Pilgrimage to Nepal & – 16 Days Friday 23 October – Saturday 7 November, 2015

Get ready to embark on an inspirational  - where the Buddha passed one of the most ancient and holy sites in journey to the most important Buddhist away into Mahaparinirvana, visit the Kathmandu. sites in India and Nepal. Explore the Parinirvana Temple, Parinirvana Stupa What’s Included legendary Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal and the Ramabhar Stupa (cremation and Lumbini where the Buddha was stupa) of the Buddha.  15 nights – 3-4 star accommodation born, before traveling to India where he  Vaishali – where the Buddha ordained most nights, see website for details. attained Enlightenment, gave his first the first Buddhist nuns; cured people  14 breakfasts, 11 lunches, 12 dinners teachings and passed away into of a great plague; pillar; and the  Boat cruise on River Ganges Mahaparinirvana. Take a boat ride on Buddha’s relic stupa.  All entry fees to the holy sites and the River Ganges, visit holy mountain  Bamboo Grove - where the Buddha museums sites such as Vultures Peak and explore spent many rains retreats  All land travel in Nepal and India the ancient ruins of the famous Buddhist  Vulture’s Peak - where the Buddha  Four economy class flights: Kathmandu university, Nalanda. Lastly, finish the taught the Heart Sutra, visit Shariputra’s to Bhairahawa, Varanasi to Mumbai, pilgrimage at the stunning caves of cave. Mumbai to Aurangabad, Aurangabad  Ajanta and Ellora in Aurangabad. Nalanda – incredible ancient ruins of the to Mumbai Nalanda Buddhist University; Shariputra’s  Two small bottles of water each day stupa and museum housing hundreds  Specialist local guides at some sites of Buddhist artifacts uncovered during  Airport arrival transfer in Kathmandu the excavations.  Touring of Kathmandu, Lumbini,  Bodhgaya - the Mahabodhi Stupa where Buddha attained Full Enlightenment Kushinagar, Vaishali, Rajgir, Bodhgaya, underneath the Bodhi tree; ample time Varanasi, Sarnath, Ajanta and Ellora for personal practice, meditation and Caves. reflection; visit to a nearby village to see  All tips for the drivers, waiting staff and how the locals live. shoe minders  Mahakala Cave – a small but powerful  Fees for the main guide/teacher and cave associated with the protector deity their assistants in Vajrayana , also considered by many where Buddha meditated for What’s Not Included

6 years before attaining enlightenment.  Airfares to Kathmandu and flight  Varanasi - take an unforgettable boat home out of Mumbai ride along the burning ghats on the River  Visa fees for Nepal and India Ganges; view the exotic Ganga Aarti  Personal travel insurance (light offering) ritual.  Excess baggage charges HIGHLIGHTS AND INCLUSIONS  Sarnath - where Buddha gave his first  Taxis or rickshaws taken outside the sermon on the Four Noble Truths; visit normal group travel Trip Highlights the Dhamekh Stupa, Archaeological  Communication costs (Wi-Fi, phone Museum and large Buddha statue.  Kathmandu - The majestic Boudhanath  Aurangabad – the magnificent Ajanta and calls, etc.) Stupa, symbolic of the Buddha’s mind Ellora Caves carved out to form  Laundry and all items of a personal  Morning nun’s puja, high on the impressive prayer halls and monasteries nature mountains of Kathmandu in their decorated with beautiful murals and  Any meals, snacks or beverages not traditional Tibetan temple* stone carvings of the Buddha. included in the group buffet meals  Lumbini - the birthplace of the Buddha, (including breakfast at Druk Amitabha

the Maya Devi Temple and World Peace * Alternatively visit the Swayambhunath Mountain, lunch at Ellora Caves, and Pagoda. Stupa (also known as 'Monkey Temple'), 3 dinners and 1 lunch in Bodhgaya).

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PILGRIMAGE LEADER this we will have breakfast at the Here we visit the Maya Devi Temple nunnery while enjoying their mountain which houses the birthstone marking Mindah-Lee Kumar is a Buddhist teacher views. the Buddha’s exact birthplace. The and practitioner from Canberra, Australia. afternoon activities include a short She has been studying Buddhism for teaching and group meditation led by over nine years. Mindah and free time to sit and She was ordained meditate in the peace and tranquility of as a nun for three the park. On returning to our hotel we years in the tradi- will make a short stop at the World tion of the Sakya Peace Pagoda. This is one of hundreds school of Tibetan of beautifully constructed world peace Buddhism. She stupas built around the world by completed a total Nichidatsu Fujii, a Japanese Buddhist of three years monk, to help inspire peace and harmo- solitary retreat in the same tradition. Her ny among all. Stay overnight in Lumbini. aim is to make Buddhist teachings as relevant and as practical as possible and she posts her work on her website, The Enthusiastic Buddhist. Among her various methods of spreading the teachings, her main focus is creating videos on Buddhism which she posts for free on Then we will head back to spend the YouTube. rest of the day exploring Boudhanath Stupa which is a spiritual hub for Tibetan Buddhists in particular, who DAY 4: Kushinagar DETAILED ITINERARY visit to circumambulate this deeply- symbolic structure. We will also visit Departing Lumbini we will clear DAY 1: Arrival in Kathmandu, some surrounding gompas, including immigration at the Nepal/Indian border Nepal one housing a three-storey high statue enroute to Kushinagar. Arriving in of Maitreya, the future Buddha. You will Kushinagar, we visit the Parinirvana Friday. Upon arrival into Kathmandu, have ample time to circumambulate Stupa to pay our respects to the place you’ll be met at the airport and and meditate at Boudhanath Stupa and where the Buddha passed away into transferred to the hotel. You are even do some shopping. Around Mahaparinirvana. This is an excellent welcome to arrive earlier than this date Boudhanath Stupa are the best places place for us to reflect on the and we can arrange a transfer and any to purchase quality Newari handcrafted impermanence of our own lives as well extra night’s accommodation upon dharma items, including statues and as contemplate the extraordinary request. In the evening, we will have an thangkas. possibilities if we choose to live a life of introductory meeting with all pilgrims kindness, virtue and meditation. at the hotel followed by a buffet dinner. Please note in the event that we cannot Enroute to our hotel we will visit the Stay overnight in Kathmandu. attend the nun’s puja, we will make a Ramabhar Stupa, the cremation stupa trip to Swayambhunath Stupa (also of the Buddha. Stay overnight in Day 2: Nun’s Morning Puja known as ‘Monkey Temple’), one of the Kushinagar. and Boudhanath Stupa most ancient and holy sites in Kathmandu, dating back to as early as DAY 5: Vaishali We will begin our first day of our the third century BC. pilgrimage with an early 5am start to Early this morning we will depart journey up the mountains to Druk DAY 3: Lumbini Kushinagar and drive through rural Amitabha Mountain nunnery. Here we India to Vaishali. Vaishali was will experience the resonating and After breakfast, departing Kathmandu, frequented by the Buddha and is the wondrous chanting of Tibetan nuns we catch a short scenic flight toward place where he spent his last rains while they do their morning puja in the border of Nepal where we visit retreat (a three-month meditation their traditional Tibetan temple. After Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. retreat during the monsoon period).

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Here the Buddha cured the local people stupa, we will head over to the museum any western style food cravings you of a great plague and famine, ordained to view the hundreds of Buddhist might be having by this stage in our the first Buddhist nuns, one of them artifacts uncovered during the journey! being his step mother, Prajapati excavations. Then, with great Gautami, and also announced his anticipation we will journey onwards to DAY 8: Bodhgaya impending departure from earth (his the most popular Buddhist pilgrimage Mahaparinirvana). This afternoon we site of all time, Bodhgaya, the place There are many temples of various will visit the Ashoka pillar and the where Buddha attained Full Buddhist sects within the Bodhgaya Buddha’s relic stupa before journeying Enlightenment underneath the Bodhi district. This morning we will explore onward to Rajgir where we will stay tree. Stay overnight in Bodhgaya. some of the many temples close to our overnight. hotel, including some Bhutanese, DAY 7: Bodhgaya Japanese, Thai and Tibetan temples. The rest of the day is free for you to This morning right after breakfast, we spend more time in the blessed sanctu- will visit the Mahabodhi Stupa and the ary of the Mahabodhi temple grounds. Bodhi Tree in the main temple grounds which marks the spot where the DAY 9: Mahakala Cave Buddha attained Full Enlightenment. After exploring each of the significant This morning we take a short drive places in the temple grounds associated where we will walk uphill to visit the with the Buddha’s awakening, we will cave commonly known as Mahakala make a visit to a nearby village to see Cave. This cave is associated with the Day 6: Bamboo Grove, how the locals live. After lunch we return protector deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, Vulture’s Peak and Nalanda again to the Mahabodhi Stupa for a as well as considered by some as the short talk and group meditation. place where Buddha meditated for six Today after breakfast, we will make a years before attaining enlightenment. brief visit to Bamboo Grove where the After lunch the rest of the day is free for Buddha spent many rains retreats, your own personal meditation and before taking a scenic walk up to reflection in the Mahabodhi Stupa Vulture’s Peak where the Buddha gave temple grounds. one of his most revered teachings, known as the Heart Sutra. After a short DAY 10: Varanasi talk and guided meditation at Shariputra’s cave (one of the Buddha’s Shortly after breakfast, we will depart chief disciples) we’ll head back downhill early from Bodhgaya to travel to and visit the ancient ruins of the Varanasi, an ancient Indian city Nalanda Buddhist University. This was a formerly known as Banaras. Following thriving center of higher learning for lunch you will have a few hours to rest thousands of Buddhism monastics before we make a trip to the River between the fifth to the twelfth century Ganges where we will take an AD, before it was razed to the ground unforgettable boat ride along the by Muslim invaders in 1193. After burning ghats where the Hindus exploring the archaeological excava- The rest of the day is free for you to cremate the deceased and view the tions of Nalanda and the Shariputra read, meditate or simply sit under the exotic Ganga Aarti (light offering) ritual. Bodhi tree and watch the pilgrims of various countries and Buddhist tradi- tions as they circumambulate the Mahabodhi Stupa.

In Bodhgaya we will introduce you to some great little cafes where you can eat tasty inexpensive meals to satisfy

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We will then return for a lovely buffet workers and the practitioners that once caves we may visit some of the Jain dinner at our hotel. Stay overnight in inhabited them. All in all, these caves caves or return to relax at the hotel. Varanasi. are unforgettable and we have a whole day to explore them. DAY 15: Mumbai Day 11: Sarnath After a late check-out from the hotel we Today we visit Sarnath, the place where travel onwards to catch a flight to the Buddha gave his first sermon on the Mumbai. Here we will stay overnight. Four Noble Truths. This place is marked by the Dhamekh Stupa and surrounded DAY 16: Departing Mumbai by the beautiful Deer Park. After Today our amazing pilgrimage comes to an end. After saying goodbye to our new found friends we check-out of the hotel and journey home with a heart full of the extraordinary blessings and memories of our trip.

HEALTH AND TRAVEL As we depart, there is the option to do exploring the ruins at Sarnath there will some shopping of some local This pilgrimage requires a fair bit of be a short talk and group meditation handicrafts in the markets outside the walking at times (especially up and led by Mindah. In the afternoon we will caves. down steps at Vulture’s Peak in Rajgir) visit the Archaeological Museum which so a reasonable degree of fitness is houses a rich collection of Buddhist DAY 14: Ellora Caves required to participate on this sculptures and artifacts excavated from pilgrimage. Also sitting crossed legged the site at Sarnath. We will also make After breakfast we take a drive to visit on the ground at times (in particular at a brief visit to see the large Buddha the magnificent Ellora caves. These Buddhist sites and inside temples) may statue and the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar caves are particularly well-known for be necessary as it is not always possible of the Mahabodhi Society. to arrange chairs for seating. A ground sheet will be supplied for your comfort, DAY 12: Aurangabad though you may wish to bring a small cushion or purchase one around This morning we make a transfer to the Boudhanath Stupa. airport to board a morning flight to Mumbai. In Mumbai we take another This pilgrimage includes lovely scenic flight to Aurangabad where we transfer drives through the countryside and at to our hotel to rest for the night. Stay times these journeys may be up to 4-6 overnight in Aurangabad. hours in length. As a result we cannot their impressive size. They include not guarantee all toilet stops will be held at DAY 13: Ajanta Caves only Buddhist caves, but also Hindu and designated toilet facilities, and ‘nature Jain caves as well. The Buddhist caves stops’ may be required as part of the Today we drive to the Ajanta Caves were built around the 5th – 8th travel. Also please note special dietary located outside Aurangabad. Starting century, while the Hindu caves were requirements cannot be catered for as around the 2nd century BC, 29 caves made around the 6th – 8th century and the group meals will be taken at the were carved out to form impressive the Jain caves were constructed around hotels which have their own set menu. prayer halls and monasteries which the 9 – 10th century. were decorated with beautiful murals For more information and pricing and stone carvings of the Buddha. visit: This morning we will view the Buddhist These paintings and sculptures are not caves and the spectacular Kailasanatha Enthusiastic Buddhist Pilgrimages only visually inspiring but they seem to Hindu temple flanked by beautiful large enthusiasticbuddhistpilgrimages.com resonate with the devotion of the stone elephants. After lunch at the

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