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Celebrating the legacy of courageous women in early Buddhism
The wisdom of Bhikkhunī Sangha in modern Buddhism
Tathālokā Therī
March 4, 2024



🙏🙏🙏  Birpur, Vaishali, India


Ancient heritage comes alive.


Kśetra means land, bhumī.

This is a pūjā bhumi, sacred space.


Parinibbāna or parinirvāna means the ultimate or final nirvāna, with the death of the physical body of an arahanta, one who has realized nibbāna, a full awakened one.


Over ten years of research... and following the directions of the famed pilgrim diary of Tripitaka Master Xuanzang, the Retracing Bodhisattva Xuanzang project has located an ancient mound in the vicinity of Vaishali village Birpur matching ancient directions. Xuanzang recorded visiting a stupa marking the site of the Parinibbāna of Bhikkhunī Sangha founding mother Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī Therī, foster mother of the Buddha, in this area.* Pottery shards on site and in the area, date from the Buddha period. In these area, there are numerous ancient mounds. However, several have disappeared recently due to railway construction.

Links to the information are given below.


*Xuanzang recorded visiting a total of three stupas remembering and commemorating the life and final nirvāna of the venerable Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī Therī during his pilgrimage travels:

  1. robe offering stupa at Nigrodharama, Kapilavastua, where she first requested to join the Buddha's monastic Sangha (stupa ruins still exist, and have been preserved as a Buddhist heritage pilgrimage site)

  2. Rajakarama, her bhikkhuni monastery in Savatthi, near Jetavana (foundations still exist, and have been preserved as a Buddhist heritage pilgrimage site)

  3. Vaishali, the place of Mahā Gotamī's parinibbāna together with 500 Bhikkhuni Sangha founding bhikkhunīs (stupa recorded in Palī text Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī Therī Apadāna as well as in three parallel Chinese and Tibetan canonical texts, as well as in-person stupa visit recorded by Xuanzang in his pilgrimage diary)



 

Bhikkhunī, Sāmanerī and Upāsika pilgrims visit identified Birpur village mound, Vaishali:


Thanks to Upāsika Dr. Marlai Ouch and the Cambodian Bhikkhuni Sangha Initiative-អភិវឌ្ឍថេរវាទភិក្ខុនីសង្ឃខ្មែរដំបូង for the amazing photo with such great ambiance.


Bhikkhunī Sangha chanting during pilgrimage to ancient mound associate with Mahāprajāpatī Parinibbāna, village of Birpur, Vaishali:

From video posted by Dr. Marlai Ouch
From video posted by Dr. Marlai Ouch

Thanks Ven Mettajivi Bhikkhuni, Ven Bhikkhuni Saddha, Ven Dhammānusārī Bhikkhunī, and Ven Jutindhara Bhikkuni for photos of your pilgrimage. Ven Dhammanusari shares about the experience here.


Retracing Bodhisattva Xuanzang's journey to the ancient parinirvāna stupa of Mahā Prajāpatī:

From the Nālandā - Insatiable in Offering blog
From the Nālandā - Insatiable in Offering blog

What you are seeing in the center image here in terms of calculations, from Xuanzang:

"I reached the country of Vaiśālī...

"Not far from here is a stupa built at the place of the old house of the woman Āmra[pālī]. The Buddha's aunt [Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī] and other bhikṣuṇīs realized nirvana at this place. 

 "Three or four li to the north of the monastery is a stupa at the place where human and nonhuman beings stood and waited while following the Tathāgata, who was proceeding to the country of Kušinagara to enter parinirvāṇa. Next, not far to the northeast, is another stupa at the place where the Buddha stopped and took a last look at the city of Vaiśālī. Not far to the south of this stupa is a temple, in front of which is a stupa at the place where Āmra[pālī] offered her garden to the Buddha.

   "Beside Āmra[pālī] Garden is a stupa at the place where the Tathāgatha announced the time of his nirvana."

- p 183 intro, then p 185 of The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, Fascicle VIII 908c (BDK Tripitaka 1996 T2087)


The PDF ebook is very kindly freely available as dāna here.


The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions
The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions

From the Nālandā - Insatiable in Offering blog
From the Nālandā - Insatiable in Offering blog

What a new stupa, of possibly similar size, on the water, looks like, for comparison. This is the Shanti Stupa peace pagoda in Lumbini.


Shanti Stupa peace pagoda in Lumbini
Shanti Stupa peace pagoda in Lumbini

A video of visiting the site:

កន្លែងព្រះនាងមហាបជាបតិគោតមីចូលបរិនិព្វាន"


Learning more, and upcoming plans...

Dakini Conversations Podcast

"Parinibbāna Kśetra of Mahā Prajāpatī Gautamī"

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