My Pilgrimage Tour to India - Angulimala

                      This is the place where Angulimala the murderer used to lived here 

This is one of the holy site that today's Buddhist is visiting here, this is the notorious historical person named Angulimala, the famous criminal and murderer of a 1,000 thumbs garlands for his neck collections, and he was very tired and near exhaustion. At the same time, he was very anxious to kill the last person to make up his full quota of 1,000 thumbs collection and so complete his task.  

Angulimala he saw a woman on the road below and he was having total of 999 thumbs as he wanted to fulfil his vow to complete the 1,000 thumbs collection, but as he approached, he saw it was his mother. but at the same time, the Buddha was approaching, and Angulimala had just enough presence of mind to decide to kill the wandering monk instead of his mother. He set out after the Blessed One with his knife raised. But the Buddha kept moving ahead of him. Angulimala just could not catch up with him. Finally, he cried out, "O Bhikkhu, stop, stop!" And the Enlightened One replied, "I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped." Angulimala did not catch the significance of these words, so he asked, "O bhikkhu! Why do you say that you have stopped while I have not?"

The Buddha replied, "I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings. I have given up ill-treating all beings, and have established myself in universal love, patience, and knowledge through reflection. But you have not given up killing or ill treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped." On hearing these words Angulimala was recalled to reality, and thought, these are the words of a wise man. This monk is so very wise and so very brave that he must be the leader of the monks. Indeed, he must be the Enlightened One himself! He must have come here specially to make me see the light. So thinking, he threw away his weapons and asked the Blessed One to admit to the Order of the bhikkhus, which the Buddha did.

When the king and his men came to capture Angulimala, they found him at the monastery of the Buddha. Finding that Angulimala had given up his evil ways and become a bhikkhu, the king and his men agreed to leave him alone. During his stay at the monastery, Angulimala ardently practiced meditation.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits
May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

My Pilgrimage Tour To India - Sankasia Part 3

Today Sankasia is the one of the most remote and undeveloped Buddhist Holy site in India. A far cry from the Buddha's time when Sankasia was called "City of Sankasia".

In 1961 India's Prime Minister Mr Nehru  when he was asked by some of the Japanese visitors, which was the poorest holy Buddhist shrine in India ? Mr Nehru he promptly replied: "Sankasia"

This are the typical daily street vendors who are selling food to the locals for a living.  

This are the most common houses and it was built mainly by the animal waste products of cow dung. The villagers used the mud soil which is the same as cob and then cover the walls with this in 3 or 4 layers. In between the first and third layer use a sandy soil, and the last layer use cow dung and mud and compress it to seal it off.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge greatly and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

  

A moment of light and easy with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa

A moment of light and easy with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee has spent some of his precious time preparing and mixing together ingredients to make cookies at the Bodhgaya.

Preparation of the cookies are ready to be baked in the oven. 

The sweet and tasty traditional Tibetan cookies are perfectly well baked and arranged by His Holiness.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits
May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

A verdict of not guilty for His Holiness The 17th Karmapa

November 24, 2014, The Enforcement directorate (ED) has given a *clean chit  and dropped charges of forex violations against Tibetan religious leader His Holiness of the 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee.during the investigation in 2011. Four years after His Holiness the 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee and his associates were charged with keeping illegal foreign and domestic currency worth about Rs6 crore (about USD 1 billion)

A truth has finally revealed and come clean sheet or a verdict of not guilty of such allegations 

against His Holiness of The 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee of illegal foreign and domestic currency worth about Rs6 crore.

Why H.H under the scanner? (Based on News special report on January 31, 2011)

The 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee has been on the radar of intelligence agencies ever since he started staying at his current place, following his sensational escape in 1998. For reason unknown to the media, has always suspected him to have links with his origin where he belongs to.

*clean chit - The expression is used to mean 'cleared of any wrongdoing'. or  ‘verdict of not guilty’ . As for the native speakers of English prefer to use 'clean sheet', instead of clean chit.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits
May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

My Pilgrimage Tour To India - SanKasia Part 2

Sankasia is located in the village of Sankasia -Basantapur in district of Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. From Agra, Sankasia is about 175km via the Farrukhabad-Shikohabad-Mainpuri-Bewar-Pakhna route. Sankasia is a very small in size but renowned an important Buddhist tour destination. 

According to the Dhammapada Commentary, after the Buddha mother, Maya Deva, was reborn in Thirty-Three Gods Trayastrimsa heaven after she died. To repay her kindness and to liberate her, and also to benefit the gods in the heaven, Buddha ascended to the heaven where he preached before the divine congregation including his mother, for three months.

Nearby under a tree, is a small shrine with a standing image of Lord Buddha, flanked by Brahma and Sakka to depict the Buddha's descent from Heaven. Behind the shrine,King Asoka has raised a stone column 18 m high with a lion capita on top on its four sides, placed Buddha images.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings.

My Pilgrimage Tour To India - SanKasia Part 1

Sankasia, a place when Buddha returns from heaven.  Sankasia is located in the village of Sankasia -Basantapur in district of Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. From Agra, Sankasia is about 175km via the Farrukhabad-Shikohabad-Mainpuri-Bewar-Pakhna route.

Sankasia is a very small in size but renowned an important Buddhist tour destination. According to the Dhammapada Commentary, the Buddha to repay her kindness and to liberate her, and also to benefit the gods in the heaven, Buddha ascended to the Tavatimsa heaven where he preached before the divine congregation including his mother, for three months.

The Buddha informed Sakka Devaraja of his intention to return to earth. Thereupon, Sakka created three ladders, one of gold, one of jewels and one of silver, the tops of which  rested on the summit of Mt. Sumeru and feet of which rested against the gate of the city of Sankasia.

As the Buddha descended upon the jewelled ladder, devas and Brahmas honored the Buddha by accompanying him on each side. With this retinue the Buddha descended and set foot on the earth at the gate of the city of Sankasia, and because of this miraculous event, which was witnessed by a great multitude, Sankasia became an important Buddhist shrine and several stupas and viharas were erected there. 

Nearby under a tree, is a small shrine with a standing image of Lord Buddha, flanked by Brahma and Sakka to depict the Buddha's descent from Heaven. Behind the shrine,King Asoka has raised a stone column 18 m high with a lion capita on top on its four sides, placed Buddha images.

King Asoka visited Sankasia as part of his itinerary of pilgrimage and Asoka built a shrine over the spot where the Buddha set foot on earth. Behind the shrine, he raised a stone column 18.3m high with a lion capita on top on its four sides, places Buddha images.

Tourists can witness The Ashokan Elephant Pillar and a Buddha Temple that are situated here. The pillar supports on the large pavillion, surrounded by an iron fence.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits

May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings

My Pilgrimage Tour To India - Vulture's Peak Part 4

At the summit, one can see the huge granite rock formation resembling a vulture standing with folded wing, from which the hill derived its name. This spot offers a commanding  view of the valley below. It is a favourite place for pilgrims to perform puja while reciting the virtues of the Buddha.Guijjhakuta hill (Vulture's Peak) was the favourite resort of the Buddha and the scene of many important discourses while he was in Rajgir. 

His Ven. Sherap Rinpoche (in the middle) and his elder brother are the pilgrimage planners

To reach the top, one has to climb up a long stone stairway from 6.1 m to 7.3 m wide, called the Bimbisara road, built by the King to enable him to reach the summit to see the Buddha. Recent years, a cement staircase has been constructed to facilitate the pilgrim's climb to the top, which is a flat terrance surrounded by a low retaining wall with a shrine near the precipice.

Thank you for reading my blog, and it helps to spread the Dharma knowledge and as well turning the Dharma wheel to the world.

Dedication of merits
May those who read and sharing of this blog's information be peaceful and joyful. May the Buddha Dharma be flourished and the merits will be dedicated to the sentient beings