Back to the roots of Lin Pi Ni .VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

In the Great Nirvana Sutta, the Buddha promises that there are four relics that any good man or woman who comes to worship with devotion will enjoy immeasurable blessings.

That is where Buddha was born, where Buddha attained enlightenment, where Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma, and where Buddha entered Nirvana. For Buddhists, the need to visit these victories is not just for merit, but rather, it is a dream, a spiritual need, a religious sentiment. Not a Buddhist, but for British archeologists and Orientalists, tracing the garden of Lumbini, where Buddha was born, is an urge, a great obsession.

However, Buddhism has almost completely disappeared in India for centuries. The land where the Buddha was born and grew up, the land that nourished a glorious time and the dawn of Buddhist civilization no longer left a trace. Mourning mourning has turned the magnificent citadels of an ancient time into the endless wilderness forests without footprints. Finding the ancient garden in the middle of the vast mountains of India is a needle-digging story of the seabed, a great challenge for Easternists. So finding and recovering the Lam Lam Ni victory today attracting millions of people to the pilgrimage to worship is a great work of countless brains of countless people, spanning over half a century.  

Not a Buddhist, but for British archeologists and Orientalists, tracing the garden of Lumbini, where Buddha was born, is an urge, a great obsession.

It is said that the heart works, because these Western archaeologists and the Western archaeologists who came to British India were not only armed with academic knowledge, new technical means, but what matters. more importantly, they are very heavy-hearted people with Buddhism. Fortunately for them, and for all of us Buddhists, this story of the seabed has been achieved thanks to two sets of valuable guides of two prominent Chinese and French monks, Dong Hien of Dong Tan. and Xuanzang of Tang Dynasty. Both of them left the two famous memoirs "Buddha National Records" and "Great Western Road of Sign", documenting the precious details on the pilgrimage to Buddha land.

Phap Hien, Huyen Trang and a pilgrimage to worship Buddha land

Phap Hien departed from Trang An in 399 across vast deserts without footprints, in the wilds of the western region, the homeland of the Huns tribesmen, across the upper living area. The Indo-Indian and finally to the north of Punjab and Afghanistan are the famous Buddhist cultural area of ​​Can Da La stretching to Mathura with hundreds of pagodas and monasteries in each hamlet.

From Mathura, Phap Hien went to the East, where Buddha was born and propagated the Dharma. Surprising to Phap Hien, the more he went to the northeast, the more and more wild the scene was scattered, only occasionally seeing a few of these monasteries. When he arrived at Ca Ti La Ve and Lam Ti Ni gardens, the two relics were completely deserted.

From here, he went to the southeast, visited the place where Buddha entered nirvana, and entered the city of Xa Ve, the capital of Lichchavis. Crossing the Ganges River, Phap Hien arrived in the capital city of Pataliputra, the capital of Ma Kiet Da Kingdom, whose center was a magnificent royal citadel, which Phap Hien described as a city. richest in most contemporary India.

From Hoa Thi capital city, he went south to Rajagriha, the ancient capital of the famous Buddhist monarch Binh Sa Vuong, the golden land of Buddhism. But this place is now completely deserted, what remains traces the pagodas and caves of historical value associated with the activities of the Buddha and the great disciples while still alive. Not far from Rajagriha is the home of Xa Loi Buddha, where the monk chose to enter nirvana.

After visiting this place, Phap Hien continued to go south, to visit Bodh Gaya and famous landmarks. Afterwards, Phap Hien returned to the capital city of Hoa Thi, stayed at a monastery for three years, and began to study and copy scriptures. Then from here Phap Hien swept along the Ganges River across the sea to Sri Lanka, admiring two famous victories, the Bodhi tree, extracted from the original Bodhi tree where the Buddha was enlightened and the relics of Buddha's teeth. Phap Hien returned to China in 414 by sea, ending a 14-year pilgrimage.

More than two hundred years later (629), Xuanzang under the Tang Dynasty also emanated from Chang'an, departing for Hsinchu via the "Silk Road" connecting India-China. The cultual pilgrimage of this famous 27-year-old monk has been legendary through the work of Journey to the West captivating generations of readers in China and Vietnam. Crossing Ngoc Mon Quan, the last gate of the Chinese empire to the Western Region, Xuanzang began an arduous journey, confronting many challenges and challenges of the dangerous nature, of the ice. Party robbery of murderous hands. Once lost in the desert of Great Qua Bich (Gobi), an immense sea of ​​sand that lasts forever, no birds fly, no living creatures, almost dying, but with firm faith in Heart Sutra, go to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara,

From Mathura, Xuanzang stopped by Ayodhya, visited the ancient monastery where the Buddha himself, the founder of Duy Thuc once practiced and transformed from Hinayana to Mahayana. Afterwards, crossing the Ganges River, Xuanzang went north and began to enter the Buddhist holy site. Like Phap Hien before, Huyen Trang's first stop was the citadel of Xa Ve, the home of the famous Buddhist monarch of Persia. The ancient capital of Xa Ve and all the Buddhist monasteries here are now completely deserted, including the Garden of the Crown Prince of the Crown Prince, where the Buddha founded the first Buddhist community, which is also the place where that he allowed to set up a nun.

From Xa Ve, going to the Northwest, Huyen Trang arrived at Ca Ti La Ve, now only the ruined walls remain. Not far away is an ancient tower marked by the fairy A Tu Da who predicted the future of Prince Siddhartha. At the East gate of Ca Pi La Ve is a temple commemorating the Prince's first trip out of the palace, facing the reality of birth, old age, sickness, and death. About 9, 10 miles to the West of Ca Ti La Ve is Lam Ti Ni garden. Here he saw a stone pillar erected by King Asoka, with the words marking the anniversary of the Buddha's birth.

This stone pillar was discovered in 1895 and is an important clue for archaeologists and Orientalists to determine the exact location of the Lam Pi Ni garden later. We halt the pilgrimage to worship the land of Lord Huyen Trang here to try to track down one of the important achievements of Buddhism after more than 1,000 years of losing track.

Attempts to trace the forest of Lumbini

The "Buddha of the Nation" was translated into French by "Foe Kuoe Ki" by Jean Pière Abel Rémusat in 1837. Eleven years later, in 1848, the English edition was born: "The Pilgrimage of Fa Hian from the French Edition of the Foe Kuoe Ki of MM Rémusat, Klaproth and Landresse ". With the English edition in hand, archeologists and Orientalists had a good opportunity to test the accuracy of what was recorded during the pilgrimage of Dharma Hien.

As mentioned above, the work of tracing the place of Buddha's birth is an effort of many people, organizations, spanning many decades, including some prominent names such as James. Prinsep, Alexander Cunningham, Vincent Smith ... However, two key figures who completed the final efforts in bringing Lami Ni and Ca Pi La Ve to light are Dr. Lawrence Austine Waddell, a military physician. served in the British Royal Army and Dr. Fuhrer, an expert in Oriental and archeology of the British government. Dr. Waddell is a quite special character. Born into a Protestant pastor's family of Presbyterian people, however, during his seven years of service in Darjeeling, he began his passion for studying Tibetan Buddhism.  

As light flashed at the end of the tunnel, an attempt to track the forest of the Lumbini passed through an important turn when in March 1893, Major Jaskaran Sìngh of the Nepalese government happened to be on a hunting trip in the area. Nigliva forest, north of Ba Na Nai (Benares) near the India-Nepal border, has heard the local people talking about the vestiges of a stone pillar still here. For centuries, this was a deserted forest uninhabited except for a small group of aboriginal people who have been immune from the malignant malaria disease prevalent in these tropical forests. He then asked them to lead to this area and after clearing the surrounding trees found outside the stone pillar that was inclined on the ground beside it was an intact pedestal with four ancient words engraved on it.

Major Jaskaran Sìngh's discovery led the Nepalese government to ask the Indian government to help decipher the four rows of inscriptions on the stone pedestal and this was the clue leading to later historical events in tracking down the seal. Traces of Buddha's birth. Upon receiving this news, a survey mission of Dr. Fuhrer immediately came to this area and found the pillars and stone pedestals were not difficult. However, for a certain reason, it was not until a year later, in April 1895, that this translation was published in The Academy newspaper. , Piyadasi, ordained for 14 years, who upgraded the tower to worship the ancient Buddha Konakamana for a second time, and after his ordination ... He personally came to pay homage to him, creating ... " Worth mentioning is that in Dr. Fuhrer's notes, he did not mention or did not realize that the title of the ancient Buddha Konakamana mentioned in the stone pillar of King Ashoka was the Buddha Kanakamuni in Sanskrit Sanskrit. This detail is very important because both Phap Hien and Huyen Trang worshipers have visited this Kanakamuni tower and said its position is in the vicinity of Ca Pi La Ve citadel and Lam Pi Ni garden.

Xuanzang also described in more detail the location of this tower. To get to Kanakmuni tower, he departed from Ca Ti La Ve to the south about 50 miles about 10 miles to a citadel and from this citadel he went about 30 more, or 6 miles to the northeast. He further described seeing three other stupas here, one of which is said to be the relics of Kanakamuni Buddha. In front of this third tower is "a stone pillar about 20 feet high and on top of it is a lion along with the Buddha's teachings before entering nirvana around. This stone pillar was also erected by King Ashoka. " So, if the Aso stone pillar found by Major Jaskaran Sìngh found at Nigliva tells us the location of the ancient church tower of Kanakamuni Buddha and if the direction that Huyen Trang recorded was correct, then surely the king of the Bhikkhu La Ve was Lam Pi Ni garden, where Buddha was born, is located only a few miles northwest of this pillar. With these findings and the instructions in the journal of Xuanzang, Dr. Waddell politely wrote a letter to the Secretary General of The Asian Society of Bengal (The Asiatic Society of Bengal), surprised. was that no one was interested in discovering the A pillar of stone at Nigliva, which he thought was "an important event that goes beyond the inscriptions on the pillar, because it provides a clue." important for exploring the birthplace of Buddha Shakyamuni ...  

However, Dr. Waddell did not hide his grievance when he received an enthusiastic reply from the Secretary-General informed that this issue will be discussed in the next meeting of the Association, about two months later. , expressed that the Association did not pay much attention to this important event. Dr. Waddell decided to bring the issue to the public. In an article titled: "Where is the Buddha's Birthplace?", Published in Englishman, Calcutta he asserts that, "The place where Buddha Shakyamuni was born long ago loses track, certainly in the Nepalese Tarar region, about 7 miles west of Nigliva village of Nepal ... That, Lin Pi Ni or the garden of Lin Pi Ni, is about 3 to 4 miles north of this village. " Given that people are standing on the threshold of one of India's most important discoveries of the century, archeology,

Dr. Waddell's article was immediately posted by all English-language newspapers in India, creating a wave of interest in response to public opinion. So in the last week of November, 1896 three survey missions were sent to this region, one of Nepal and two of India under the guidance of Dr. Fuhrer, all with the help of local governor, General Khadga Rana. However, General Khadga Rana, due to receiving a private letter from Dr. Waddell, excavated another stone pillar next to Rumindei village about 10 miles from Nigliva, discovered by Duncan Ricketts in 1885. Digging down On the ground about 3 feet, people found five rows of inscriptions on the stone pillars intact. This is another stone pillar built by King Ashoka whose purpose is clearly stated in the remaining words: King Piyadasi, He was loved by the gods,

No doubt one has finally found the exact location of the Lam Pi Ni garden, where Buddha was born.

If the Lin Pi Ni garden has been found, it will not be difficult to track down the royal citadel of Ca Pi La Ve. Dr. Waddell, based on Xuanzang's Great Western Road, confirmed that the royal capital Bhikkhu La Ve "was located about 7 miles northwest of Nigliva village." Following these instructions, Dr. Fuhrer discovered the location of the abandoned ancient city of Ca Pi La Ve. On December 23, the publication of Allahhabad Pioneer exclusively published two important discoveries. Five days later, the Times of London and a number of other national publications republished the work of exploring the Lam Pi Ni garden and the royal citadel of Ca La La Ve. Dr. Fuhrer explained in detail the discovery of the Bhikkhu La Ve as follows:

The discovery of Aso's stone pillar at Lam Pi Ni garden, Rumindei village, helped me to precisely adjust the monarch area of ​​Ca La La Ve and the solemn achievements in the vicinity. Thanks to the very precise records recorded by two Chinese pilgrimage pilgrims who helped me discover the deserted citadel, about 18 miles northwest of Lin Xi stone pillar and 6 miles northwest of the village. Nigliva ... The whole area is now as desolate as Phap Hien and Huyen Trang have witnessed before, but each of the triumphs recorded by these two pilgrims is verified. easily.

In this discovery, Dr. Fuhrer devoted all his credit, from the discovery of the first stone pillar in the village of Nigliva, to the discovery of the Lam Pi Ni stone pillar on December 1, 1896, as well as King of Ca Pi La Ve. To be fair, Dr. Waddell is a pioneer, must have a worthy position, and must share his honor in these two important findings.

Conclude

Attempts to track down where the Buddha was born first must be recognized first by the United Kingdom's religious and cultural tolerance policy. Conquering and colonizing India, the British did not do what the imperial and colonial powers did, seeking to abolish indigenous cultures and religions. Instead of Christianizing India, the British gave back to the traditional cultural and religious values ​​of the Indians. Of course this policy was opposed by the conservatives, but eventually the radicals prevailed, so the search for the Lam Pi Ni garden was well supported by the British colonial government in India. , the Bengal government and the Nepalese government.

More than 100 years after discovering the place of Buddha's birth, the face of the Lam Pi Ni garden has changed. From a desolate jungle, home to the serpents and the malevolent malaria, Lumbini Garden has now returned to the worthy position of a leading Buddhist mecca, attracting millions of Buddhists around the world on the pilgrimage to worship each year. Visiting Lumbini, bathing in the Buddhist stream, following in the footsteps of the Father who walked over two thousand and five hundred years ago, Buddhists could not help but remember the merits of those who had tracing and restoring the cultural and religious value of this land.

At the same time, this is also an opportunity for us to contemplate the impermanence of life. Several thousand years ago, this land was the place of dispute of so many kingdoms and tribes. The fascination with power, the ambition of land has waged many wars. You killed your father, you killed each other to gain power. In the end, these kingdoms were also erased, the magnificent castles and magnificent castles were left with rubble, the lands that people once shed blood to fight for each other. back to the wild forests. All are erased in the dust of time. Facing this impermanence, there is only one place of residence for humans, that is, dwell in Buddhism.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.2/6/2020.