Text/Mu Mu
Photo: Review-crab roe rice, production-seven
Audio: Narration - Mu Mu, Production - Saian
Cover image: Shutterstock
Speaking of Buddha, many people will immediately think of the Buddha Rulai in Journey to the West, the magic power is boundless, and the finger will press Sun Wukong under the Five Elements Mountain, of course, this is only a fictional plot in the novel, but Buddhism as a world religion that has a profound impact on Chinese history, its founder - Buddha, in reality, has its prototype.
Buddhism's founder Shakyamuni is a real historical figure, formerly known as Gautama Siddartha, originally a prince of Kapilavastu (present-day Nepal), after founding Buddhism, he was revered as Buddha by later generations, and his birthplace, Lumbini (present-day Nepal), is now listed as a world cultural heritage and is a holy place for Buddhists around the world.
Lumbini
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In the 6th century BC, there was a Kapila kingdom in the northwest of ancient India, and the king was a Shakya people, and people called him the King of Pure Rice. His queen was Mahamaya, the daughter of King Suprabuddha of the neighboring city of Tenji.
Legend has it that King Johan married Queen Maya for many years and did not have children until they were middle-aged, and once Queen Maya dreamed that a white elephant entered her womb, and the queen became pregnant.
According to local tradition, women return to their mother's home for the first time when they give birth. In 565 BC (one of the theories of the birth of the Buddha, known as Northern Buddhism), Queen Maya, who was about to give birth, set off from the palace of King Kapilavi and returned to her mother's home Tianjian City, passing through the Lumbini Garden, Queen Maya got off the car to bathe and rest. After bathing, she climbed the branch of a carefree tree with her right hand, and at this time, the little prince was born.
Nepalese painter Mukti Singh Thapa's work depicts the birth of Prince Shakya, depicting Queen Maya grasping a branch with her right hand and stepping on a lotus flower at the feet of the newborn little prince
图：Mukti Singh Thapa
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The little prince was named Gautama Siddhartha, and the wise men of the time predicted that the prince would grow up to become a powerful ruler or spiritual leader. Sure enough, when the prince was 35 years old, he finally had an epiphany under the Bodhi tree and created Buddhist doctrines, because he was a Shakyamuni, so his followers honored him as "Shakyamuni", which means "the sage of the Shakya tribe", and later generations called him Buddha.
In the Lumbini Garden, where Shakyamuni was born, countless Buddhists have made pilgrimages for more than 2,000 years.
Statue of Prince Shakya in Lumbini Garden
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Lumbini Garden
Lumbini is located in the southwestern part of Nepal, right next to Uttar Pradesh, India. Since this is the birthplace of the Buddha, Buddhists have been making pilgrimages since BC, and temples and stupas have been built here to commemorate it. Today, many remains of ancient Buddhist architecture can still be seen, making Lumbini a world-famous religious shrine.
Legend has it that the white Maya Temple, where Buddha was born, is surrounded by foundations of ancient temples and stupas built around the 5th to 3rd centuries BC for pilgrims
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In 403 AD, the Chinese Jin Dynasty monk Fa Xian made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and wrote the book "The Kingdom of Buddha", which records his sightings in Lumbini, mentions the carefree tree where the Buddha was born, and the pool where Queen Maya bathed. Around 636 AD, the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang went to India to obtain scriptures, and also made a special trip to Lumbini to pay homage, and his book "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" also recorded in detail the scene of Lumbini Garden at that time, which mentioned the withered carefree tree, the pool where the queen bathed, and the nearby temple monuments.
Carefree tree
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By the 19th century, due to the long war, there were very few Buddhists who came to Lumbini for pilgrimage, and the Lumbini Garden was gradually abandoned. In 1857, a large-scale revolt against British colonial rule broke out in various parts of India, and the Nepalese government sent troops to help the British army suppress the Indian movement, so the British transferred part of the Indian territory near Nepal to Nepal, and Lumbini was included in Nepal. I am afraid that Buddha did not expect that more than 2,000 years later, he would be changed his nationality.
Later, according to the records of two Chinese monks, Xuanzang and Fa Xian, archaeologists excavated the ruins of ancient monasteries in Lumbini, as well as precious cultural relics such as shrines and stone pillars of Ashoka. These artifacts prove that although the story of the birth of Buddha has a mythological component, Shakyamuni is not a fictional character, but a real one.
The statue of Xuanzang in Lumbini, the records of Fa Xian and Xuanzang, have helped archaeologists find many important archaeological sites in Lumbini
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Nowadays, as a world-recognized Buddhist holy place, Buddhists have begun to flock to pilgrimage endlessly, and many countries are building monasteries in Lumbini, and Lumbini has become a desirable Buddhist holy garden. When India saw this scene, it was very uncomfortable, after all, this land was carved out during the British colonial period, how can it bear this breath? As a result, India and Nepal fought again over this land, and Nepal refused to give in, and the two sides repeatedly disputed this.
Maya Temple
The most famous building in Lumbini is the white Maya Temple, where archaeologists have excavated a stone slab with an "imprint" under the main hall of Maya Temple. According to research, the location of the stone slab is the birthplace of the Buddha, and in order to protect this monument, the Maya Temple was built here.
Maya Temple
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Maya Temple is a huge white square building, and inside the temple are the foundations of some architectural ruins, which have been protected because they are recognized as the birthplace of Buddha, the most important of which is the stone slab that marks the "birthplace of Buddha".
Inside the Maya Temple
Figure: francetvinfo.fr
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People line up to see where Buddha was born
Figure: discover.hubpages.com
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The marker stone of the birthplace of the Buddha
Figure: discover.hubpages.com
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On the south side of Maya Temple, there is a pond with clear and transparent water. According to Buddhist legend, Queen Maya bathed in this pond full of lotus flowers after giving birth to her son, and Xuanzang described in his book as "clarifying the mirror and filled with flowers", which was originally oval in shape and later transformed into a brick rectangle.
There is a huge Bodhi tree growing by the pond, which both Fa Xian and Xuanzang mentioned in their books, and Xuanzang described this tree: "There is a carefree tree, now it is withered, the place where the bodhisattva's spirit was born." "Today, this huge linden tree by the pond, although not necessarily the original tree, grows extremely luxuriantly and shaded, and pilgrims often meditate under the tree.
Rectangular pool water
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Ashoka Pillars
On the north side of the Maya Temple, there is a huge stone pillar, this stone pillar is the famous Ashoka Pillar, which was erected by Ashoka of the ancient Indian Mauryan Dynasty.
Ashoka Pillar
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Scene of Ashoka's pilgrimage to Lumbini
Nepalese painter Hari Prasad Sharma's work depicts Ashoka's pilgrimage to Lumbini as he watches craftsmen install horse statues on top of stone pillars
Figure: lumbinimuseum.org
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Ashoka became a devout Buddhist after expanding his territory, and around 249 BC, Ashoka led many monks and ministers to Lumbini on a pilgrimage and erected a stone pillar to commemorate it, with a Brahmi inscription on the stone pillar.
Brahmi inscription on the stone pillar of Ashoka
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Figure: worldhistory.org
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According to archaeological research, at the top of Ashoka's stone pillar, there was originally a beautifully carved horse statue, and the rear stone pillar was struck by lightning, broken in two, and the horse statue on it has been lost. Xuanzang mentioned this in his travelogue, "The statue of the horse is built by the king of carefree." Later, the evil dragon thunderbolt (struck by lightning), whose pillar broke into the ground. It was according to Xuanzang's account that archaeologists were able to unearth the Ashoka pillar that had been struck down by lightning and buried in the ground in 1896, and determined the birthplace of Shakyamuni.
Photo of the Ashoka Pillar when it was discovered
图：British Library
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Buddhist monasteries
In Lumbini Garden, in addition to the Buddhist monuments dating back more than 2,000 years, there is also a temple area of different styles, which were built here by Buddhist organizations all over the world to pay homage to the Buddha. At present, many countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, France, Germany, and Sri Lanka have built temples in Lumbini Garden, each with its own unique characteristics and representing the architectural style of their own countries.
Lumbini Garden gate
Figure: Wiki
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These monasteries of different styles are located on both sides of the river on the central axis of the park, and the western temple area on the west bank is a Mahayana Buddhist monastery, and they are distributed on the west bank of the river starting from the fire of peace on the north side of the Maya Temple.
Eternal flame of peace
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Swipe up and down to see
Map of Lumbini Garden
Figure: blogs.ubc.ca
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The main buildings in the West Temple Area are the Chinese Temple, the Korean Temple, the Vietnamese Temple, the Austrian Temple, the French Temple, and the German Temple. One of the more striking is the Chinese Temple.
Zhonghua Temple is an ancient Chinese palace-style architectural style, built in 1998, the temple has a large hall, Zen room and other buildings, magnificent, the Zen room inside can be used for pilgrims to live.
Zhonghua Temple
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Next to the Chung Hwa Temple is the Korean Temple, which is also quite spectacular and is typical of Korean architecture.
Hankoji Temple
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German Temple
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Austrian Temple
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A temple area built along the river
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The East Temple Area is a temple of Theravada Buddhism, mainly including Burmese temple, Sri Lankan temple, Thai temple, Cambodian temple, etc. Most impressive is the Thai temple, which is made of white marble and has a unique shape that resembles a fairytale castle.
Thai Temple
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Burmese temple
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Cambodian Temple
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Japan Peace Tower
Unlike other countries, the Buddhist building built in Lumbini in Japan is not a temple, but a white peace pagoda that reflects the blue sky and looks very grand. The Japanese Peace Pagoda is located at the northern end of the central axis of Lumbini Garden, opposite the Maya Temple at the southern end, one south and one north, about three kilometers apart.
Japan Peace Tower
Figure: Wiki
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From the Japanese Peace Pagoda, you can see the Maya Temple at the southern end along the central axis
Figure: visitworldheritage.com
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Swipe left and right to view
Floor plan map of Lumbini Garden
图：THE LUMBINI MUSEUM
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Aerial view
图：THE LUMBINI MUSEUM
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There is a large wetland near the Peace Pagoda of Japan that is part of the Lumbini Crane Sanctuary, which is home to many red-necked cranes (Sarus cranes) and is the natural habitat of red-necked cranes.
Red-necked crane in Lumbini Garden
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The most important Buddhist celebration in Lumbini is the annual Buddha Jayanti (Buddha Jayanti), which takes place in late January (May of the Gregorian calendar). During the festival, Lumbini holds grand celebrations, where monks chant prayers, bathe the Buddha's body, and parade the Buddha statue on a lavishly decorated wooden wheeler, where Buddhists from all over the world gather for the event.
In 2019, then Nepalese Prime Minister Oli attended the Buddha's Birthday celebration in Lumbini
Figure: samratgroup.org
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Many people who have been to Lumbini feel that Lumbini Garden seems to have a special spiritual energy that can calm the impetuous mind. Therefore, every year, thousands of people, thousands of miles away, travel long distances, come here from all corners of the world, find a monastery they like to live in, sit under the Bodhi tree every day, by the lotus pond, away from the prosperity of the world, and the company of idle clouds and wild cranes, meditate and meditate, is it not also a kind of life practice?
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