Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal

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Lumbini is the place where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BCE. There are number of historical Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal.

Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumbini</span> Historical city in Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province, Nepal

Lumbinī is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, queen Maya gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama at around 566 BCE. Gautama, who, according to Buddhist tradition, achieved Enlightenment some time around 528 BCE, became Shakyamuni Buddha and founded Buddhism. Lumbini is one of many magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha.

Buddhism in Nepal started spreading since the reign of Ashoka through Indian and Tibetan missionaries. The Kiratas were the first people in Nepal who embraced Gautama Buddha’s teachings, followed by the Licchavis and Newar people. Buddha was born in Lumbini in the Shakya Kingdom. Lumbini is considered to lie in present-day Rupandehi District, Lumbini zone of Nepal. Buddhism is the second-largest religion in Nepal. According to 2001 census, 10.74% of Nepal's population practiced Buddhism, consisting mainly of Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnicities and the Newar. However, in the 2011 census, Buddhists made up just 9% of the country's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace Pagoda</span> Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace

A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885–1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to world peace. The first was inaugurated at Kumamoto in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapilvastu Municipality</span> Historical city in Kapilvastu District of Lumbini Province, Nepal

Kapilvastu is a municipality and administrative center of Kapilvastu District in Lumbini Province of southern Nepal. The municipality is located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south-west of Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumbini Zone</span> Zone in Nepal

Lumbini was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructure of zones to provinces. It is home to the Lumbini site, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the historical Buddha and founder of the Buddhist philosophy. The zone's headquarters was Butwal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swayambhunath</span> Buddhist temple in Kathmandu, Nepal

Swayambhunath is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees', for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shingun may be of in Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Swayambhu, meaning 'self-sprung'. For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha. Swayambhu is the Hindu name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boudhanath</span> Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal

Bouddha, also known as Boudhanath, Khasti Chaitya and Khāsa Chaitya is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal. Located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the center and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, its massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Nepal</span> The tourist industry in Nepal

Tourism is the largest industry in Nepal and its largest source of foreign exchange and revenue. Possessing eight of the ten highest mountains in the world, Nepal is a hot spot destination for mountaineers, rock climbers and people seeking adventure. The Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Nepal and its cool weather are also strong attractions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhist pilgrimage sites</span>

The most important places in Buddhism are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of southern Nepal and northern India. This is the area where Gautama Buddha was born, lived, and taught, and the main sites connected to his life are now important places of pilgrimage for both Buddhists and Hindus. Many countries that are or were predominantly Buddhist have shrines and places which can be visited as a pilgrimage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India</span>

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

Ramgram is a town and municipality that is the capital of the Parasi District in Lumbini Province of Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it had a population of 25,990 in 4,972 households. The former name, Parasi, is still widely used.

Sunwal City, officially the Sunwal Municipal City, is the urbanized and the most populous city of Parasi District with 72,621 native inhabitants living in 18,689 households in 2021 and 0.11 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Lumbini Province at an altitude of 131 metres.

Ramagrama stupa is a stupa located in Ramgram Municipality, in the Parasi District of Nepal. This Buddhist pilgrimage site containing relics of Gautama Buddha was constructed between the Mauryan and Gupta periods, according to research by Nepal’s Department of Archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhammalok Mahasthavir</span> Pioneer Theravadin Buddhist monk in Nepal

Dhammalok Mahasthavir was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who worked to revive Theravada Buddhism in Nepal in the 1930s and 1940s. For this act, he was expelled from the country by the tyrannical Rana regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kushinagar</span> Historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India

Kushinagar is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Located 53 kilometres east of Gorakhpur on National Highway 27, Kushinagar is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained parinirvana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini</span> Ancient Buddhist temple at Lumbini, Nepal

Maya Devi Temple is an ancient Buddhist temple situated at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lumbini, Nepal. It is the main temple at Lumbini, a site traditionally considered the birthplace of Gautama Buddha. The temple stands adjacent to a sacred pool and a sacred garden. The archaeological remains at the site were previously dated to the third-century BCE brick buildings constructed by Ashoka. A sixth-century BCE timber shrine was discovered in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumbini Sanskritik</span> Municipality in Lumbini Province, Nepal

Lumbini Sanskritik is a municipality situated in Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. Lumbini, the Buddhist pilgrimage site where Buddha was born lies in the center of this municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumbini Province</span> Province of Nepal

Lumbini Province is a province in western Nepal. The country's third largest province in terms of area as well as population, Lumbini is home to the World Heritage Site of Lumbini, where according to the Buddhist tradition, the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was born.