Bodhgaya

Again this was earlier in our trip (right after our trip with Anne and Andrew) but we wanted to post it anyway…

 

On our way back from Calcutta (Kolkata) we needed to break up the train ride (30 plus hours is just too much) so we decided to stop in this little town with big character, Bodhgaya.  It is well known to Buddhists as the place where Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi tree.  There are lots of Buddhist temples and monasteries, from all over the world.  We went to the Mahabodi Temple, where a descent of the original tree is planted, and essentially it is a working place of worship for many Buddhists, as much if not more than just a tourist sight.  We stayed here for a day and a half and enjoyed people watching and walking around.  Mike LOVED the eastern Asia architecture.  There is a large Tibetan population, so the food there was phenomenal.  We ate delicious soups and noodles along with ginger, lemon, honey tea (my new favorite).  We were surprised to learn that many foreigners come here for years and spend all their time in Bodhgaya, in some sort of spiritual quest.  We enjoyed it for the two days we were there and then headed up to the farm. 

Here is the main temple:

 

There were flowers everywhere combined to make beautiful designs or words, all in little plastic cups of water. 

 

More detailed shots of the elaborate building, which was surprisingly simple inside with a very large Buddha statue. 

Here is the Bodhi tree, which we were surprised to find out is in the middle of the action.  There is no fence around it, not even decent soil around it (surrounded by concrete). 

There were countless monks meditating throughout the grounds, in every open (and many times not open yet still there) area. 

In a couple of places we’ve seen prayer wheels that you spin as you pray.  They had gorgeous designs etched into them. 

 

We went to a couple of other monasteries, mostly to see the buildings and Mike loved the Japanese ones: