The charm of Buddhism is ingrained in the very personality and life of its founder.
A prince, flush with all material opulence one can command, five centuries before Christ, one day decides to forsake it all for a search to existentialist answers of suffering and pain makes for a story that never seems to fascinate.
That the young prince, born in Lumbini in what is now in Nepal, awakened and energized the living faith of millions across the world today is a testimony to the wealth of spiritual bliss intrinsic to Buddhism.
In its 2500-year history, Buddhism spread far beyond the Indian borders to whole of Far Eastern culture, especially in India, China, Tibet and South-east Asia. However, the story of Buddhism is native to India and that is where one can travel ‘on the footsteps of the Master’.
Buddhism has a life-transforming quality that stresses very strongly the restraint of anger, hatred and desire as a path to personal peace and contentment.
Although there are many sects and groups within each of the three current branches of Buddhism, all believe in the Buddha and the Dalai lama occupies a central place in their understanding of the faith.The personality of the Dalai Lama, the idyllic environs of most major Buddhist pilgrimages and shrines is symbolic of the faith’s gentle and peaceful message.
However, the image of the meditative Buddha is the lasting symbol of peace which has held a world in constant unrest, in a magical opportunity of release and deliverance.
Copyright © 2015 Just Pilgrimages Private Limited. All rights reserved