Sunday, March 3, 2024

Commemorating the Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī Therī Parinibbāna Day


Our sincere thanks to Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Deemed University, Nalanda for conceiving the commemoration of  Parinibbāna of Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī (MPG) in the very locality where MPG attained Parinibbāna. As per the Buddhist texts, Mahātherī Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī along with courageous 500 Shākyan Therīs entered Parinibbāna in Vaishalī. According to 7th CE monk scholar Xuanzang the vicinity of the village Birpur should be the Kśetra (area) of the Parinibbāna of Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī Therī.


Gotamī Theirī Apadāna of Pali tradition does not give the date, but it is implied. However, the same Chinese and Tibetan translations/parallels give the date. As implied in the Kudrakavastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (extant in Tibetan and Chinese translations), Mahātherī Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī(MPG) along with 500 Shākyan bhikkhunī attained Parinibbāna seven days after the Buddha announced his impending Mahāparinibbāna on Magha Masam Pūrṇimā. Therefore, seven days after the Magha Masam Pūrṇimā according to the Indian lunar calendar falls on Phāgun Masam Krishna Paksha Saptamī.


Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī was the foster mother of the Buddha.  Inspired by the transformation in her foster son (Buddha), she too aspired to be initiated into the Buddha Dhamma.  Her values, vision, leadership and resolve led to the formation of the bhikkhunī saṅgha and her being the first bhikkhunī. Mahāpajāpatī means ‘great leader of the assembly’. True to her name she became a source of strength and support for many women during her life and after her death. Her contributions to the Buddha, Dhamma and saṅgha are a lasting legacy that goes beyond mortality.


It is gratifying to witness the beginning of the resuscitation of the ‘Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī Therī Parinibbāna Kśetra’. We are thankful to the Vietnamese Nunnery (Vaishali) and the Buddha World School (Vaishali) for their participation. We are grateful to the people of ‘Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī Therī Parinibbāna Kśetra’, i.e. the village Birpur for taking time out of their busy schedules and welcoming us with enthusiasm and great warmth. Village Birpur had many archaeological mounds until a few years ago. Villagers now realise the significance of this place and are committed to protecting the potential mounds. In the coming years, we hope to engage more stakeholders to facilitate the rejuvenation of the tangible and intangible legacy of Mahātherī Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the progenitor of the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha.


Read about the renunciation journey of Mahātherī Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī.- The Arduous Journey: Mahāprajāpatī and the Courageous, Committed 500


Thanks to Venerable Tathālokā Therī for her invaluable guidance.


Here are some pictures from the event.

All Pictures- Vikash Kumar and Shantu Simple


An aerial view of Mahāprajāpatī Gotamī Therī Parinibbāna Kśetra






Venerable Bhikkhunīs offering prayers.



Venerable Bhikkhunīs offering prayers.



 A Group Picture of the Participants.



















Venerable Bhikkhunīs distributing sweets.

Dr. Harsh Ranjan Kumar, Archaelogy Directorate, Government of Bihar with ancient pottery found at the site.

Pottery found from the site suggests this site to be from the Buddha's time (6th BCE).

With Dr Harsh Ranjan Kumar.






Remains of votive stupa?
The process of revitalisation has begun!!

Monday, December 4, 2023

Ven. Seck Kai Li Mahathero Pilgrimage to the Ancient Kuru

As per Xuanzang, the present-day Sugh in Haryana was intimately associated with the sublime wandering of the Buddha (i.e. the Buddhacarika). Xuanzang saw an Ashokan stupa to mark the visit of the Buddha in Sugh. Sugh and its surroundings consisting of sacred Buddhist sites of the Ashokan Pillar site of Topra Kalan, Ashokan Stupa of Chaneti and the monastic site of Adi Badri represent the ancient Uttara Kuru where the Buddha delivered some of the most profound teachings like Mahasatipatthana Sutta, Magandiya Sutta and Mahanidana Sutta.


Read more about the Ashokan Pillar Site of Topra Kalan


Read more about the Ashokan Stupa site of Sugh


Ven. Seck Kai Li Mahathero from the Awakening Hermitage Temple, Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia along with his 37 disciples visited the sacred sites of Kurukshetra, Topra Kalan, Sugh and Chaneti on 24th November 2023. We are grateful to Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra Development Board, Ms Valeri Hara, Community of Topra Kalan and Chaneti for making his visit memorable. We hope such visits of eminent masters from Buddhist Countries will help us facilitate making these Buddhacarika sites a Living Heritage as they used to be in the past.

Thanks to Siddhartha Gauri, Shri Rajendra Singh Rana ji, Shri Upendra Singhla ji, Shri Ashok Rosha ji, Shri Surendra Saini ji and Bharat Sharma for facilitating the Pilgrimage.


Guests at the University Guest House, Kurukshetra University.
Offering prayers at the Ashokan Relic Stupa, Kurukshetra University.
The pilgrimage group at the Brahma Sarovar, Kurukshetra.
Venerable Seck with the officials of Kurukshetra Development Board.
Venerable Seck with the hosts at the Topra Edict Park

Ven. Seck, his followers and the people of Topra under the Dhamma Wheel, Topra Edict Park.

Ven Seck offering prayers at the Chaneti Ashokan Stupa.
Ven Seck and his followers circumambulating the Chaneti Ashokan Stupa.


A group picture with the people of Chaneti, Chaneti Stupa.


The house of Late Surinder Singh Hara is settled over the remains of the Ashokan Stupa mentioned by Xuanzang,  According to Xuanzang, the Ashokan Stupa at Shrugna (Now Sugh) was to mark the place where the Buddha gave sermons.  Ms Valveri Hara, wife of the Late Surinder Hara welcomed  Venerable Seck and his followers. The Group offered prayers at the site and thanked  Ms Hara for their contributions to preserve the precious footsteps of the Buddha.




The group offered a painting as a token of gratitude to Ms Hara.
The group with Ms Hara at her residence.












 

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Buddhacārikā a Living Heritage and Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery, Kathmandu

I had an opportunity to give a talk on the Buddhacārikā (Sublime Wandering of the Buddha) to the Venerable Saṇgha of Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery (more commonly called Shechen Institute/Monastery), Kathmandu. The idea behind the PowerPoint presentation was to share the present understanding of the Sublime wanderings of the Buddha with the Venerable Saṇgha of Shechen Temple


The present-day in the footsteps of the Buddha Pilgrimage is limited to the Eight Great Places namely;  Lumbīnī (the birthplace of the Buddha), Bodhgayā (The place of Enlightenment of the Buddha), Sārnātha (Where the Buddha gave his first sermon), Rājgir, Vaiśālī, Shrāvasti, Sankisa (the places where the Buddha performed miracle) and Kushināgar (The place of the final demise of the Buddha).   In ancient times, the ‘In the footsteps of the Buddha’ pilgrimage was not limited to just the ‘Eight Great Places’ there were many more  Buddhacārikā places in the Gangetic plain where monk pilgrims like Faxian (Fa Hien, 337-422 CE) and Xuanzang (Hsüan-Tsang, 602-664 CE) visited and offered prayers. 


I am currently undertaking a foot journey through northern India to retrace the footsteps of Bodhisattva Xuanzang. The ‘Retracing Bodhisattva Xuanzang (RBX)’ foot journey project was set into motion in February 2020. So far I have completed 2500 kms of my foot journey touching very important Buddhacārikā sites like Sugh, Atranji Kherā, Sankissa, Shrāvasti, Tilaurākot, Lumbīnī, Vālimikinagar, Rāmpurwā, Vaiśālī, Bodhgayā, Rājgir, Nālandā and many more. My objectives for the walk: (1) To create awareness about the neglected state of sacred sites where Buddha walked and the need to transform the sites into Living Heritage; (2) To create awareness about the contribution of Xuanzang to the Buddhist pilgrimage legacy. 


Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist monk-scholar who visited the Indian Subcontinent in the 7th CE. Xuanzang’s account of his 16 years of travels in the Indian Subcontinent played a pivotal role in the resurrection of the Buddhist geography of India in 19th CE. I believe that without the accounts left by Xuanzang, we would have never known in such detail about the footsteps of the Buddha. Therefore, this walk is my personal tribute to the world citizen, Xuanzang.



The PowerPoint presentation I made to the Venerable Saṇgha of Shechen Monastery/Institute on 1st September was based on the on-site documentation done under the RBX foot journey project. Readers who are interested in learning more about the Retracing Bodhisattva Xuanzang project and documentation stories from the foot journey may visit the blog Nālandā - Insatiable in Offering  There are more than 45 first-hand stories from the most sacred Buddhacārikā sites published on the blog.


I want to thank Most Venerable Khen Rinpoche Gyurme Tsultrim, monk-in-charge of the Shechen Monastery for the honours and opportunity. I also thank Venerable Khenpo Nyima Senge for making arrangements for the PowerPoint presentation. I appreciate the Venerable Saṇgha for so patiently listening to my presentation and for the wonderful interaction that followed the presentation.


My 3-day stay in the Shechen monastery was very fruitful, especially the insightful conversations I had with the senior Khenpos of Shechen Institute. Last but not least, I want to thank Venerable Khenpo Nawang Tenzin, monk-in-charge of Shechen Temple, Bodhgayā for facilitating my visit.


'Buddhacārikā a Living Heritage' banner.
The auditorium getting ready.

Thanks to Venerable Khenpo Nawang Tenzin for giving an amazing introduction to the presentation.

Venerable Khenpo Nawang Tenzin made an introduction to the presentation.

Myself making the presentation. Also, Venerable Khenpos in the audience.

Venerable Sangha in Audience.












Question and Answer session.




Thanks to Venerable Khen Rinpoche Gyurme Tsultrim for the Honours.
 I offer my gratitude to Shechen Institute for the opportunity.
With Khen Rinpoche Gyurme Tsultrim and Khenpo Nawang Tenzin.
Myself at the Charumati Stupa shrine, Kathmandu.