Deer park in Sarnath - India Trip

I didn’t plan to visit Sarnath at the first place, because in terms of landmark, this place is not amazing. Sarnath and Bodh Gaya are 2 of the four holy sites in Buddhism, but I only planned to visit Bodh Gaya originally, since it is more important than Sarnath, and also because Bodh Gaya has better landmarks: a temple plus a tree. The four holy sites as places of pilgrimage for Buddhists are Lumbini (Nepal), where the Buddha was born; Bodh Gaya (India), where the Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi tree; Sarnath (India), where the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Dharma; and Kusinagara (India), where the Buddha passed away.

Sarnath is a place located 10 kilometers north-east in Varanasi. Ritu from AG Tours suggested us drive from Varanasi to Bodh Gaya and make a enroute stop at Sarnath; on the way back, she suggested us to fly back from Bodh Gaya to New Delhi. There is no non-stop flight from Bodh Gaya to New Delhi, all the flights  stop at Varanasi. I thought this was a great idea, so I agreed to take on the 6 hours long distance drive and make a stop at Sarnath. Sarnath is only 30 min drive from Varanasi, and our first stop was at the main temple. This place was not that memorable, except this was the first place we were asked to remove shoes before walk inside the temple, and I paid 10 INR to use the washroom. Please always bring your own toilet paper while travelling in India, since most of the public washrooms do not provide toilet paper. The washroom in Sarnath is the only washroom that I needed to pay a fee to use.

After the main temple, the driver drove us to the second stop: deer park. You can walk from the main temple to the deer park too, they are very close that you can see the stupa in the deer park from the main temple. The guide who was with us yesterday in Varanasi didn’t come today, only the driver was needed to transfer us to Bodh Gaya. When I first met the driver at the Varanasi airport, I felt like he is a very proud man. The way he looks is very determined, and the way he drives is quite aggressive. I later realized that my impression was correct and there was a reason behind it, but I will tell you the story about him in my next blog “Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya”.

Sarnath derives its name from Sarangnath or the Deer God. The deer park at Sarnath is the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon or proclaimed Dharma and the original Sangha was created. According to Xuanzang Tang, the famous Chinese monk and world traveler, the deer park was developed by the Jataka King of Benaras. The history of this holy site dates back to 528 BC.

The Deer park is a huge enclosure made for the deer to roam around freely, except I didn’t see any deer. It is a heavenly place for those seeking solitude and peace away from their hectic lifestyle. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing. Amidst the beautiful gardens and the relics of Buddhist monasteries and stupas, the deer park is a prominent tourist attraction in Sarnath. Foreigners need to pay 200 INR for entrance. The entrance fee for locals is much less or maybe free (I forgot). Many local couples spend their romantic time here in the park.

The Dhamek Stupa is the marjor landmark inside the deer park, which is said to mark the spot where the Buddha gave the first sermon to his first five brahmin disciples after attaining enlightenment. The stupa was enlarged on six occasions but the upper part is still unfinished. While visiting Sarnath in 640 CE, Xuanzang recorded that the colony had over 1,500 priests and the main stupa was nearly 300 feet (91 m) high.

In its current shape, the stupa is a solid cylinder of bricks and stone reaching a height of 43.6 meters and having a diameter of 28 meters. It is the most massive structure in Sarnath. The basement seems to have survived from Ashoka's structure: the stone facing is chiseled and displays delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. The wall is covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in the Brāhmī script.

I saw a few groups of Buddhists walked around or sat beside the stupa. There were either Chanting or meditating. Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path — a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An enlightened being sees the nature of reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for anyone who attains it.

Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods which enable people to realize and use its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives.

The traffic was terrible after we left Sarnath. Our car was stuck in traffic for almost an hour. While the car was not moving, my mom took some photos of the locals.

The local people are making bamboo baskets.

 

My mom also took some photos of passengers who were stuck in the traffic too.

Once the traffic started to move again, our “brave” driver decided to take the other side of the road so he could drive faster. All I could do was to make sure my seat belt was on and close my eyes… Fortunately, the other side of the road soon started to have heavy traffic too, and he could not move any faster there, so he steered the wheel and came back to the side we supposed to drive on the road. During my India trip, I realized that the most dangerous place in India is actually on the road.

It was a long trip from Varanasi to Bodh Gaya. We didn’t arrive Bodh Gaya until 7pm. The most surprising thing that night was the fancy restaurant we picked serves a vegetarian menu! When I realized the menu only has veggie items on it, I felt like “Welcome to Bodh Gaya” in capital letters! The good thing was that the vegetarian choices in an Indian restaurant normally tastes better then the items with meat. I guess this is because the majority of Indian people are vegetarians, so they are more experienced in cooking veggies.