Mahaparinirvan Express – A Practical Way to Visit the Buddha Land

Lord Buddha’s teachings were simple and practical in nature. All he wanted is to make his followers aware of the life’s ultimate truth i.e. in knowledge and awareness. It is his practical vision only that is still bringing his followers to the pilgrimage sites of the revered Buddha’s homeland. The Enlightened One himself pointed out that the visit to these holy places had special power to deepen faith in the Dharma and benefit all beings. Instead of following just the teachings of Lord Buddha, this sentient suggestion by the enlightened one invited the pilgrims to follow his path.

It was the lord’s realistic insight only that the emphasized the value of pilgrimage and directed the Buddhist disciples to visit four prominent sites of his life in his homeland. Such a spiritually uplifting Buddhist pilgrimage in India still is a preferred practice amongst all the travellers to seek and gain a Buddhist perspective to life. In the prominent practice, the pilgrims prefer to visit the sacred Buddha’s homeland in continuity. This is done to attain the maximum impact of this pious journey. For such pilgrims, there is now a preferred route that trails through Mahaparinirvan Express. Named on the final mahaparinirvan of the lord, this is a train that follows the tracks that track the life and teachings of Buddha. The only Buddhist train in the world, this offers the most practical way to a sentient Buddhist pilgrimage in a single go. Also, the company of fellow Buddhist pilgrims aboard this Buddhist train makes the journey a more enriching experience.

Beginning from Delhi, the journey straightaway brings a pilgrim aboard the train where passengers occupy their allotted berths and begin the richly experiential journey of the lifetime. As a welcome gift, these pilgrim passengers are offered a welcome gift of the Buddhist guidebook that marks the route and illustrates the importance of destinations in the Buddhist history. And the first stopover of this heritage train takes the passengers through the most important of the Buddhist heritage sites in the world, Bodhgaya. Here, lord attained enlightenment or Bodha and became Buddha or awakened. Next in the train trail is the visit to small towns of Rajgir and Nalanda in Bihar, two important Buddhist heritage sites. Followed by this is the stopover in Varanasi, famed worldwide as a gateway to Sarnath, one of the four prominent Buddhist pilgrimage sites. This paves the way for the pilgrims to visit the third prominent pilgrimage site, Kushinagar. Here, lord attained Mahaparinirvan and gave his last teaching of Mahaparinibban Sutta. It is due to this teaching only that millions of pilgrims visit the Buddha land. The last of the Buddhist pilgrimage site in the journey is Lumbini, the site of lord’s birth. The last halt of the Buddhist journey is the visit to Jetavana in Sravasti. Here, the Enlightened One spent 24 monsoon retreats and gave many discourses. In the end of the journey, the passengers are taken through the marvel of India’s heritage, Taj Mahal. This is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and presents the scintillating monumental legacy of the country.

This fully guided Buddhist train tour is a safe and pragmatic way to visit the sites associated with life of the Buddha and understand the practical perspectives of Lord Buddha.