Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ferings to their gods, partook of an asceticism that transported them to remote places
where they fasted, meditated and practised yogic techniques.
Many of the fundamental concepts of Buddhism find their origin in the brahman society
of this time. The Buddha (c 480-400 BC), born Siddhartha Gautama, was one of many
wandering ascetics whose teachings led to the establishment of rival religious schools.
Jainism was one of these schools; Buddhism was another.
Little is known about the life of Siddhartha. It was probably not until some 200 years
after his death that biographies were compiled, and by that time many of the circumstances
of his life had merged with legend. It is known that he was born in Lumbini (modern-day
Nepal) of a noble family and that he married and had a son before renouncing a life of
privilege and embarking on a quest to make sense of the suffering in the world.
After studying with many of the masters of his day he embarked on a course of intense
ascetism, before concluding that such a path was too extreme. Finally, in the place that is
now known as Bodhgaya in India, Siddhartha meditated beneath a
bo
(pipal) tree. At the
break of dawn at the end of his third night of meditation he became a buddha (awakened
one).
You'll see many famous stories from Buddha's life painted on monastery murals, from
his birth (his mother Maya is depicted holding on to a tree) and his first seven steps (lotus
flowers sprouted from the ground) to his skeletal ascetic phase and temptation by the de-
mon Mara.
Prayer flags are strung up to purify the air and pacify the mountain gods. All feature a
longta
(windhorse), which carries the prayers up into the heavens. The colours are highly
symbolic - red, green, yellow, blue and white represent fire, wood, earth, water and iron.
