Bangkok – A group of Thai Buddhists has arrived in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Buddhism.
The pilgrims, who are from the far South of Thailand, traveled to India late last month on a trip organized by Internal Security Operations Command Region 4. They traveled to Uttar Pradesh to visit Sarnath, where the Dhamek Stupa is located. It was built by the Great Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty to house the Lord Buddha’s relics.
Considered one of the holiest places in the Buddhist faith, Sarnath was also where the Lord Buddha ordained the first five Buddhist monks and preached the first sermon called Dhammacakkappavaddana Sutta to his disciples.
They have also visited the Mulagandha Kuti Vihara Monastery, also situated in Sarnath, where the Lord Buddha stayed during his first month of monkhood.
