You South Africa – 22 August 2019

T

HE Mahabodhi Temple (“Great Awakening Temple”) in Bodh Gaya, India, is one of the four holiest sites in Buddhism – the other three being Lumbini,

where

the

Buddha

was

born;

Sarnath,

where

he

delivered

his

first

teaching;

and

K

ushinagar,

where

he

died.

The

temple

was

built

near

the

descend-

ant

of

the

fig

tree

under

which

Prince

Siddha

• rtha

Gautama

sat

and

meditated.

After

seven

weeks

he

is

believed

to

have

reached

nirvana

(enlightenment)

and

become

the

Buddha

(“Enlightened

One”)

,the

founder

of

Buddhism.

The

temple

was

declared

a

Unesco

World

Heritage

Site

in

2002. 
      

FINDING ENLIGHTENMENTWe visit the Mahabodhi Temple in India, built on the spot where the Buddha is said to have reached enlightenmenCOMPILED BY

COLIN HENDRICKS

INFOGRAPHIC:

MICHAEL DE LUCCHI

HOLY SITES

PART 4

OF 5

NOW

YOU KNOW

In 2007 a former head

monk at the temple, Bhikkhu Bodhipala, re-

signed after being accused of

cutting off a branch of

the holy Bodhi tree to sell

to a rich Buddhist.

SHOES OFFTemperatures in Bodh Gaya vary between

25 and 45°C

. As a result,

the floor of the temple can be-come quite hot. But it’s forbidden for

visitors to wear shoes inside.

Tourists can bring along a pair of old socks to wear inside. Water is offered at the temple but it’s better to buy bottled water and take it with you.

CENTRAL TOWERThe temple has a central tower (sikhara

) of

55m

surround-

ed by four smaller tow

ers.

An entrance takes you into a small hall leading to two shrines with statues of the Buddha.

ARCHITECTUREThe temple is one of the region’s oldest brick structures that’s still standing. The structure looks like a tall, thin, stepped pyramid with-out a tip. Instead it has a stupa on top – a domed structure often found in Buddhist architecture.

Averageman

24,3m

1,7m

GREAT BUDDHA STATUEThe statue of the meditating Buddha outside the temple is 24,3m tall. Started in 1982, it’smade of red granite and sand-stone blocks and took seven years

to

complete. About 120 000 stonemasons helped build it.

The four smaller towers look the same as the central tower.

The original temple was built in the third century BC by Indian Emperor Ashoka the Great. The current building dates from the fifth to sixth century and a lot of it was restored in the 19th century.

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