Day 8 & 9 - Bodh Gaya

Weds 9-Jan-2019: From Varanasi, we travelled to Bodh Gaya by bus. What meant to be a 5 hours trip ended up taking us 10 hours due to traffic jam. The key site for us to visit was Mahabodhi Temple, the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment and considered as the holiest site in Buddhism.

Thurs 10-Jan-2019: We revisited the Mahabodhi Temple again at dawn for a morning prayer session before moving to other sites, including Pragbodhi Cave, one of the places where the Buddha was living as an ascetic, almost dying from starvation in the process. We also visted Sujata Stupa built to dedicate to the milkmaid Sujata who had provided rice milk to the Buddha as part of His middleway practice, ending 7 years of fasting and ascetism. Finally, we visited Vien Giac Temple, a Vietnamese temple in Bodhgaya.

Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya

Pragbodhi Cave

Sujata Stupa

bus rest stop

Made pledge and departed with the beloved hair