Buddhism is another major religion after Hinduism in Nepal. According to the census 2011, Buddhists are 9.04% of the total population. The World Heritage site Lumbini, which is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists. Other prominent Buddhist sites are Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), Kapan Monastery, and Boudhanath in Kathmandu, Namobuddha of Kavre, Bajrayogini of Sankhu are also the famous Buddhist pilgrimage destination.
Buddhism practices in various ways in Nepal. Local Newaras especially the Maharjans, Dangol, and the people called Jyapu community practice Theravada Vajrayana Buddhism whereas Tamang, Sherpas practices Mahayana as well a Tibetan Buddhism. They also have Shakyapa, Nigmapa, Kahyupa, and Geluk sects within Tibetan Buddhism. Acharya Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche (in Tibetan) is considering the founder of Tibetan Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in Lumbini in the southern Terai in about 534 B.C. Until the age of 29, led a sheltered life in the palace, completely unaware of the problems and suffering of the outside world. One day Siddhartha convinced his charioteer to take him outside the palace, where he was shocked to see the outside world at the sight of an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic. The realization of the true misery of the world persuaded the prince to abandon his luxurious life and goes into the Jungle to seek enlightenment to end human suffering. For many years, Gautam practiced asceticism without success. One night beneath a Pipal tree in the forest of Bodh Gaya he became enlightened. Henceforth known as Lord Gautam Buddha, The “enlightened one” he traveled around northern India and Southern Nepal preaching the Middle path to enlightenment. At the age of eighty, he passed into the final enlightenment, the Par Nirvana.
Top Five Buddhist Pilgrims’ Site of Nepal:
Kopan is a famous Tibetan Buddhist monastery situated on the north side of Kathmandu valley, the hill behind the Bouddhanath Stupa. Established in 1969 by the Tibetan guru Thubten Yeshe, Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. Kapan monastery is home to over 300 Tibetan Buddhist monks under the leadership of Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. Dominated by a magnificent Bodhi tree, Affiliation to teach Tibetan Buddhism. It is a member of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, an international network of Gelugpa dharma centers as a headquarter. Every year a large number of foreigners arrive here to study Buddhism and meditation for a long number of days. The Kopan Monastery also offers a panoramic view of the town of Boudha below and the spectacular Himalayan mountain range in the northern part.
2. Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple):
Swayambhunath stupa complex sits atop a high hill overlooking Kathmandu and the entire Kathmandu Valley with Mountain ranges on the Southern side. Monkey temple is an ancient religious architecture on the top of the hill in the Kathmandu Valley. Swayambhunath is probably the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in Nepal. It is another famous tourist destination and the holiest Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims. Most of Swayambhunath’s iconography comes from the Vajrayana tradition of Newar Buddhism. This temple also called the Monkey temple due to the lots of monkeys and they have their swimming pool. This is a wonderful place to catch your breath and observe the sunset, start to understand the deep importance of Buddhist belief to the people. It consists of a very large white stupa with all-seeing eyes, it believes in the love and peace of Lord Buddha and many small stupas and beautifully carved stone shrines. If you feel more energetic then you might also like to try some or all of the 350 steps or more that lead all the way from the eastern part of the temple called Bhagwan pau (God Feet)up to your Swayambhunath stupa vantage point. The complex consists of a stupa art and art structure, a variety of shrines, and temples, some dating back to the time of the Licchavi dynasty.
3. Namobuddha Monastery:
Namo Buddha pilgrimage site is about forty kilometers from the Boudhanath Stupa. Monastery Located on slightly elevated hillside land, it is a pleasant and out-of-the-way place. In this wide panorama, mountain ranges, Mahalangur Himal glisten white like a conch shell or a crystal. Amazing view of Morning sunrise and the evening you can see a wonderful sunset.
It is a small village next to the Newari town Panauti that houses a very old Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery which is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimages and holiest in the world. Guru Thrangu Rinpoche designed the Namo buddha as a representation of the Three Yanas. Vajrayana Buddhism divides the journey to enlightenment into three major stages. These are called Yanas. It is usually translated as “vehicles” that carry you along the path to enlightenment. All the three yana lays the spiritual ground for the next, they are not necessarily taught or practiced in sequence.
The story of Namo Buddha was the previous life as a prince who was here that the Buddha gave up his body out of compassion for a starving tigress and her cubs. It has an amazing story concerned with the Buddha which is commemorated by an ancient stone slab and a Stupa with the all-seeing eyes of Lord Buddha. Namo Buddha is a very suitable and perfect place for meditation and practice. Namo Buddha is a highly esteemed Pilgrimage place by people from all over the world, East and West.
4. Boudhanath Stupa:
It is the most popular religious Buddhist religious complex with a long history back over 500 years and more. The stupa is located in the northern part of Kathmandu. Boudhanath is always a great pilgrimage site for Buddhist followers to circle its massive holy stupa and spin its many prayer wheels. Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world and also the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal. For the Tibetan people, Boudhanath is a pilgrimage destination because the influx of large populations of refugees from Tibet has seen the construction of over 50 gompas (Tibetan convent) and monasteries around Boudhanath areas during the 1950s.
The main attraction of Boudhanath is its huge hemispherical white stupa with a central golden tower and the all-seeing eyes of the Lord Buddha. It also believes that eyes represent love and peace for all creatures in the world. Visitors always circle the stupa in a clockwise direction and spin prayer wheels for good fortune and get Nirvana. Boudhanath area surrounding a kind of school for foreign visitors who are interested in painting (Thanka) to see highly skilled artists at work on religious mandala paintings.
5. Lumbini- Gautam Buddha Born Place:
Lumbini is holy and the birthplace of Lord Buddha which is one of the most popular pilgrimage places in the world. Lumbini is one of the main magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to Lord Buddha Life. Lumbini is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lumbini is one of the four major Buddhist holy places commemorating the most significant events in Buddha’s life. One of the most attractive parts of Lumbini is the Maya Devi temple and the Puskarini, or Holy Pond, where the Buddha’s mother (Maya Devi) took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where Buddha had his first bath on the Puskarini pond. Bodh Gaya is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment.
The main attraction of Lumbini remains the Sacred Maya Devi temple, the Ashoka Pillar, World peace pagoda, Myanmar Golden Temple the sacred pond, Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini Crane Sanctuary, China Temple, and many more. In Lumbini different countries build the shrines and monasteries at different times to reflect the architectural traditions of the respective countries and thus giving Lumbini an international feel with a message of world peace.
