Lumbini

Lumbini is situated at the foothills of the
Himalayas in modern Nepal. In the Buddha's time, Lumbini was a beautiful
garden full of green and shady Sal trees (Shorea). The garden and its tranquil
environs were owned by both the Shakyas and Kolias clans. King Suddhodana,
father of Gautama Buddha was of the Shakya dynasty belonging to the Kshatriya
or the warrior caste. Maya Devi, his mother, gave birth to the child on her
way to her parent's home in Devadaha while taking rest in Lumbini under a sal
tree in the month of May in the year 642 B.C. The beauty of Lumbini is
described in Pali and Sanskrit literature. Maya Devi it is said was spellbound
to see the natural grandeur of Lumbini. While she was standing, she felt labor
pains and catching hold of a drooping branch of a Sal tree, the baby, the
future Buddha, was born.

The bas relief above
depicts Maya Devi with her
right hand holding on to a branch of a sal tree with a newborn child standing
upright on a lotus petal, shedding an oval halo, around his head, while two
celestial figures pour water and lotuses from vessels of heaven as indicated by
the delineation of clouds. This nativity scene was installed by Malla Kings of
the Naga dynasty from about the 11th to 15th Century in the Karnali zone of
Nepal.

In 249 BC, when the Emperor Ashoka visited
Lumbini it was a flourishing village. Ashoka constructed four stupas and a stone
pillar with a figure of a horse on top. The stone pillar bears an inscription
which, in English translation, runs as follows: "King Piyadasi (Ashoka), beloved
of devas, in the 20 year of the coronation, himself made a royal visit, Buddha
Sakyamuni having been born here, a stone railing was built and a stone pillar
erected to the Bhagavan having been born here, Lumbini village was taxed reduced
and entitled to the

Maya Devi Temple

Lumbini remained neglected for centuries. In
1895, Feuhrer, a famous German archaeologist, discovered the great pillar while
wandering about the foothills of the Churia range. Further exploration and
excavation of the surrounding area revealed the existence of a brick temple and
a sandstone sculpture within the temple itself which depicts the scenes of the
Buddha's birth.

It is pointed out by scholars that the temple of
Maya Devi was constructed over the foundations of more than one earlier temple
or stupa, and that this temple was probably built on an Ashokan stupa itself. On
the south of the Maya Devi temple there is the famous sacred bathing pool known
as Puskarni. It is believed that Maha Devi took a bath in this pool before the
delivery. By the side of the Ashoka pillar there is a river which flows
southeast and is locally called the 'Ol' river. In 1996, an archaeological dig
unearthed a "flawless stone" placed there by the Indian Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC
to mark the precise location of the Buddha's birth more than 2,600 years ago, if
authenticated, the find will put Lumbini even more prominently on the map for
millions of religious pilgrims.

Recently, several beautiful shrines have been
built by devotees from Buddhist countries. A visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of
Buddha, is not only for spiritual enlightenment but also for solace and
satisfaction that one gets in such a calm and peaceful place.

Lumbini is the place where the
Buddha, known as the Tathagata* was born. It is the place which should be
visited and seen by a person of devotion and which should cause awareness and
apprehension of the nature of impermanence.'
*
Tathagata - One who has found the Truth.

The birthplace of the Gautama Buddha, Lumbini, is
the Mecca of every Buddhist, being one of the four holy places of Buddhism. It
is said in the Parinibbana Sutta that Buddha himself identified four places of
future pilgrimage: the sites of his birth, enlightenment, first discourse, and
death. All of these events happened outside in nature under trees. While there
is not any particular significance in this, other than it perhaps explains why
Buddhists have always respected the environment and natural law.

Situated at the Terai plains of the southern Nepal, Lumbini
is the place where Siddhartha Gautam, the Shakya Prince and the ultimate Buddha,
the Enlighted One, was born in 623 BC. The sacred place, marked by a stone
pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka of India in 249 BC, is listed as one of the
World Heritage Sites.

Today the holy site is being developed with international
support as the supreme Buddhist pilgrimage and a symbol of world peace. The
shrines and monastries that many countries have built or are still building
reflect the architectural traditions of the respective countries, and thus
giving Lumbini an international feel with a message of universal friendship and
brotherhood.

About 30km east of Lumbini is the village of Tilaurakot
which is believed to have been the location of the Kapilvastu royal palace where
the Buddha grew up as the Shakya dynasty prince, until he renounced it at the
age of 29 in search of enlightenment.

Of Interest

The main attraction at Lumbini remains the Sacred Garden,
which is spread over 8 sq.km and possesses all the treasures of the historic
area. Today as part of the global initiative to promote Lumbini, many countries
have built or are building temples, monastries or stupas near the Sacred Garden
in the International Monastery Zone. Temples or shrines that have finished their
construction so far are Myanmar Temple, International Gautami Nuns Temple, China
Temple, The Nepal Buddha Temple and the Dharma Swami Maharaja Buddha Vihara.

Ashoka pillar, carrying an inscription identifying the
holy site as the birthplace, is situated nearby the Sacred Garden. To one side
of Ashoka pillar is the Mayadevi Temple which houses a bas relief
depicting the nativity. Recent excavations have turned up a stone bearing a
"foot imprint", indicating the exact place of birth. The Puskarni pond,
where Queen Mayadevi, the Buddha's mother, had taken a bath before giving birth
to him lies to the south of the pillar. Kushinagar is the place where
Lord Buddha passed into Mahaparinirvana. Here are a lot of chaityas, stupas and
viharas to see. The Muktabandhana stupa is believed to have been built by Malla
dynasty to preserve the temporal relics of Lord Buddha. A smaller shrine nearby
contains a reclining Buddha which was brought from Mathura by the monk Haribala.
Bodhgaya is the place where Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree under
which Buddha attained wisdom is called the Bodhi tree, while the temple marking
the sacred spot is known as Mahabodhi temple.

There are also three museums in Lumbini.

The Lumbini Museum, located in the Cultural Zone, contains Mauryan and
Kushana coins, religious manuscripts, terra-cotta fragments, and stone and metal
sculptures. It also possesses an extensive collection of stamps from various
countries depicting Lumbini and the Buddha.

Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), located opposite the
Lumbini Museum, provides research facilities for the study of Buddhism and
religion in general. Run jointly by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) and the
Reiyukai of Japan, LIRI contains some 12,000 books on religion, philosophy, art
and architecture.

Kapilvastu Museum is situated 27 km west of Lumbini in the village of
Tilaurakot. The museum holds coins, pottery and toys dating between the seventh
century BC and fourth century AD. The museum also has good collection of
jwellery and other ornaments of that period.

Getting there and around

Buses run regulary after every hour or so from morning six o'
clock to afternoon five o' clock to Lumbini from Bhairawa, an industrial town
situated 284 km to the southeast of Lumbini. They are crowded and slow: it
almost takes an hour for the 22km trip.

You can hire a cab for the day for about US$15. The cost may sound little bit
expensive, but it's worth spending if you are travelling in a small group. The
other option is you can hire a three-wheeler tempo for about half the price.

You can also take a 45-minute flight from Kathmandu to Gautam
Buddha Airport at Bhairawa: there are five flights a week for US$75.

Depending on how long you want to stay in Lumbini, a bicycle
or hiring a rickshaw would be nice to go around but not necessary (expecially
for the fact that one cannot find a bike for rent easily).

Accommodation

Many just make a day trip to Lumbini from neighboring towns
of Butwal, Bhairawa or Sunauli. But if you want to stay in the area, the
peaceful environment of Lumbini is certainly better than those towns. The
Lumbini Hokke Hotel is a spotlessly clean excellent Japanese style hotel for a
rather steep price (US$80 up). The Sri-Lankan Pilgrims' Rest House is a more
modest living place for about US$10; it is a little distance away from the main
center of Lumbini though. The Lumbini Village Lodge is closer and provides rooms
for a few dollar less, but the rooms are very basic at best.

Dining

There is very little choice. There is only one restaurant,
the Lumbini Garden Restaurant, which is about ten minutes walk from the center.
The Lumbini Hokke Hotel (fairly expensive) and The Sri Lankan Pilgrim' Rest
House (very basic menu) are the only other choices.