May 2, 2012

• Learning from Buddha at Sarnath

  

  When last we left our heroes, they were just setting off on a midnight train to anywhere   Georgia Varanasi, city of KNowledge. We arrived safely and met our guide for the area, who was the Indian Version of Bernie Mac. He was also chock full of information about the city

  

  The name Varanasi has its origin from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganges bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Assi. It is A city renowned in India for its learning, philosophy and music.

  

  Also its hordes of zombies begging children  and rampant poverty.

  

  Our first stop was actually a side trip to Sarnath. Sarnath, from Saranganath, means “Lord of the Deer” and relates to an old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill. The king is so moved that he creates the park as a sanctuary for deer. The park is still there today.

  

  It is also the site where Buddha gave his first sermon after becoming enlightened. As if that was not impressive enough to mark this as a place of historical and religious significance, Buddha remained here through the rainy season and founded an entire college

  

  This and more are the remains of living quarters, classrooms, and meditative temples where for hundreds of years Buddhist monks came to learnt he dharma and train under the guidance of either Buddha himself or one of his 5 disciples

  

  

  The Dhamek Stupa, pictured above is built over the exact site where Buddha was said to have given his first sermon, the eightfold path of nirvana. Stupas are built to commerate important places or events, and many are claimed to have relics (bones or other bits of human remains from holy figures) buried under them, although the sheer number of stupas you will see in this vacation alone would indicate that it is probably more a matter of faith than fact

  

  The Temple first pictured was built much later to commemorate the site and remains an important pilgrimage location for Buddhists of all countries. The inside is filled with murals depicting the entire life and death of Budda, such as above where he came across four figures who would lead him to enlightment an old man, a poor man, a dying man, and a sick man

  

  Lord Buddha in all his glory.

  A Brief jaunt across the street to the Sarnath Archaelogical museum revealed the Ashokan Pillar, sandstone polished to the quality of marble, a national emblem of India, and found on all its money

  

  Leaving behind Sarnath, we returned to Varanasi for some light reading, ice cream, and drinks

  

  including some Shirley’s Tample

  

  Rajbhog ice cream

  

  and humorous ly named authors.

  

  Finishing just in time to observe the evening Fire Aarti of Varnasi with hundreds, if not thousands of other tourists and pilgrims. But more on that to come…

   

  • 2:26 pm
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