"Bhikkhus, after my passing away, all sons and daughters who are of good family and are faithful should as long as they live, go to the four holy places and remember:

• Here at Lumbini, the enlightened one was born;

• here at Bodh Gaya he attained enlightenment,

• here at Sarnath he turned the wheel of Dharma; and

• there at Kushinagar he entered Parinirvana.

Bhikkhus, after my passing away there will be activities such as circumambulation of these places and reverence to them. Thus it should be told to them for they, who have faith in my deeds and awareness of their own, will travel to higher states. After my passing away, the new Bhikkhus who come and ask of the doctrine should be told of these four places and advised that a pilgrimage to them will help purify their previously accumulated Karmas or actions.. "And whoever, Ananda, should die on such a pilgrimage with his heart established in faith, at the breaking up of the body, after death, will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness."

Lord Buddha
Digha Nikaya 16, Maha-Parinibbana Sutta

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Religious Significance
(extracted from Buddhist Pilgrimage, by Bro Chan Khoon San)

Mental Aspects of a Pilgrimage

 

a) Faith and Reverence

For the majority of Buddhists, going on a pilgrimage to the holy places mentioned by the Buddha, is a once-a-lifetime undertak­ing. With so much time, money and effort involved, it behoves the intending pilgrim to truly understand what a pilgrimage is all about, especially the mental aspect, since the physical part is normally taken care of by a travel company. A pilgrimage is a jour­ney to a sacred place as an act of devotion and faith. In the scrip­tures, faith or saddha is the professing of confidence in and the sense of assurance based on understanding that one places on the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. It is not the blind belief based on wrong view. As ignorance is the leader of immoral mental states, so saddha is the leader of moral mental states because its chief characteristic is the purification of the mind.

Thus the pilgrim is not an ordinary tourist who travels for the pleas­ure of sightseeing and enjoyment. Unlike sensual delights, the sight of the holy shrines does not arouse craving but acts as a condition for wholesome mental states to arise in the pilgrim’s mind. The Buddha himself advised us to visit those places where he was born, where he attained Enlightenment, where he preached the First Sermon and where he passed away into Mahaparinibbana, and look upon them with feelings of reverence. By showing veneration or reverence at the holy shrines, one is able to purify one’s thought, speech and action. In this way, the pilgrim is endowed with the morality of Right Thought, Right Speech and Right Action. So we can see that visiting the places of pilgrimage with the correct men­tal attitude can help us in our practice of the Buddha’s Teaching. According to the great commentator, Ven. Buddhaghosa, the posi­tive feeling produced by seeing these sites is the religious excitement or the sense of urgency they produce. Another commentator, Ven. Dhammapala, explained that this sense of urgency means the mind possesses the knowledge that one should shrink from doing wrong, namely, the knowledge of morality.

b) Four Bases of Success

Like all meritorious actions (punna kiriya), the potency of one’s volition depends on the intensity of the four bases of success (iddhipada), namely: desire-to-do (chanda), mind (citta), effort (viriya) and knowledge (vimansa). It is superior, medium or inferior when these four bases are strong, medium or weak respectively. A strong desire stems from one’s devotion to undertake a pilgrimage in order to heed the Buddha’s advice. When the mind or will is strong, it is not easily distracted from its objective, nor discouraged by the rigours of the journey. Effort means the energy to undertake the journey, which in olden days meant travelling long distances on land, sea or across desert. Nowadays travelling by plane and air-conditioned bus is easier and faster, but preparations are essential, especially finding out the significance of each holy shrine. With this knowledge, one is able to associate each place with a certain event in the Buddha’s life and form a mental picture to condition the arising of wholesome mental states when visiting that place. This success comes from one’s prior effort in preparing for the pilgrim­age. All these ingredients were present in the hearts of the Chinese pilgrims, Fa Hsien, Hsüan Tsang, I-Ching and many others, when they embarked on their journey to India centuries ago.

c) Development of the Perfections (Paramis)

The second aspect of a pilgrimage is that it is also an act of renunciation whereby the pilgrim does not crave for luxury but is contented with simple, clean accommodation, food and transport. This non-greed state of mind enables one to endure any discom­fort without complaint but with patience and loving-kindness. In the course of visiting the sacred places, one feels that one is in the Master’s presence and this fullness of faith conduces to joy and the observance of morality, the foundation of all merit. Many pil­grims take the opportunity to bring with them requisites to per­form dana out of reverence and gratitude to the Sangha, who take care of the holy places. The holy shrines are also conducive places for pilgrims to reflect on the Buddha’s virtues and practise mind­fulness to develop wisdom. These are various practices by which one can show veneration at the holy shrines or cetiyas in addition to the normal acts of devotion like the offering of flowers, lights, incense, and worship (puja). In the course of the pilgrimage, one can arouse many wholesome factors that cause one’s volition to become superior and lead to the accumulation of superior whole­some kamma. Indeed, one can develop the Perfections (Paramis) and earn much merit when going on a pilgrimage. But it should not end when one has returned home. After the journey is over, one should always try to recollect the joyful moments spent at holy places to keep them vivid in one’s memory. Such recollec­tion is productive of joy and is a skillful means of re-enforcing one’s good kamma already acquired. In times of sickness, fear and worry, or sorrow, one can easily dispel these negative mental states by rejoicing in one’s wholesome actions during the pilgrimage.

 

d) Buddhist Fellowship

Fellowship means a community of interest involving regular meetings, the sharing of responsibilities and good friendship for mutual support. This aspect of Buddhist fellowship is important in order to encourage and help one another in the practice of the Buddha’s Teachings and strengthen our faith in times of trial and tribulation. A pilgrimage in a group to the Eight Great Places is one of the best ways to cultivate Buddhist fellowship. Over the two weeks or so of the journey, members of the group will have the opportunity to interact closely and get to know each other well under conditions whereby loving-kindness, appreciative joy, generosity and faith prevail. The bonds of comradeship formed through the performance of meritorious actions together will endure long after the pilgrimage is over and members will cherish fond memories of each other whenever they recollect the happy moments spent at the holy places. A journey to the Eight Great Places with fellow Buddhists united by faith and piety is true Buddhist fellowship and a wonderful way of forging friendship.

Eight Great Places of Pilgrimage

In answer to Venerable Ananda’s concern that the monks would no longer be able to see the Buddha and pay their respects after His Mahaparinibbana, Lord Buddha mentioned four places which a pious disciple should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence. What are the four?

a) Lumbini: “Here the Tathagata was born! This, Ananda, is a place that a pious man should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.”

b) Buddhagaya: “Here the Tathagata became fully enlightened, in unsurpassed, Supreme Enlightenment! This, Ananda, is a place that a pious man should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.”

c) Sarnath: “Here the Tathagata set rolling the unexcelled Wheel of the Law! This, Ananda, is a place that a pious man should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence.”

d) Kusinara: “Here the Tathagata passed away into Nibbana wherein the elements of clinging do not arise! This, Ananda, is a place that a pious man should visit and look upon with feel­ings of reverence.”

 

“And whosoever, Ananda, should die on such a pilgrimage, with his heart established in faith, he at the breaking up of the body, after death, will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness.”

Mahaparinibbana Sutta

The four other sacred sites are the places sanctified by the Buddha and scenes of four principal miracles that He performed, namely:

e) Savatthi, where the Buddha performed the Twin Miracle to silence the heretics, after which He ascended to Tavatimsa Heaven to preach to His mother.

f) Sankasia, where the Buddha descended from Tavatimsa Heaven accompanied by Brahma and Sakka, after preaching to His mother and the devas for three months.

g) Rajagaha, where the Buddha tamed the drunken elephant, Nalagiri.

h) Vesali, where a band of monkeys dug a pond for the Buddha’s use and offered Him a bowl of honey.

Together, they make the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage. Of the eight, seven are in India while the eighth, the Buddha’s birthplace, Lumbini, is in Nepal. According to the Buddhavamsa Commentary, for all Buddhas there are four places that do not vary or are unalterable, namely:

(i) the seat of Enlightenment (Bodhi pallanka) at Bodhgaya,

(ii) the turning of the wheel of Dhamma in Deer Park, Isipatana at Sarnath,

(iii) the placing of the first footstep at the gate of the city of Sankasia at the Descent from Heaven,

(iv) the placement of the four legs of the bed in the Perfumed Chamber (Gandhakuti) at Jetavana in Savatthi.

The four unalterable places of all Buddhas are included in the Eight Great Places of Pilgrimage.

Note: The names of some of the places mentioned in the Pali scriptures are no longer used in India. Their modern names are in parentheses: Buddhagaya (Bodhgaya), Kusinara (Kushinagar), Rajagaha (Rajgir), Savatthi (Sravasti) and Vesali (Vaishali).