As he lay on his deathbed, the Buddha comforted his distraught disciple Ananda by telling him there were four places that those with faith in the buddhadharma should visit. These four were the pleasure garden in Lumbini, where he’d been born; under the tree by the Niranjana River in Bodhgaya, where he’d awakened; in the Deer Park in Sarnath, where he’d first taught; and in the sal forest of Kushinagar where he would breathe his last. This was the Buddha’s way of saying that he could always be found wherever he’d walked and taught.
So over the past 2,600 years, millions of pilgrims have renewed and deepened their practice by visiting the four sites the Buddha listed. Plus, other places of significance to the Buddha’s life have been added to the pilgrimage circuit, such as Sravasti, where he spent twenty-four of his forty-five rain retreats, and Kapilavastu, where he spent his early years.
The entire pilgrimage route is within the span of about 350 miles east to west and 250 miles north to south, and the Buddha is known to have walked across it many times. These journeys would take him months, as he was often stopped for a few days at a time by people eager for his teachings.
He walked slowly, barefoot and
