Day 4, 20 November, morning call at 5.30 am. We take a set of clothes and leave the rest of our luggage behind. The ride to the comforts of Clarks Hotel is a quick trip — Buddha did the
250 km in 8 days. Eighteen years later, Thai disciple Mahaupasika Siti Pol’s group, whose descendants we had met at Bodh Gaya, came with 300 followers and took the same path. Buddha, astounded at what he had discovered, remembered the five bhikshu who had deserted him. But they were at Deer Park in Sarnath, 10 km from Varanasi. He crossed Ganga by ferry to the ghat. There, he preached his first sermon, the Dharamchakraparivartana, or Turning of the Wheel of Law, the pivotal Buddhist doctrine. We gorge on a Clarks’ buffet breakfast — sausages, idli, hot jalebi, and kachori, before we take the coach to Sarnath.
At Sarnath, our next road stop the same day, Buddha founded the Sangha with the same five ascetics as his first disciples. Thereafter, for 45 years he walked the plains, preaching. The magnificent Sarnath Buddha stands proud in the museum, his beatific smile bestowing grace. In the evening, back at Varanasi, we witness a grand aarti on Dashwamedh ghat, a celebration of the spirit of the Ganges, with a clash of cymbals, song and incense. We take the boat to cross over to Raj ghat where our coach is parked. It takes us back to the train, which by now is our refuge. It welcomes us with clean sheets and towels, and a smiling manager with his crew. For dinner, we sample the Japanese cuisine, chicken teriyaki, and smoked salmon. Yasuki Hashiba of Tokyo’s Cox & Kings approves.
Varanasi behind us, the train heads for Gorakhpur. From Gorakhpur, we take the coach to our three-star Lotus Hotel in the dusty town of Kushinagar or Kasia, which is 58 km away from Gorakhpur. The coach driver is the same — he has driven all night from Varanasi to receive us. The hotel looks like an old colonial bungalow. It’s the peak season and bookings are heavy. Some of us have to wait for our rooms and there is general grumbling all around, but I have a tummy bug and my khichri is just right.
Practically walking distance away is the Mahaparinirvan Temple. The spectacular Buddha lies six metres long, in black stone. His expression changes at every angle. Chunda, a metal smith, offered Buddha his last meal here, and he died of food poisoning. But Buddha consoled him: the one who serves him his last meal would acquire great merit. The bhiku Mahakashyap lit Buddha’s pyre at the Mukutbandha Vihara, where the Rambhar Stupa is. Then, the relics were divided and encased in eight stupas across the country.
Around the temple there are several monasteries built by Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. With the Buddhist population in India being miniscule (2 million), there isn’t enough activism to maintain them. Day 5 is coming to an end and all of us are exhausted. At night, we get a much-needed break for washing hair, gossiping and catching up.
|