Shravasti

17 km

Today I visit Shravisti, the 7th place out of 8 sacred places of Buddhists.

I met impressive children at the starting point.

I met a curious youth who approached to me.

An Islamic school.

A solar panel in front of an ordinary store.

It is an essential appliance for recharging smart phone battery at places where electricity is not supplied.

A road with shade is good for walking.

Children shout far away.

Finally I arrived at Cheonchukseonwon, a Korean temple at Shravasti.

The temple operates a school and a health center at the same time.

The chief priest, Daein monk, greeted me.

Mr. Hara arrived ahead of me, and explained about pilgrimage.

I arrived far later than dinner time.  I laid down my baggage.

I was about to go out for supper.  The chief monk grabbed my arm.

He went in the kitchen to order meal for me.  The Indian chef was not in.

He cooked and served a bowl of ramyon by himself and gave it to me.

I was deeply moved.

“Thank you!”

I ate a good dinner with kimchi, pickled young radish, after a long while.

The appearances of Shravasti which I saw with Mr. Hara in the afternoon.

The name ‘Shravasti’ is interesting.

In Shinla dynasty, Shravasti was transliterated as Seorabeol which was changed to Seoul we use now.  A temple which was called Kiwonjeongsa(祈園精舍) in Korean was located at Shravasti.

Buddha had lived at Kiwonjeongsa for 25 years.

This is the place where Buddha preached numerous sermons including Diamond Sutra.

The monks and the faithful came from various Buddhist countries.

They practice Buddhist ritual here.

The monkeys may be interested in seeing many people.  They enjoy playing.

The atmosphere of this place looks like that of Nalanda college.

Following Heojeong monk, who stays at Korean temple for a while, I went to Orahjar relics nearby.

At this hill, Buddha performed a miracle.

Afterwards he went up to Doricheon to meet his mother.

When I look down from this hill, I could see low plains in every direction.

I could understand with ease that the Earth is round like a sphere.

According to the explanation of Heojeong monk, Buddha was staying at Razgir and he did not visit this place before.  But he announced that he would come to this hill and perform a miracle.  Afterwards he practiced his announcement. Heojeong monk led me to this place in order to show why Buddha selected this place as the site of miracle.  The reason lies in the geographic location of this place.  Since this hill is surrounded by low plains, the people could see the miracle more vividly.  Buddha rose up to the sky, and shooted out water and fire at the same time.  People could see and verify the miracle.  Afterwards Buddha went up to Doricheon and met his mother.  Then he came down to Sankisa. This place has profound religious meaning.

I took a picture with Mr. Hara at the miracle site.

Mr. Hara took a good picture of me listening to the explanation of the monk.

I took a picture with the monks at Korean temple.

Heojeong monk, Daein monk, and Jikyeong monk from the left-hand side.

Categories: 09-1. India, Course and Diary