Lumbin is the place where Prince Siddhartha (known as Buddha) was born, It is said that here the newly born Prince look his first seven steps and uttered an epoch-making message to the suffering humanity, This happened in a beautiful sal grove, which is now the focal point of the Lumbini Garden area. Maya Devi, the queen of Shakya King Suddhodhana of Kapilvastu, while passing through the Lumbini Garden, on the day of "Vaisakha Poornima" (Full Moon Day of May 623 B.C.) took a bath in the Pushkarini (the Sacred Pond) and soon after she took support of a tree branch, then gave birth to the Crown Prince Siddhartha, who became Buddha. The Lumbini Garden covers an area of 1 x 3 sq. miles (2.56 sq. km) and encompasses three zones each covering one square mile connected with walkways and a canal. The area has a sub tropical monsoon climate with a warm wet season.
GREAT SIGNS
TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA
Siddhartha realized that life is full of sorrows-birth is sorrow. Death is sorrow, meeting with unpleasant thing is sorrow, parting with pleasant thing is sorrow, every wish unfulfilled is sorrow. But the turning point of his life came when he saw the four great signs that profoundly shook him from deep within.
He saw a an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic. He saw an old man and understood the futility of youth; he saw sick man and realized the transitoriness of health; he saw a funeral procession- the wailing and crying of the relatives of the deceased and reflected that such life has no significance whose end is so tragic; and finally he saw a wandering ascetic who had given up the world and looked contented and at peace with himself and the world. "I shall be like him." Siddhartha thought.
RENUNCIATION
One fine night when everyone was asleep he bid a silent farewell to his wife and son at the age of 29. He mounted his horse and set out of his palace in search of truth. He cut his long hair and donned the robe of an ascetic and for six years he practiced severe asceticism thinking this would lead him to enlightenment. He sat in meditation and ate only roots. leaves and fruit. At times he ate nothing. He could endure more hardships than anyone else, but this did not take him anywhere. He thought, "Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to freedom. Overdoing things cannot lead to happiness. He studied with the most famous sages, but still he did not find an end to suffering. He joined a group of men who believed enlightenment could be found by denying the body nourishment and sleep, thereby mastering pain. For years the prince ate and slept very little. He grew as thin as a skeleton, however, he did not waver from his practices.
Finally, he realized that he was getting nowhere. Though he had neglected his bodily needs, he had not found an end to the suffering. Thus, when a young woman came to him offering food, he accepted and regained his strength and started meditating until he could ultimately find enlightenment as he sat under a Bodhitree in deep meditation.
ENLIGHTENMENT
On a full-moon day in May, he sat under the Bodhitree in deep meditation and said. "I will not leave this spot until i find an end to suffering." During the night, he was visited by Mare, the one, who tried tempt him away from his virtuous path. First he sent his beautiful daughters to lure Siddhartha into temptation Next he sent bolts of lightning, wind and heavy rain, Lant he sent his demonic armies with weapons and flaming rocks Siddhartha, concentrating on his goal, one by one, met the armies and defeated them with his virtue.
As the struggle ended, he realized the cause of suffering and how to remove it. He had gained the most supreme wisdom and understood things as they truly are. He became the Buddha, The Awakened One. From then on, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha.
Buddha elucidated the Four Noble Truths in his first sermon. given at the Deer Park in Sarnath that the world is full of sufferings, there is a cause to every suffering, suffering can be ceased or greatly reduced and the ultimate goal for attainment is Enlightenment which can be realized by following the noble eight-fold path.
NOBLE EIGHT FOLD PATH
As per Buddha's teachings by following the noble eight-fold path the cause of the sufferings can be ascertained, the letters of the mind be broken and the path of liberation be achieved. The stages of the eight-fold path are Right Views, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Meditation and Right Mindfulness. He stressed on the Middle Path as embodied in the noble eight-fold path shunning either extreme asceticism or indulgences in the desire of the body.
The way of Buddha is selfless service to humanity through the path of compassion. He kept silence on the existence of God and taught that all phenomena, including beings, are in a constant state of flux - always changing, always becoming always dying and each thought-moment conditions the next thought-moment. When the bodies die the so-called being have within themselves the power to regenerate and take a new form.
He also believed that through the power of meditation, it is possible to see things as they are and get freedom from the fetters of the mind which is the root cause of all the sufferings in the world.
The history of Lumbini was re-established with the visit of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who made a pilgrimage in 249 B.C. and erected a stone pillar bearing an inscription stating "Hida Budhe Jate Shakyamuniti", which means that Shakyamuni Buddha was born here. After his visit structural activities started to mark the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. He worshipped the nativity tree, the bathing pond and also visited other surrounding historical sites such as Kapilavastu, Ramagrama and Niglihawa.
Later on, three famous Chinese pilgrims - Tseng Tsai (4" century A.D.), Fa-Hien (5 century A.D.) and Hiuen Tsang (7 century A.D.) visited Lumbini. Hiuen Tsang's travel account gives a detailed description of the area, including the Ashoka Pillar horse carved on the top of it. King Ripu Malla (1312 A.D.) of Karnali, marked his visit by an engraving on the Ashoka Pillar. After 140 century A.D. the sites were forgotten, neglected and shrouded in bushes. The association of Lumbini with the Buddha went slowly to oblivion for almost 600 years, and the name Lumbini gradually changed to Rummindei and then to Rupandehi, the present name of the district.
In the process of an archaeological survey in 1896, General Khadga Shamsher Rana and Dr. Alois Fuhrer discovered the Ashoka Pillar in Lumbini. In the 1930s, General Kaiser SJB Rana carried out a large scale excavation at Lumbini. The most important archaeological discoveries in Lumbini are Buddha's nativity, the gold casket, charred human bones, terracotta sculpture of a Bodhisattva and the Marker Stone.
In 1956, on the occasion of the fourth world Buddhist conference, late King Mahendra visited Lumbini and wanted to improve it. Further, the pilgrimage of the then UN Secretary General U. Thant proved a milestone of the modern history of Lumbini. Deeply influenced by Lumbini's sanctity, U. Than wanted the Government of Nepal to develop Lumbini as an International pilgrimage and tourist center. In 1970 Prot. Kenzo Tange of Japan was assigned to create the Lumbini Master Plan, which was approved by the Government in 1978. In 1985 the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) was established to take over the responsibility of the overall management and development of Lumbini.
1. STROLLING AROUND
THE LUMBINI GARDEN
Some of the details of Lumbini Master Plan developed by Pro Tange are still in the process of completion. The Master Plan includes canals, gardens, library, museum, monastic zones and areas for amenities. The areas are linked with the Central Link (1.5 km long corridor canal flanked by two brick pedestrian walkways), designed to help visitors prepare for their visit to the Sacred Garden and the monasteries. Please refer to the map at centre spread page.
a) WALK AROUND THE LUMBINI CULTURAL SITE
Your visit can start from the Lumbini Museum that displays ancient coins, religious manuscripts, terra-cotta fragments and stone and metal sculptures. On the other side you will see the Lumbini International Research Institute, a peculiar architectural design that provides research facilities for the study of Buddhism and other religions, and contains over 30,000 books on religion, philosophy, art and architecture. Besides, there are Peace Hall (Auditorium), Archaeological Office, high school complex, boat station, Lumbini Square, Symbolic Pavilion and Camping Ground, all of which are yet to be completed Passing through the Friendship Bridge, the symbol of coexistence, one will enter the Monastic Enclaves, bisected by the proposed Central Link, where there are 42 plots allotted for new monasteries of Theravada and Mahayana sects of Buddhism. To the east, 10 out of 13 monasteries have been constructed and to the west, 22 out of 29.
b) WALK THROUGH THERAVADA MONASTIC ZONE
This route enters the Eastern Lane of the Theravada Monastic Zone, crossing the Thai Monastery and Stupas, built by the Government of Thailand. The architectural design is typical to Thai environs. There after one will pass a monastery constructed by the Maha Bodhi Society of Kolkata, India; neighboring is one built by the Buddhist Society of West Bengal, India. One will pass the Burma Temple and the monastery built by the Government of Myanmar. Next one passes the Sri Lankan Monastery constructed by the Government of Sri Lanka followed by one built by the International Gautami Nun Society. Nepal a typical monastery replicated from Swayambhu, with the Buddhist philosophy of 13 steps to Nirvana and three pinnacle stages. One can enter the Nepal Vipasana Center and practice meditation techniques. Other monasteries also provide meditation practice Further information can be sought from the Tourist Information Center nearby. After the serenity of the spiritual atmosphere, one will enter the Sacred Garden after passing the symbol of peace and prosperity of human existence - the Eternal Peace Flame.
c) STROLLING AROUND THE SACRED GARDEN
This garden is the heart of Prof. Tange's design, the ultimate objective of the plan, to create an atmosphere of spirituality peace, universal brotherhood and non violence consistent with Lord Buddha's message to the world. The zone shelters ancient monuments in a freshly restored atmosphere. Maya Devi Temple is the heart of all monuments at this holy site. The temple complex bears the testimony of several phases of construction over the centuries. It was fully restored and reopened in 2003 during the celebration of the 2547th auspicious birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. Inside the temple, there are remains of structures of the early Maya Devi Temple that dates back to the 3rd century B.C. to 7th century A.D.
© NTB( Nepal Tourism Board)
2018 Edition
This information is extracted from the publication of NTB to promote Visit Nepal 2020.
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