|   ORIGIN of BUDDHISM | 
| India: The Origin of Buddhism | Picture Description | 
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      Mahakala Mountain
         Location : Mahakala Mountain Buddhism started with the Lord Siddhartha Guatama. around 629 BC. He came here to Mahakala Mountain.  | 
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      Mahakala Mountain
       Location : Mahakala Mountain 
      Siddhartha then lived in this small cave for 6 years. 
      Meditating and reflecting in the meaning of life.
      This really is a serene and peaceful place.   
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      Mahakala Mountain
       Location : Mahakala Mountain 
      When the Dalai Lama visits Mahakala Mountain, he stays
      in this small house.
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      Sujata Village
       Location : Sujata Village 
      After staying in the Mountain for 6 years, he then came down
      to this small village.   A woman by the name of Sujata took
      him in, and he stayed here for one week.  Today, this village
      is called Sujata village.   Pictured here is a little
      shrine in honor of Sujata.
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      Sujata Village
       Location : Sujata Village A picture of Sujata Village proper.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Temple
       Location : Bodh-Gaya 
      Siddhartha Guatama, the first Lord Buddha came here 
      after he had come down from Mahakala Mountain and
      after he visited Sujata.  In 623 BC he came to meditate
      under a Bodhi tree here, and give birth to Buddhism.
      He spent 49 days here.  Today the most sacred of all
      Buddhist temples, the Mahabodhi Temple resides here.
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      Mahabodhi Temple
       Location : Bodh-Gaya 
      The interior of the Mahabodhi Temple.
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      Mahabodhi Temple
       Location : Bodh-Gaya 
      The beautiful Meditation garden behind the Mahabodhi Temple.
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 1 - The Bodhi Tree. The Tree of enlightenment.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 1 - This is the Vajra-San throne. Vajra means a bolt of lightning striking through ignorance. It is here, under a Bodhi tree that the Buddha gained enlightenment.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 2  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 2 - It is here, under a Bodhi tree that the Buddha gained enlightenment. This is not the original tree, which has been transplanted to Sri-Lanka, but is an offshoot of the original tree. It is now 116 years old.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 3  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 3  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 4 - At the Ratanaghara, the Lord Buddha reflected on the Patthana, or the Causal Law. That is for every effect there is a cause. All of your actions result in an effect.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 4  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 5 - The Buddha spent time meditating under this Banyan tree after gaining enlightenment.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 5 -  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 6  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 6  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 7 - Siddhartha spent the 7th week meditating at this Rajayatana tree.  | 
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      Mahabodhi Complex
       Location : Bodh-Gaya Week 7  | 
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      Dahmek Stupa
       Location : Sarnath 
      Sarnath is where the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon
      and also where Ashoka, "the enlightened emperor" 
      took up Buddhism.  Without Ashoka's amplification of
      the idea at a national level, Buddhism not be the
      force it is today.  Sarnath is located 10km from Varanasi
      (or Benares) located in Uppra Pradesh.  This is 
      far away from Bodh-Gaya.
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      Dahmek Stupa
       Location : Sarnath 
      The Dahmek Stupa, or Dharma Chakra Stupa, is a monument 
      raised in the location
      where the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon.
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      Ashoka's Pillar
       Location : Sarnath The Ashok Pillar is a military landmark for Ashok's army. Ashoka was a Mauryan Emperor. The Pillar is made from Sand stone.  | 
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      Ashoka's Pillar
       Location : Sarnath The Ashok Pillar is a military landmark Ashoka's Pillar. A symbol of his pillar is on the face of Indian Currency. The pillar and the 4 lions that adorned the top of the pillar are a national emblem of the government of India.  | 
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      Mulghanka Kuti
       Location : Sarnath The Mulghanka Kuti. This was the site of a massive temple said to be 200 feet (61 meters) tall. It is where the Siddharth Gautama, the Lord Buddha meditated after the ascention of Buddhism.  | 
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      Mulghanka Kuti
       Location : Sarnath The Mulghanka Kuti.  |