Buddhist pilgrimage sites

Buddha's Holy Sites

The Four Main Sites Bodh Gaya Kushinagar Lumbini Sarnath

Four Additional Sites Rajgir Sankissa Shravasti Vaishali

Other Sites Ajanta Amaravati Barabar Caves Bharhut Chandavaram Devdaha Ellora Caves Kapilavastu Kesaria Stupa Kosambi Lalitgiri Mathura Nalanda Nasik Pataliputra Pāvā Piprahwa Pushpagiri Ramagrama stupa Ratnagiri Sanchi Udayagiri Tilaurakot Varanasi Vikramashila

v t e

The most important places in Buddhism are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of southern Nepal and northern India. This is the area where Gautama Buddha was born, lived, and taught, and the main sites connected to his life are now important places of pilgrimage for both Buddhists and Hindus. Many countries that are or were predominantly Buddhist have shrines and places which can be visited as a pilgrimage.

Gautama Buddha himself had identified the following four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, observing that these would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency:[1]

• Taulihawa, Lumbini, Nepal
  ) is the most important religious site and place of pilgrimages for Buddhism. It is also approved by UNESCO for World Heritage sites as most holy place for Buddhism and world religions.
• Bodhi Tree where Prince Siddhārtha attained enlightenment (Nibbana) and became known as Gautama Buddha.^[2]
• Isipathana, Uttar Pradesh, India) where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), and He taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path
  .
• Kuśinagara: (now Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India) where Gautama Buddha died and attained Parinirvana
  .

The Eight Great Places of pilgrimage

Buddhist devotional practices
Devotional
Offerings Prostration Merit-making Taking refuge Chanting / Music Pūja
Holidays
Buddha's Birthday Vesak Ghost Festival Uposatha Kaṭhina
Precepts
Five Precepts Eight Precepts Bodhisattva vow Bodhisattva Precepts
Other
Meditation Giving Texts Pilgrimage Fasting
v t e

In addition the four sites mentioned earlier (Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar), the Buddhist texts later written by Buddha's followers also mention four more sacred sites where a certain miraculous event is reported to have occurred, thus completing the list of "Attha-mahathanani" (Pali for "The Eight Great Places") in India:^[3]

• Nalanda
  nearby (14 km), a major center of Mahayana Buddhist learning.
• Vaishali: Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India.
• Sravasti: Place of the Twin Miracle
  , showing his supernatural abilities in performance of miracles. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, being a major city in ancient India.
• Abhidhamma
  ).

Some other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of

• Nagarjuna Konda
• Vikramshila
• Mahasatipatthana sutta),.^[4][5] Kurukshetra Stupa, Topra, Srughna (Sugh Stupa) and Chaneti Stupa were all visited by the Buddha where he gave discourse after visiting Mathura he travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana
  ).
• Sanchi
• Mathura, Pāvā (Fazilnagar, Varanasi

• Uttar Pradesh-Haryana travel route of Buddha
  • From Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Buddha travelled along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana (also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Haryana).
  • Mahasatipatthana sutta),.^[4][5]
  • Kurukshetra Stupa on the banks of sacred Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city
  • Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of Ashoka's edicts including largest Ashoka Chakra in the world
  • Srughna, now known as the Sugh Ancient Mound, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city
  • Chaneti Stupa, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city

Other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage in various countries include:

• Gangtey Monastery, Gomphu Kora, Chagri Dorjeden Monastery, Dzongdrakha Monastery, Phajoding Monastery, Aja Nye
• Silver Pagoda, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom
• Jiǔhuá Shān
  (九华山).

• Ellora, Ajanta, also see Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India
• Sewu
  .
• Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage
• Laos: Luang Prabang
• Malaysia: Kek Lok Si, Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields
• Myanmar: Shwedagon Pagoda, Mahamuni Buddha Temple, Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, Bagan, Sagaing Hill, Mandalay Hill
• Amarbayasgalant Khiid, Shankh Monastery
• Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, Kapilavastu
• Pakistan: Gandhara, most notably Taxila and Swat.
• Sri Pada (the Solosmasthana
  Lewenth places'),
• North Korea: Pohyonsa, Anguksa, Jangansa
• Three Jewel Temples
• Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Phutthabat, Wat Phra Thaen Dong Rang (Buddha Death bed), Chedi Phukhao Thong, Phra Pathommachedi
• Lake Nam-tso
  .
• United States of America: City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
• Hương Pagoda, Mount Yen Tu

• Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India
• Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal
• Shikoku Pilgrimage, Eighty-eight Temples pilgrimage in the Shikoku island, Japan
• Japan 100 Kannon Pilgrimage, pilgrimage circuit that is composed of three independent pilgrimages (Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu), consist of one hundred Temples.
• Parikrama
• Yatra