Mahabodhi Temple: history of the temple, reasons for creation, description

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

There are many important religious sites in the world, but the Mahabodhi Buddhist temple is unique. This place has great religious significance and it is not surprising that the temple itself is filled with Buddhist artifacts and relics. In addition to the Diamond Throne, there are seven other places in the entire temple complex that are also directly related to moments in the life and teachings of the Buddha.

After visiting this sacred place for Buddhists, tourists, amazed by the beauty and unusual atmosphere of this place, always leave rave reviews, Buddhism, along with Christianity and Islam, is one of the world's religions. Its distribution began during the reign of the ancient emperor Ashoka. Ashoka ruled in the 3rd century BC, he was the ruler of the Mauryan Empire, one of the first states that unified almost the entire Indian subcontinent. He was also the first Indian emperor to convert to Buddhism and made great efforts to spread the religion throughout India.

Temple Maker

Ashoka invested a lot of money and resources in the construction of Buddhist temples and shrines in the territory of his empire. In fact, he was associated with tens of thousands of Buddhist places of worship in India. However, none of them can compete with his first project, the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya. It is one of the most sacred places in all of Buddhism and one of Ashoka's greatest accomplishments.

The area around Bodh Gaya has attracted yogis and sages since the time of the Buddha. Great spiritual figures such as Padmasambhava, Nagarjuna and Atisha meditated under the Bodhi tree.

Buddhism

The story of Buddhism is the story of one man's spiritual journey to Enlightenment, and the teachings and ways of life that developed from that foundation.

There are several opinions regarding the timing of the life of Siddhartha Gautama. Historians date his birth and death to around 566-486. BC BC, but later studies show that he lived somewhat later, from about 490 to 410 BC.

He was born into a royal family in the village of Lumbini in present-day Nepal, and his privileged position isolated him from the sufferings of life, such as illness, early aging and death.

Once, already married and having a child, Siddhartha went outside the royal palace where he lived. When he went outside, he saw for the first time an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. This worried him greatly, and he learned that illness, age and death are the inevitable fate of people, a fate that no one could avoid.

Siddhartha also saw the monk and he thought it wasa sign that he should leave his royal life and live in poverty, striving for holiness. Siddhartha's travels showed him much more suffering. He was looking for a way to avoid the inevitability of death, old age and disease, first associating with the monks. But this did not help him in his search for an answer.

Siddhartha encountered an Indian ascetic who encouraged him to follow a life of excessive self-denial and discipline. The Buddha also practiced meditation, but came to the conclusion that even the highest meditative states were not sufficient by themselves.

Siddhartha followed the path of extreme asceticism for six years, but this did not satisfy him either; he still has not left the world of suffering. He abandoned the strict life of self-denial and asceticism, but did not return to the luxury of his former life. Instead, he chose to follow the middle path, where there is neither luxury nor poverty.

Enlightenment

One day, sitting under the Bodhi tree (tree of awakening), Siddhartha went deep into meditation and reflected on his experiences of life, who decided to penetrate his truth.

Buddhist legend says that at first Buddha was happy to live in this state, but Brahma, the king of the gods, asked on behalf of the whole world that he should share his understanding with others.

History of Creation

There are four main temples associated with different stages of the life of the Buddha. The Mahabodhi temple in India is one of the most significant. According to tradition, this is where the Buddha sat under a tree and meditated, ultimatelyattaining enlightenment and becoming a Buddha. This means that this place is, in fact, the birthplace of Buddhist ideologies and beliefs. Buddhists also believe that this is the center of the entire universe. Its power is such that it will be the last place to be destroyed at the end of time and the first to be reborn in the new world.

According to legend, the Buddha attained enlightenment as early as the 6th century BC, which means that this land was practically bare for several centuries before Ashoka appeared. The emperor visited the pilgrimage site and city of Bodhgaya and decided to build a temple and monastery in honor of the Buddha sometime between 260 and 250 BC. The first thing he built was a raised platform known as the "Diamond Throne", which is said to indicate the exact spot where the Buddha sat when he attained Enlightenment. Several stupas (Buddhist mounds in the form of temples) were also built at this site.

Reconstructions

However, what can be seen today in the description of the Mahabodhi temple actually belongs to a different era. Later Indian rulers of the Gupta Empire restored the site in the 5th and 6th centuries CE. It was then that the towering temples that are a characteristic feature of Mahabodhi were built. They are designed in the style of Indian architecture of the Gupta period (rather than Buddhist architecture) and feature excellent brickwork. The decoration of the temple is made in the Gupta style: the walls are plastered, richly decorated, ornamented with numerous statues of Buddhist figures, reliefs and carvings,depicting Buddhist (and Hindu) scenes, as well as other symbols of Buddhism.

After 12th century AD e. the temple fell into disrepair. The Muslims who came to India were a threat to Buddhism and it was abandoned. However, the history of the Mahabodhi temple did not end there. Later it was restored in the 19th century, after which it again appeared in its former grandeur. Today it continues to function as one of the most sacred places for Buddhists, as well as a monument of the architectural and cultural heritage of India. It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

Bodhi Tree

The tree that stands here today is a descendant of the tree that grew there in the time of the Buddha. Below it there is a platform marking the place where there are footprints of the Buddha carved in stone. Red sandstone tiles are laid around the tree. It marks the spot where the Buddha sat in meditation.

Architecture

In the photo, the Mahabodhi Temple always looks like a majestic building: with shrines for ritual practice and meditation, crowned with a stupa containing relics of the Buddha. Inside there is a statue of Buddha and Shiva-linga. Hindus believe that the Buddha was one of the incarnations of Vishnu; therefore, the Mahabodhi temple is a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists.

It boasts a 52m high spire that houses a colossal gilded Buddha statue.

The temple is decorated with friezes depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. Along the northern wall of the temple is Chankramana Chaitya (Precious Way) - the road where the Buddha meditatedwhile walking. Adjacent to the temple is a lotus pond, which is said to have been the place where the Buddha took his bath.

Built entirely out of brick, India's Mahabodhi Buddhist temple is one of the earliest shrines to survive. The brickwork of the building became a role model for many subsequent buildings and structures.

Buddha Statue

She looks amazing. The Buddha himself sits with his hand down (touching the ground). The statue is believed to be 1700 years old. It is located in such a way that the Buddha looks to the east. The Mahabodhi Temple, along with the Bodhi Tree, completes the holy pilgrimage to Bodhgaya.

According to the legends, the wanderer promised to create the best statue in the world if his three conditions were met. He asked to leave scented clay and a lamp in the temple. He also asked not to be disturbed for six months. However, people got impatient and broke the door just four days before the deadline. They found a beautiful statue, but one side of the chest was unfinished. The Stranger was nowhere to be found.

Appearance

Judging by the style, it can be said that the building was first built as a monument, and not as a shrine to the Buddha. Four towers rise in the corners, as if accompanying the main one. On all sides, the temple is surrounded by stone railings of two types, differing in style and material. The older railings are made of sandstone and date back to around 150 BC. Dated to the Gupta period (300-600 AD), other railingswere made of unpolished rough granite. The old railings of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya include images of Hindu deities, while more recent railings include images of stupas (reliquaries) and garudas (eagles).

Facts and legends

After the construction of the temple, Emperor Ashoka sent his heirs to Sri Lanka and various parts of India to spread Buddhism. He also sent a seedling from the tree itself to Sri Lanka. When the Muslim invaders destroyed the temple and destroyed that very tree, the seedling from Sri Lanka was returned to Mahabodhi, where a new tree grew from it. The tree gradually leans and is supported by the walls of the temple. This could cause serious damage to the temple and a new one is planned to be planted in the future.

The temple is one of the few ancient structures built entirely of brick.

Here you can find many elements that will indicate the connection between Hinduism and Buddhism. There are many paintings and sculptures depicting Hindu gods here.

There is a lotus pond near the tree. There are many stone lotuses carved in the passage around the pond. It is said that the Buddha spent seven weeks here in meditation. He did walking meditation, going through the 18 steps. There are footprints of the Buddha on the stone lotuses.

The main purpose of this building was to protect the Bodhi tree and create a monument. Several temples were built during the restoration, and the monument itself became a temple structure.

The temple often makes offerings in the form of garlands of flowersorange lotus.

In the temple itself, in the place where the Buddha sat in meditation, there is a statue of him, which is covered with gold. She is always dressed in a bright orange robe.