, temples and shrines hug the banks of the Ganges. Each night the river is thronged with small boats as visitors come to see the Brahmin fire ceremonies, in which they offer blessings to the holy river. The funeral pyres on the banks of the Ganges burn day and night. It is believed that if your ashes are poured into the Ganges, you will go straight to paradise instead of having to be reborn again. This, according to the Abbot of the Thai temple at Gaya, illustrates a fundamental difference between Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism – it is your own actions, not those of others, which will determine your fate in the afterlife.

However, the religious devotion of the people of Varanasi provides important insights into the environment that gave rise to Buddhism and it is part of the deep and rich history of India which has been an inspiration to all the world.

Jet Airways flies to Gaya and Varanasi every Tuesday and Friday and so the round trip takes three or four days. It costs between Baht 30,000 and Baht 60,000, all inclusive, depending on the class of hotel.