Wake up call was at 5:00am. We departed our
hotel at 5:15am. We arrived at the Mahaparinibhana temple at 5:40am and it
opened at 7:00am, so we waited outside. Today we were going to offer a long
robe to the 6.1m long statue of the reclining Buddha. I bought some flowers to
offer to the Buddha. I shared with some people. There was a boy who gave Teresa
a flower and she was in tears for this, I was glad that it touched her heart.
Once the temple opened, we held the robe above our shoulders and walked
mindfully into the temple. We walked around the reclining Buddha three times
then we chanted and meditated. At around 8am people started to arrive and we
went outside to circle the Nirvana Stupa three times. We then went to the Burma
temple next to the Mahaparinibhana temple. We went around the stupa at the
Burma temple then visited the chief monk. Thay TC wanted to connect up with the
Burma monk but he didn’t get anywhere. We went to the temple shop. The whole
group bought a lot of the sandalwood malas for RS450. Thay TH got 4 sala trees
from the Burma young monk who helped us to get the robe. I was surprised that Thay
TH could get the robe as it was required to be organised beforehand.
Robe
offering
We had breakfast after this big event. We
checked out and went passed the Kakuttha River.
Kakuttha River was where Ananda got water for
Buddha. Here is the text from the Maha-parinibbana Sutta: The Venerable Ananda
answered the Blessed One: "But just now, Lord, a great number of carts,
five hundred carts, have passed over, and the shallow water has been cut
through by the wheels, so that it flows turbid and muddy. But the Kakuttha
River, Lord, is quite close by, and its waters are clear, pleasant, cool, and
translucent. It is easily approachable and delightfully placed. There the
Blessed One can quench his thirst and refresh his limbs."
But a second time the Blessed One made his request,
and the Venerable Ananda answered him as before. And then for a third time the
Blessed One said: "Please bring me some water, Ananda. I am thirsty and
want to drink."
Then the Venerable Ananda answered, saying: "So
be it, Lord." And he took the bowl and went to the stream. And the shallow
water, which had been cut through by the wheels so that it flowed turbid and
muddy, became clear and settled down, pure and pleasant as the Venerable Ananda
drew near. Now let the Blessed One drink the water. Let the Happy One
drink." And the Blessed One drank the water.
We went to the Cunda’s house. Thay TH lent
me his red onyx mala to wear for one year. I was surprise because he wouldn’t
let anyone touch his mala and now he placed over my head. He wanted me to be
healthy. He told me he has chanted many thousands of Medicine Buddha mantras. I
thanked him and started chanting Medicine Buddha’s name using his mala. He must have overheard what I told Thay TC
about my bowel problem. I had to tell him because I was not at some food
offering chanting and dismissed before anyone at the dining table.
Buddha’s alms bowl stupa at Vaishali
We went passed the Buddha’s alms bowl stupa
at Vaishali. MK said it had gone missing. Thay TC insisted the bowl went to
China through Bodhidharma, as be handed it down to the Sixth Patriarch. However,
in the Buddha’s story, this bowl was given to the Vaishali people as a farewell
gift from Buddha. Does it matter where it went? We are not an archaeologist or history writer. We
are just a pilgrim to follow Buddha’s footsteps. Why debate on this issue? Hue
Dung also had his own idea about the bowl from Bodhidharma. In the Maha
parinibbana Sutta,
Buddha’s last instructions for the community of
bhikkhus:
Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto
yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the
Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.
So, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things
are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness.
Based on what Buddha’s last instruction,
why would the Buddha or Buddha’s disciple use the Buddha’s alms bowl as an
external refuge?
After the trip I have found the following
websites regarding with Buddha’s alms bowl at Vaishali:
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/indo-pak-history/553574-the-buddha-s-alms-bowl.html
http://chandrashekharasandprints.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/buddhas-original-alms-bowl/
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-23/patna/30550813_1_vaishali-lord-buddha-kabul
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/buddhas-begging-bowl.html
http://archives.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/021110/dmag14.htm
The Ananda Stupa and Asokan Pillar
Next we went to the Kutagarasala
Vihara where the Ananda
Stupa and Asokan
Pillars was erected (refer to appendix for the Ratana Sutta
which was chanted by the Buddha, and as a result of which the famine, epidemic
disease and fears that gripped Vaishali disappeared.) for the 500 women
requested to become nun at Buddha’s time. A stupa at Kolhua honours
Buddha's last sermon and announcement of his approaching nirvana. This is the
only Asokan Pillar in India which hasn’t been damaged. The lion faces north,
the direction Buddha took on his last voyage. Nearby there is a tank where it
is believed some monkeys offered honey to the Buddha.
We went to The Maha Pajapati Nunery at Vaishali. We met the
abbot Thich Nu Khiet Minh. We chanted and she gave us a dharma talk on the four
Buddhist holy places. She told us that she originally followed HT Thich Thanh
Tu but was not her path. She explained why she turned to Vipassana from Mr
Goenka as she had lost motivation in Thien. She reminded us the four Buddhist
holy places in India. She said at death if we can remember any of the four
places then we can go to a better place. She mentioned Muslim took Buddha’s
alms bowl from Vaishali and it is now in Pakistan.
Life
Life is hard
Life is suffering
If we can find our lamp within
We see light
We see why we suffer
Life is no longer hard
Kesarya
A
beautiful stupa
Surround
with headless Buddha’s statues
My
heart ached when I heard someone argued about
Buddha’s
alms bowl
Why
argued whether it’s the sixth Patriarch’s bowl?
We
are not archaeologist!
We are not history
writer!
The bowl is only a
small part of Buddha’s life story
As a pilgrim why
upset on this missing bowl?
With
no base on anything, why wasted energy to argue?
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