The most important places inBuddhism are located in theIndo-Gangetic Plain of southernNepal and northernIndia. This is the area whereGautama Buddha was born, lived, and taught, and the main sites connected to his life are now important places ofpilgrimage for both Buddhists andHindus. Many countries that are or were predominantly Buddhist have shrines and places which can be visited as a pilgrimage.
Gautama Buddha himself had identified the following four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, observing that these would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency:[1]
Lumbini: birthplace of The Buddha as Prince Siddhartha Gautam (inTaulihawa,Lumbini,Nepal) is the most important religious site and place of pilgrimages for Buddhism. It is also approved by UNESCO for World Heritage sites as most holy place for Buddhism and world religions.
Bodh Gaya: (in the currentMahabodhi Temple,Bihar,India), is the religious site and place of pilgrimage, theMahabodhi Temple houses what is believed to be a direct descendant of theBodhi Tree where Prince Siddhārtha attained enlightenment (Nibbana) and became known as Gautama Buddha.[2]
In addition the four sites mentioned earlier (Lumbini,Bodh Gaya,Sarnath andKushinagar), the Buddhist texts later written by Buddha's followers also mention four more sacred sites where a certain miraculous event is reported to have occurred, thus completing the list of"Attha-mahathanani" (Pali for"The Eight Great Places") in India:[3]
Rajgir: Place of the subduing of Nalagiri, the angry elephant, through friendliness. Rajgir was another major city of ancient India, withNalanda nearby (14 km), a major center of Mahayana Buddhist learning.
Vaishali: Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India.
Sravasti: Place ofthe Twin Miracle, showing his supernatural abilities in performance of miracles. Sravasti is also the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, being a major city in ancient India.
Sankassa: Place of the descending to earth fromTavatimsa heaven (after a stay of 3 months teaching his mother theAbhidhamma).
Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica ofAshoka's edicts including largestAshoka Chakra in the world
Shikoku Pilgrimage, Eighty-eight Temples pilgrimage in the Shikoku island, Japan
Japan 100 Kannon Pilgrimage, pilgrimage circuit that is composed of three independent pilgrimages (Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu), consist of one hundred Temples.
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