Bodhgaya, July 7, 2013: From 4.30 in the morning every day, chants of “Buddham Sharanam Gachchhaami, Dhammam Sharanam Gachchhaami, Sangham Sharanam Gachchhaami” reverberate across the serene Mahabodhi Mahavihara premises. Today was no different.

Bodhgaya is home to some 52 Buddhist temples and monasteries, some of them set up by foreign countries such as Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, China, Tibet, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

The monks in charge of these monasteries and other devotees visit the Mahabodhi Mahavihara before dawn and again in the evening to pray before the Buddha statue installed in the sanctum sanctorum. Tourists meditate at the shrine and also under the sprawling branches of the sacred Bodhi tree.

During the off season, March to September, the Buddhist monks prefer to perform the rituals under the Bodhi tree, which stands just behind the sanctum sanctorum. This is done between 4.30am and 9am and again from 6pm to 9pm, said Bhikkhu Priyapala, the monk in charge of the Chakma Buddhist monastery.

The tourists arriving at Bodhgaya from non-Buddhist countries just do meditation, whose timing matches the monks’ prayer schedule during the off season because of the hot days.

During the tourist season, October to February, when the weather is cooler, the place starts buzzing around 4am. The annual prayer schedules of the various Buddhist sects such as the Kagyue Monlam, Nyingma Monlam and Jonang Monlam are organised between October and February. Every annual prayer schedule starts with a prayer for world peace.

During the off season, an average of around 50 devotees are seen on the Mahavihara premises in the morning. In the peak tourist season, the number often crosses 1,000 in the mornings and continues increasing as the day progresses.

Footfalls increase also when the Dalai Lama visits Bodhgaya. The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists had led the 10-day 32nd Kalchakra Puja from January 1 to 10 when more than three lakh devotees visited Bodhgaya.

Source: The Telegraph, DT. July 7, 2013.