Vaiśākha Pujā at the Pipphaligūhā, Rājgir

Vaiśākha Pujā Prayers at the Pipphaligūhā. Venerable Saṅgha led by Ven. Tenzin Ananda

It is so heartwarming to witness Pipphaligūhā (Pipphali Cave), an important Buddhacārikā site on the path to revitalisation. Asian Buddhist Cultural Centre (Bodhgayā) and Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Deemed University, Nālandā) on 24th May 2024 organised the Vaiśākha Pujā offering ceremony at Pipphaligūhā (Pipphali Cave). More than 50 venerable monks from the Mahabodhi Society of India, Banglore and Nava Nalanda Mahavihara offered prayers and chanted Buddhist Suttas.

Pipphaligūhā is a very significant site where the Buddha had an important discourse with Mahākassapa. The cave is situated on Vaibhavagiri Hill, Rājagṛiha (now Rājgir). Many of my readers may not be aware of the fact that Buddha Dhamma was lost in the Indian subcontinent by the turn of the 2nd millennium. All the sacred sites related to the Buddhist pilgrimage ‘in the footsteps of the Buddha’ including Pipphaligūhā were abandoned and gradually turned into ruins. Translation of the travelogues of Buddhist monks, Faxian (Fa Hien, 337-422 CE) and Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang, 602-664 CE), in the early 19th century, revealed the existence of ‘In the footsteps of the Buddha’ pilgrimage (Buddhacārikā) in the Gangetic Plain. Many important sites like Mahābodhi Temple, Shrāvasti, Sārnathā, Lumbinī etc., got revitalised but many lesser-known sites like Pipphaligūhā are still lying under utter neglect.

Pipphaligūhā was in a grim shape, inaccessible, and covered with dense vegetation. Because of ignorance about the significance of the cave, people were using the cave as a garbage dump. After days of work, we got the cave free of garbage and thorny vegetation. We are thankful to the officials of the Forest Department (the Government of Bihar) for their cooperation. 

 

Venerable Saṅgha offering Vaiśākha Pujā Prayers at the Pipphaligūhā. 

Venerable Tenzin Ananda shares the revitalisation journey of the Pipphaligūhā.

Vaiśākha Pujā on 24th May 2024 

Venerable Tenzin Ananda, the Secretary of the Asian Buddhist Cultural Centre (Bodhgaya) took this initiative to facilitate the revival and revitalisation of the Pipphaligūhā. ABCC, Bodhgaya in collaboration with Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Deemed University, Nalanda) conceived the idea of organising the Vaiśākha Pujā on 24th May 2024 at Pipphaligūhā.

Venerable Saṅgha of Mahabodhi Society of India, Banglore and Nava Nalanda Mahavihara offered prayers and chanted Buddhist Suttas.

In Attendance:

1. Ven. Tenzin Ananda, Secretary, ABCC, Bodhgaya.

2. Ven. Kassapa Mahathera, President, Mahabodhi Society of India, Bangalore. 

3. Ven. Geshé Ngawang Tenzin Gyatso, President, International Buddhist Council. 

4. Prof. Rajesh Ranjan, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda.

5. Prof. Dipankar Lama, Head, Department of Tibetan Studies, NNM.

6. Dr. Mukesh Verma, Head, Department of Buddhist Studies, NNM.

7. Miss Penny and Friends, Taiwan.

8. Staff, Scholars and students of NNM.

Significance of Pipphaligūhā

Pipphaligūhā, according to Pali sources, is the place where  Mahākassapa (Mahākashyapa) found shelter for his intense meditation. This cave was called Pipphali after Mahākassapa who was also known by this name. The Buddha stayed at Veḷuvana during his visits to Rājagṛiha and after his one meal for the day, he would walk the path up to Pipphaligūhā. On one such visit, he found Mahākassapa affected with disease and in terrible pain. The Buddha found this time perfect to teach him the seven factors of Awakening. What Buddha preached here is now preserved as Gilana Sutta. 

Identification of Pipphaligūhā

Faxian and Xuanzang mention Pipphali cave as the place where the Buddha often lodged. According to Xuanzang, it was west of hot water springs. A.M. Broadley, sub-divisional magistrate of Bihar (Bihar Sharif) in 1871, cleared this cave. He found: 

…the floor considerably below the surface and was reached by a flight of eight or nine brick steps several of which he uncovered almost entire…the chamber was 36ft from east to west 26ft from north to south. The roof was 18-20ft high. The whole was lined, as it were, by a brick wall about 2ft thick…in midst of the rubbish which filled up the bottom of the cave, I found a very perfect standing figure of the Buddha in black basalt.

Ven. Kassapa Mahathera, Ven. Tenzin Ananda,  Dr Dipankar Lama, Mrs Oplin Lama and Deepak Anand. 

A group of lay followers from Taiwan and Malaysia.

Hon'ble VC Prof. Rajesh Ranjan and Dr Mukesh Verma standing behind the Venerable Saṅgha.

Venerable Monks, Professors, Faculty, Scholars and  Students of NNM.

Buddhacārikā a Living Heritage

My mind is clear that the journey of facilitating the neglected Buddhacārikā sites into living heritage sites is going to be a long-drawn affair.  I am reminded of a beautiful quote by Martin Luther King Jr. (I Have a Dream speech (1963)).

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. 

Vaiśākha Pujā by the venerable Saṅgha at the Pipphaligūhā is the first step towards restoring the sanctity of this sacred site. The cave needs a long-term conservation and protection plan. Most importantly, there is a need to raise awareness among the Buddhist pilgrims and other stakeholders about the site for their effective participation.

Myself standing in front of Pipphaligūhā. Nov 2020.

Pipphaligūhā before clearing the vegetation.

Cleaning of the Pipphaligūhā. May 2024.

Pipphaligūhā ready for the Vaiśākha Pujā, 24th May 2024.

Thanks to Shri Surinder Talwar for proofreading the story.

Thanks to Dr Arun Kumar Yadav, Associate Professor, NNM  for all his support.

Thanks to Shri Manoj Kumar, Telhada for his support.