Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Deemed University),
Nalanda in Collaboration with the Light of the Buddha Dhamma Foundation International (LBDFI)
organized 5th Dhamma Walk from Jeṭhian to Rājgir
on 13th December, 2018. Objective of the Dhamma Walk was to facilitate
awareness generation towards the 15km Jeṭhian - Rājgir Buddha
trail. More than 2000 Venerable monks, nuns and laity from 15
countries participated in the Dhamma Walk.The 15km walk along the footsteps of the Buddha concluded at Veḷuvana, Rajgir.
Community of Jethian offered Saṅghadāna (food-offering to ven. monks and nuns) to the
participating monks, nun and laity. This was 4thSaṅghadāna offered by the community. More
than 600 Venerable monks and nuns from India, Thailand, Srilanka, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan with
their alms bowl in their hands walked in the streets of the Jeṭhian village and
collected food. After the Saṅghadāna, the monks and nuns gathered for the inaugural
session of the Dhamma Walk. As in previous years, this consisted of addresses
from the various organizers and important dignitaries. Inaugural address was
given by Prof. Baidyanath Labh, VC, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara). Ven. Lama Lobzang
(President, IBC), and Dr. Ravindra Panth, former director, NNM also shared their
views on the occasion. Ms. Wangmo Dixey (Executive Secretary, LBDFI) gave the
thanking note.
More than 100 members of Angel Yoga Group, Nalanda under leadership of Shri Jai Singh participated in the Walk. The members of the Yoga group cleaned up litter off the Buddha Path trail.
Ven. Monk and Nuns queued up for Saṇghadāna
village girls offering Saṇghadāna
Assembly of the 5th Dhamma Walk
Important dignitaries on Dais
Villagers offering Khadda and welcoming the important guests
Vice Chancellor, NNM giving his inaugural address
Add caption
Participants Walking the Buddha Trail
Angel Yoga team engaged in cleaning up the trash
Wife of Mukhiya Ji, Shri Sadhu Sharan ji expired on the same morning (13th December). Venerable Sangha offering prayers for the departed soul.
I
had privilege to be a part of the third annual Dhammayātrā of the
International Saṅgha of the LBDFI (Light of the Buddha Dhamma Foundation
International).
As all of us know, Buddhism was lost from the Indian
subcontinent in the beginning of 1st millennia.
Translation of ancient Buddhist texts - kept in monasteries of
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal and China- from their native languages into
English and French led to the discovery of the Indian origin of Buddhism.
Further studies of Buddhist texts, especially travel accounts of Chinese monks
Faxian and Xuanzang, led to the discovery of the sacred places
related to the footsteps of the Buddha.
Most
of the sacred sites associated with the wandering of the Buddha like Śrāvasti,
Saṅkāsya (also Sankissa, Sankassa), Kuśhinagara, Vaishālī etc. as
they are seen today are but the skeletal remains of their glorious past.
But, these sacred places were once living heritage sites. In ancient
times, these sites saw a constant footfall of devouts from different countries
who visited these sacred places, relived the legends and
stories, performed merit-making rituals and recited sutras delivered
by the Buddha.
Dhammayātrā by the International Saṅgha under the banner of LBDFI
is an effort to revive this very same ancient tradition of
Dhammayātrā as mentioned in ancient texts; and hence facilitate
development of these sacred sites as living heritage sites.
Earlier this year, International Saṅgha of LBDFI
consisting of 34 Theravada monks belonging to India, Maynamar, Thailand,
Cambodia and Laos made this sacred pilgrimage. The Dhammayātrā
started from Bodhgaya on 27thOctober, 2018 - touched
Sarnatha, New Delhi, Sankassa, Lucknow, Kuśhinagara, Lumbīnī- and finally
ended at Vaishālī on 21st November. Venerable monks of
the International Saṅgha of LBDFI offered prayers and recited suttas delivered
by the Buddha at these sites. Respected monks and nuns places
belonging to other Buddhist countries, and from local Buddhist monasteries
at Sārnātha, Kuśhinagara, Lumbīnī and Vaishālī also
joined in for the chanting.
I would like to share with you two highlights of this
year’s Dhammayātrā.
First, Venerable International Saṅgha of LBDFI offered prayers and
recited sutta at Lāt Bhairava. Lāt Bhairava is situated on the
west banks of River Varṇā on the way from Vārānasī to the Deer Park
(Sārnātha). Presently, Lāt Bhairava is a contested site between
Hindus and Muslims, but in ancient times it was a Buddhist site. Chinese
monk scholar Xuanzang mentions the presence of an Aśokan stūpa and
pillar on the west side of River Barnā (now Varṇā) on the way from Vārānasī to
the Deer Park (Sārnātha). Vincent Smith (1848-1920) has identified Lāt Saraiyā
on the west banks of River Varṇā as the place mentioned by Xuanzang.
Venerable International Saṅgha at Lāt Bharava
Venerable International Saṅgha circumambulating the Ashokan Pillar at Lāt Bharava
Venerable International Saṅgha Chanting at the Ashokan Pillar site of Lāt Bharava
According to Smith, the mosque at Lāt Saraiyā is built over the
remains of the Aśokan stūpa while the Aśokan pillar mentioned by Xuanzang is
being worshiped as Lāt Bhairav(Staff of Lord
Shiva). Xuanzang does not talk about the significance of the place but
only tells that the stūpa and pillar erected by Aśoka lie on the traditional
route connecting Vārānasī and Deer Park. Two months after his enlightenment on
the full-moon day of āsālha(June-July), the Buddha preached
the Dharmacakraparvartana Sūtra(the First Turning of the
Wheel) to his five former companions, setting in motion the ‘Wheel of Dharma.’
The Buddha on his way to Deer Park may have walked this traditional track. Read more about Lāt Bhairava
Also, recent studies suggest that this could be the place where
the Buddha received Yasa, the son of a rich merchant from Vārānasī who wished
to join the Saṅghaand practice the Dharma closely
with the Buddha. Prayers offered by the International Saṅgha at Lat
Bhairava is first step towards reclaiming this ancient Buddhist sites. We hope
this will help us facilitating revival of pilgrimage to this Buddhist site.
Second, the International Saṅgha circumambulated the Saṅkāsya (Sankissa) village
mound. This is significant because at Saṅkāsya the Buddha performed
the miracle of the ‘Descent from the heavens, accompanied by Indra and
Brahma’.
Venerable International Saṅgha in village Saṅkāsya
Venerable International Saṅgha in village Saṅkāsya
Venerable International Saṅgha interaction with Dixit Family
Venerable International Saṅgha with Dixit Family
Community-Pilgrim Interface
According to Chinese monks and scholars Faxian and
Xuanzang, shrines were built at the place where the Buddha descended from
the heaven. Corroborating the accounts of Faxian and Xuanzang with the ancient
remains in the village Saṅkāsya, we may say that the Saṅkāsya village is
sitting exactly on the top of the enclosed complex that had monastery, stairs
temple and numerous stūpas. Circumference of this high mound pregnant with the
ancient shrines is around 1.25kms. Saṅkāsya is the only one of the Eight
Great Places of pilgrimage where the main ancient shrine is still buried and
unexcavated. The International Saṅgha walked in the streets of the
village and chanted Buddhist sutras.
Read more about Saṅkāsya We also got an opportunity to interact
with the Dixit family. Dixit family has done a lot towards
preservation of the ancient site of Saṅkāsya. Shri Raghav Dixit and his brother
showed us lost antiquities that they discovered in the village. We
hope the Dhammayātrā will help us facilitate the generation
of awareness internationally and also among the villagers who
are living over the buried remains of the very sacred temple of the ‘Descent of
the Buddha’.
Dr Arun Kumar, Assistant Professor at Nava Nalanda Mahavihara,
Nalanda on his visit to Tapovana in February, 2018 noticed a vandalised shelf
inside Tapovan Temple complex which had housed ancient sculptures. According to
the priest of the temple, an ancient image of Surya (Sun God) was plastered into the
shelf, which has got stolen in the last few years. The priest reports that many
ancient sculptures have been stolen from the Tapovan Temple complex in recent
years.
Dr Arun
informed me about the theft of the Tapovan sculpture. Tapovana has two natural
hot water springs. In 2007, during our visit to Tapovana, our team had noticed
many sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities from medieval period
kept on the shelves in the hot water spring enclosure. The hot water
spring campus was renovated in 2010 and the sculptures were plastered into the
shelves. Fortunately, in 2007, we had documented the approximately 2.5 ft
image of Surya which has gone missing now.
To
facilitate the identification and recovery of the lost sculpture from Tapovana,
I provided the images of sculptures of Tapovana to Dr. Arun. Dr. Arun revisited
Tapovana on 26th April, 2018, and showed the images of the
sculptures to the priest and other local people. The priest confirmed that the
Surya image in our database was the one that was stolen from the Tapovan
Temple complex. According to the priest, the sculpture was stolen around 5
years ago.
Video clip of the priest explaining the theft of the Surya sculpture to Dr Arun.
Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang)
in 7th CE on his pilgrimage to sacred Buddhist places took
a sacred journey to the two hot water streams of Tapovana that were formed and
blessed by the Buddha. The Buddha, according to Xuanzang, bathed here and
thereafter people from all around came here to bathe and be relieved of chronic
disease. Even now, one can see people from far off places gather here to take a
dip in these sacred springs.
The
Tapovana sculpture was stolen approximately 5 years ago. Stolen sculptures
exchange many hands and go through auction houses like Sotheby’s, Bonhams,
Christie’s etc. before reaching their final destination - usually
museums.
Tapovana is located 50 kms east of Mahabodhi Temple
Bodhgaya and 30 kms West Rajgir.
We urge like-minded people and
institutions to help us find and restore this statue to its find-spot, which is
Tapovana.
Surya sculpture in the hot water spring complex, 2007
There is some good news from village
Beswak in Nalanda district. With the efforts of Shri Dinanand Pandey, an
ancient mound in Beswak has now been protected by constructing a boundary wall
around the mound. In the Magadha region of Bihar, there are hundreds of
villages that are settled over ancient remains. Beswak is one such village. Antiquities are spread throughout this village suggesting that it was an important
Buddhist centre in the past. There are many ancient sculptures of Buddha and
Hindu deities scattered all around. There are many prominent mounds with the
biggest one at the centre of the village spreading more than 2.5 acres and
averaging 15 ft in height. In recent years this mound has been a target of land
grabbers.
Shri Dinanath
Pandey understands the need to protect the mound, and is therefore generating
awareness among fellow villagers. He has taken the matter also to the
government officialsconcerned. Shri Pandey’s efforts paid off
finally when he got to meet the officials of the Archaeological Directorate,
Department of Art, Culture and Youth (DACY), and officials in the District
administration. In 2015, DACY allocated 54 lacs INR for making a boundary wall
around the mound. Harsh Ranjan Kumar, a Senior Technical Assistant in DACY, played
a very important role in convincing the department officials of the need to
safeguard this prominent mound.
Beswak is situated 50 kms south of Patna,
the capital of Bihar, and 35 kms south-west of Bihar Sharif, headquarters of
Nalanda District. Beswak has many ancient sculptures lying unprotected under
the open sky. According to Pandey ji and
other villagers, the village collective of ancient sculptures that had numerous
sculptures until a few years ago has now only few broken
fragments. Pandey ji is aware of the importance of getting these remaining
sculptures secured. He is trying to persuade fellow villagers to create a small
museum with the help of contributions from villagers.
There are more than 500 villages in
Magadha that has ancient remains in the form of mounds and sculptures. It is
practically impossible for the government to protect the mounds in all the
villages. There is an urgent need to create awareness among villagers about the
significance of these mounds and the necessity to protect them.
Google map depicting village Beswak settled over the ancient monastic remains.
Aerial view of the ancient mound, pic 2009, Yves Guichard
Shri Dinanand Pandey in front of the mound. Pic 2011
Sanction letter by DACY of the work
Shri Dinanand Padey with the inspecting team led by the District Magistrate, Nalanda
Buddhist literatures
indicate that in ancient times, the sites associated with the life of Buddha
were linked through well developed routes which were used by devotees to reach
these sacred sites and offer prayers, perform specific rituals and recite
sūtras. In other words, devotees undertook pilgrimages to sacred sites to walk
in the footsteps of the Buddha and have a spiritual experience. IBC is working
to revive the tradition of pilgrimage (Cetiya Cārikā) by organising Dhamma
walks and chantings at these sacred sites. In this regard, in partnership with
the Light of Buddha Dhamma Foundation International (LBDFI), International
Buddhist Confederation (IBC) organised the 4th Dhamma Walk on 13th
December, 2017 from Jeṭhian to Rājgir. The path from Jeṭhian to Rājgir
described for the annual Dhamma Walk was the same route taken by the Buddha on
his first visit to Rājgir following his enlightenment.
Participants
gathering for the 4th Dhamma Walk and 3rd Saṅghadāna at Jeṭhian.
Participants
seated for the Inaugural Session.
The Jeṭhian to Rājgir
Dhamma Walk was held for the first time in December 2013. The walk drew
widespread participation and appreciation of monks and local villagers which motivated
the organisers to facilitate the walk every year thereafter. In the second year
of the walk, the ancient tradition of Saṅghadāna was observed. According to
Buddhist literature, when the Buddha and the Saṅgha stayed in the Jeṭhian
valley, they used to go out every morning to the neighbouring villages with
their alms bowl to collect their food for the day. By offering food to the Saṅgha
, the villagers gained merits and the blessings of the Saṅgha . For the 2nd
Dhamma Walk which was held in 2015, the villagers of Jeṭhian decided to revive
this ancient tradition of Saṅghadāna. In the first Saṅghadāna, about 100 monks
and nuns from different countries and Buddhist traditions went to the homes of
villagers in Jeṭhian to accept food. The monks and nuns appreciated highly the
kindness of the villagers while the villagers felt privileged to able to make
offerings to the devotees and thereby earn merits. The success of the first Saṅghadāna
drew greater participation for the second Saṅghadāna which was held in 2015
during the 3rd Dhamma Walk. The third Saṅghadāna held at this year
Dhamma Walk was partly sponsored by two Buddhist practitioners from Canada,
Jacques Achsen and Bob Jeffs. Based on the advice given by Jacques and Bob, the
villagers very thoughtfully prepared dishes with ingredients available during
Buddha’s time such as barley, rice and Bengal gram. This year’s Saṅghadāna was
a beautiful ceremony like ancient times. Villagers stood at their doorsteps
with food prepared in advance and served them onto the plates and bowls held
out by the monks and nuns walking in a silent queue. Just as the monks and nuns
were touched by the compassion and generosity of the villagers, the villagers
too were moved by the grace and discipline of the monks.
Laypersons
seated on their knees making offerings to monks and nuns lined up for the Saṅghadāna.
Monks walking from home to home collecting food.
A mother and her daughters offering food to a monk outside their home
A man and a woman serving food to monks from traditional copper utensils
A
monk thankfully accepting food from two village girls.
The Saṅghadāna was no less than a festival for the villagers
who cleaned up the village and decorated it with rangolis and flags especially
for the occasion
Village
children making rangolis in the morning of the day of the Saṅghadāna to welcome
devotees and laypersons.
Nuns looking for a place to sit down to have their meals
Chinese
group of monks seated in the porch of a traditional house
offering prayers before starting their meal. Leading the prayers is their
Venerable Master.
Venerable
Lama Lobzang (President of IBC) sitting alongside village while the monks and
nuns had their meals.
Monks
and nuns seated in the courtyard of a house for having their meal
while villagers supply them with water, sweets, fruits, extra plates, and
tissue papers.
Chinese group chqanting before starting their meal.
After the Saṅghadāna,
the monks and nuns gathered for the inaugural session of the Dhamma Walk. As in
previous years, the consisted of addresses from the various organizers and
important dignitaries. This year’s speakers included Dr. Dipankar Lama
(Associate Professor, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara), Ms. Wangmo Dixey (Executive
Secretary, LBDFI), Ven. Lama Lobzang (President, IBC), and Ven. Dhammapiya
(Secretary-General, IBC) along with a few others.
Ms.
Wangmo Dixey (Head of LBDFI) addressing the gathering of monks, nuns and
laypersons at the inaugural session.
Soon after the inaugural
session commenced the pilgrimage walk. This year witnessed the participation of
more than 1000 monks, nuns, eminent masters, laypersons, and locals from
different countries, namely China, Vietnam, Korea, Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand,
Myanmar, Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia. The oldest participants were
monks and nuns over eighty years of age while the youngest ones were devotees
and locals under the age of twenty-five. The wide age group of participation
was a clear reflection of the eagerness of devotees to have the spiritual
experience of walking in the footsteps of Buddha and Master Xuanzang. The
high-spiritedness of the devotees was also evident from the constant chanting
as well as silent praying that went on as long as the walk lasted. The local
villagers happily assisted the participants in completing the 15 km walk by
supplying water throughout the walking trail and looking after those who fell
behind others. The day ended for the participants at Veḷuvana (Bamboo Grove) in
Rājgir where they thanked by organisers for their enthusiasm and energy. The
Dhamma Walk was an extraordinary display of the synthesis of the energy of
local villagers and devotion of monks and nuns.
Monks, nuns, local villagers, and Dhamma enthusiasts walking together
at the 4th Dhamma Walk from Jeṭhian to Rājgir, 13 December, 2017.
Hundreds of monks, nuns and laypersons walking from Jeṭhian to Rājgir
along the path taken by the Buddha on his first visit to Rājgir following his enlightenment
Two
monks walking past a stupa. Such stupas are erected all along the pilgrimage
trail to mark every one kilometer.
Two Chinese nuns walking side-by-side while protecting themselves from the sun and dust.
Foreign tourists walked with equal spirit and enthusiasm alongside monks
and nuns
An
ambulance and four cars filled with water bottles rolled behind participants
throughout the length of the walk
to supply water and pick up those who were falling ill.
A very young monk taking a break during the walk.
Although
the dust along the pilgrimage trail was significant,
it did not break the resolve of participants, both old and young, from
finishing the walk.
A
monk offering refreshments to a lay participant on the walking trail.
Local
village boys volunteering to walk with the devotees and look after those of
them who needed help.
A monk equipped with a camera to capture the beautiful moments of the walk.
Participants jubilating at the finish of the walk.
December 2017 marked the
fourth time of the holding of the Dhamma Walk. The successful organising of the
walk for four consecutive years is a commendable feat given the extent of
arrangements that have to be made at the village of Jeṭhian and along the Jeṭhian-
Rājgir walking trail and the level of communication and coordination required
between organisers, government officials, local villagers and participating
monks and nuns.
On behalf of the organisers of the Dhamma Walk, I thank Shri G C Bhuyan, Director,
India Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for sponsoring 1000 caps
for the participants of the Dhamma Walk. I specially want to mention that
Ms. M. Manimekalai, Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya,
Jeṭhian was constantly in touch, enquiring if we needed any
help. The mobile medical unit from Civil Hospital, Rājgir did a wonderful
job by following the Walk. Last
but not the least; I would like to thank the men, women and children of Jeṭhian, who volunteered their time to help make this event
enjoyable.