There are many important religious sites in the world, but the Mahabodhi Buddhist temple is unique. This place has great religious significance, and it is not surprising that the temple itself is filled with Buddhist artifacts and relics. In addition to the Diamond Throne, there are seven other places in the entire temple complex that are also directly related to the moments of life and the teachings of the Buddha.
After visiting this sacred place for Buddhists, tourists, struck by the beauty and unusual atmosphere of this place, always leave rave reviews,
Buddhism, along with Christianity and Islam, is one of the world religions. Its distribution began during the reign of the ancient emperor Ashoka. Ashoka ruled in the 3rd century BC, he was the ruler of the Maurya Empire, one of the first states that united almost the entire Indian subcontinent. He was also the first Indian emperor to turn to Buddhism and make great efforts to spread religion throughout India.
Temple creator
Ashoka invested a lot of money and resources in the construction of Buddhist temples and shrines on the territory of his empire. In fact, it has been associated with tens of thousands of Buddhist places of worship in India. However, none of them can compete with his first project, the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya. This is one of the most sacred places in all of Buddhism and one of Ashoka's greatest achievements.
The surroundings of Bodhgaya attract yogis and sages from the time of Buddha. Great spiritual figures such as Padmasambhava, Nagarjuna and Atisha meditated under the Bodhi tree.
Buddhism
The history of Buddhism is the history of one person’s spiritual journey to enlightenment, as well as the teachings and ways of life that developed on this basis.
There are several opinions regarding the life of Siddhartha Gautama. Historians date his birth and death around 566-486. BC e., but later studies show that he lived a little later, from about 490 to 410 BC.
He was born into a royal family in the village of Lumbini in modern Nepal, and his privileged position isolated him from life's suffering, such as illness, early aging and death.
Once, having already married and having a child, Siddhartha went outside the royal palace where he lived. When he went outside, he first saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse. This bothered him very much, and he learned that illness, age and death were the inevitable fate of people, a fate that no one could escape.
Siddhartha also saw a monk, and he decided that this was a sign that he should abandon his royal life and live in poverty, striving for holiness. Siddhartha's travels showed him much more suffering. He was looking for a way to avoid the inevitability of death, old age, and disease, first communicating with the monks. But this did not help him in finding an answer.
Siddhartha was confronted by an Indian ascetic who urged him to follow a life of excessive self-denial and discipline. The Buddha also practiced meditation, but came to the conclusion that even the highest meditative states alone were inadequate.
Siddhartha followed the path of extreme asceticism for six years, but this also did not satisfy him; he still has not left the world of suffering. He abandoned the strict life of self-denial and asceticism, but did not return to the luxury of his former life. Instead, he decided to follow the middle path, where there is neither luxury nor poverty.
Enlightenment
Once, sitting under a Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening), Siddhartha plunged deep into meditation and reflected on his life experience, which he decided to penetrate into his truth.
Buddhist legend says that at first the Buddha was happy to live in this state, but Brahma, the king of the gods, requested on behalf of the whole world that he should share his understanding with others.
History of creation
There are four main temples associated with the various stages of the life of the Buddha. The Mahabodhi Temple in India is one of the most significant. According to tradition, it was in this place that the Buddha sat under a tree and meditated, eventually achieving enlightenment and becoming a Buddha. This means that this place is, in fact, the birthplace of Buddhist ideologies and beliefs. Buddhists also believe that this is the center of the whole universe. His strength is such that it will be the last place destroyed at the end of time and the first to be reborn in the new world.
According to legend, Buddha reached enlightenment as early as the VI century BC, which means that this land was almost bare for several centuries before Ashoka appeared. The emperor visited the place and pilgrimage city of Bodhgaya and decided to build a temple and monastery in honor of the Buddha somewhere between 260 and 250 BC. The first thing he built was an elevated platform known as the Diamond Throne, which is said to indicate the exact place where Buddha sat when he reached Enlightenment. Several stupas (Buddhist mounds in the form of temples) were also built on this site.
Reconstruction
However, what can be seen today in the description of the Mahabodhi temple actually refers to a different era. Later, the Indian rulers of the Gupta empire restored the site in the 5th and 6th centuries CE. It was then that towering temples were built, which are a characteristic feature of Mahabodhi. They are designed in the style of Indian architecture of the Gupta period (and not in the style of Buddhist architecture) and feature excellent masonry. The temple was decorated in the Gupta style: the walls were plastered, richly decorated with ornaments with numerous statues of Buddhist figures, reliefs and carvings depicting Buddhist (and Hindu) scenes, as well as other symbols of Buddhism.
After the 12th century AD e. the temple fell into disrepair. Muslims who came to India carried a threat to Buddhism, and he was abandoned. However, the story of the Mahabodhi temple did not end there. It was later restored in the 19th century, after which he again appeared in his former greatness. Today it continues to function as one of the most sacred places of Buddhists, as well as a monument of the architectural and cultural heritage of India. In 2002, it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bodhi tree
The tree that stands today on this site is a descendant of the tree that grew there during the time of the Buddha. Underneath is a platform marking the place where there are Buddha footprints carved from stone. Around the tree are laid out red sandstone tiles. She marks the place where Buddha sat in meditation.
Architecture
In the photo, the Mahabodhi temple always looks like a magnificent building: with shrines for ritual practice and meditation, crowned with a stupa containing relics of Buddha. Inside is a statue of Buddha and Shiva Ling. Hindus believe that Buddha was one of the incarnations of Vishnu; therefore, the Mahabodhi Temple is a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists.
It boasts a spire 52 meters high, which houses a colossal gilded statue of Buddha.
The temple is decorated with friezes depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. Along the northern wall of the temple is Chankramana Chaiti (Precious Way) - the road where the Buddha meditated while walking. There is a lotus pond adjacent to the temple, which is said to be the place where the Buddha performed ablutions.
Built entirely of brick, the Mahabodhi Buddhist Temple in India is one of the earliest shrines that survived the time. The brickwork of the building has become a role model for many subsequent buildings and structures.
Buddha statue
She looks bewitching. Buddha himself sits with his hand down (touching the ground). It is believed that the statue is already 1700 years old. It is located in such a way that Buddha looks east. The Mahabodhi Temple, along with the Bodhi Tree, completes the holy pilgrimage to Bodhgaya.
According to legend, the wanderer promised to create the best statue in the world, if I meet three of its conditions. He asked to leave scented clay and a lamp in the temple. He also asked not to disturb him for six months. Nevertheless, people were impatient and broke the door just four days before the end of the agreed period. They found a beautiful statue, but on one side of the chest the work was not finished. There was no wanderer anywhere.
Appearance
Judging by the style, we can say that the building was first built as a monument, and not as a Buddha sanctuary. Four towers rise in the corners, as if accompanying the main one. On all sides of the temple are surrounded by stone railings of two types, differing in style and material. Older railings are made of sandstone, their origin dates back to about 150 BC. Belonging to the Gupta period (300-600 AD), other railings were made of unpolished coarse granite. The old railing of the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya includes images of Hindu deities, and later ones include images of stupas (reliquaries) and garuda (eagles).
Facts and legends
After the construction of the temple, Emperor Ashoka sent his heirs to Sri Lanka and various parts of India to spread Buddhism. He also sent a seedling from the tree itself to Sri Lanka. When the Muslim invaders destroyed the temple and destroyed that same tree, the seedling from Sri Lanka was returned to Mahabodhi, where a new tree grew from it. The tree gradually leans and is supported by the walls of the temple. This can cause serious damage to the temple, and in the future it is planned to plant a new one.
The temple is one of the few ancient structures built exclusively of brick.
Here you can find many elements that indicate the connection between Hinduism and Buddhism. There are many paintings and sculptures depicting Hindu gods.
Near the tree there is a lotus pond. A lot of stone lotuses are carved in the passage around the pond. It is said that Buddha spent seven weeks here in meditation. He performed walking meditation, going through 18 steps. On the stone lotuses there are footprints of the Buddha.
The main purpose of this building was to protect the Bodhi tree and create a monument. During the restoration, several temples were built, and the monument itself became a temple structure.
In the temple, offerings are often made in the form of garlands of orange lotus flowers.
In the temple itself, in the place where the Buddha sat in thought, there is his statue, which is covered with gold. She is always dressed in a bright orange bathrobe.