Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya

The practice

Bodh Gaya, in the Indian state of Bihar, is where Siddhartha Gautama sat under a fig tree through the night and woke as the Buddha, the awakened one. The Mahabodhi Temple marks the spot, and beside it grows a tree descended from the original Bodhi Tree.

How it is kept

Pilgrims from every Buddhist country circle the temple, prostrate on boards along its walkways, offer bowls and robes, and sit in meditation under the tree where room allows. Many visit the wider circuit as well: Sarnath, where the Buddha first taught; Kushinagar, where he died; and Lumbini, where he was born.

What it means

A pilgrimage turns geography into memory. To sit where the Buddha sat is to borrow his resolve for a night of one's own, and pilgrims say the place itself teaches. The four sites together let a traveller walk the whole life in a few weeks.