Just a quick hello since I am in a business center. Today we flew into Varanasi. We had a quick tour at the location where Sidhartha gave his first sermon as the enlightened or Buddha - Sarnath. At that estimated location is a large stupa - the largest in the world. A stupa is what was worshipped as Buddha before people started making human images of him. Note that Buddha was against idol worship however hundreds of years after he was gone the followers started created the Buddha statues that we are familiar with today.
At this site were ruins of the many stupas and temples and monasteries. There was also a make-shift museum that had some really nice artifacts. One is the top of a pillar made by King Ashoka. This pillar is the non human idol of Buddha. Anyway, what is interesting about this is that the stone is sandstone and it is shiny. Sandstone isn't shiny. For centuries scientists have yet to figure out how and why this stone is shiny. I couldn't take pictures but here is a website that has a good picture of it as well as the best existing Buddha idol as described below http://members.porchlight.ca/blackdog/sarnath.htm
The temples and stupas were ruined by the Mughals (Muslims) hundreds of years ago. A very nice Buddha sculpture that they have in the museum is now the nicest in existence. In Afghanistan there was the best preserved idol in existence, a standing Buddha - thousands of years old. However, a few years ago the Taliban blew it up and it is gone forever.
I also saw a tree that is apparently derived from the original tree that Sidhartha sat under and gained enlightenment. The original tree had a branch taken and planted somewhere in Sri Lanka. In turn, a branch from the Sri Lanka tree was planted here in Varanasi and now it is a huge tree.
OK, that is all for now - Gotta get up early for a 6:30 am boat ride on the Ganges river. Tomorrow afternoon we are back in Delhi overnight then off to Kathmandu for 3 days!
Bye!
At this site were ruins of the many stupas and temples and monasteries. There was also a make-shift museum that had some really nice artifacts. One is the top of a pillar made by King Ashoka. This pillar is the non human idol of Buddha. Anyway, what is interesting about this is that the stone is sandstone and it is shiny. Sandstone isn't shiny. For centuries scientists have yet to figure out how and why this stone is shiny. I couldn't take pictures but here is a website that has a good picture of it as well as the best existing Buddha idol as described below http://members.porchlight.ca/blackdog/sarnath.htm
The temples and stupas were ruined by the Mughals (Muslims) hundreds of years ago. A very nice Buddha sculpture that they have in the museum is now the nicest in existence. In Afghanistan there was the best preserved idol in existence, a standing Buddha - thousands of years old. However, a few years ago the Taliban blew it up and it is gone forever.
I also saw a tree that is apparently derived from the original tree that Sidhartha sat under and gained enlightenment. The original tree had a branch taken and planted somewhere in Sri Lanka. In turn, a branch from the Sri Lanka tree was planted here in Varanasi and now it is a huge tree.
OK, that is all for now - Gotta get up early for a 6:30 am boat ride on the Ganges river. Tomorrow afternoon we are back in Delhi overnight then off to Kathmandu for 3 days!
Bye!
posted by Tammy at
6:37 AM
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