#Dhamehk Stupa

[gaitsinwind]

啟蒙法輪 - 印度鹿野苑公園- Sarnath Park,India, where “Initial turning of the wheel of Dharmas” was.

鹿野苑之答枚克佛塔  Dhamehk Stupa.

當我到瓦拉納西時，我順便往北去鹿野苑，佛教八大(有說4大)聖地之一。 鹿野苑是佛祖成道後，第一次傳教的首次地方，他的5位護衛是他的第一批弟子。佛教的最初傳播地，所以鹿野苑是"初轉法輪"的地方。

When I visited Varanasi,I went further north to visit one of the most important Buddhist holy sites,Sarnath.Sarnath is the first place that Buddha came to start teaching Buddhism to his 5 body guards,after Buddha finished his own ascetic practices and achieved enlightenment.Here came to the premiere, the very beginning of Buddhism sermon shown to the world ,which is called as "Initial turning of the wheel of Dharmas."(My own translation,let me know if I am wrong.)

園區地圖 The map of the Park.

路牌已經說��很清楚鹿野苑的來源，我只是將它的英文錯誤更正(我的媽呀!印度的英文~haha，對不起~我也沒多好，可是忍不住)。 此外，如果你要去，記得從瓦拉納西舊城市區去比較近(10公里)，從機場直接去反而比較遠(30公里)。 請用包車，tutu車，價錢要先說好，要包一整天的，不然怎麼回來?到那邊要再找車回來，我覺得麻煩，反正不會貴到哪裡去啦。

The sign says quite clear already.I just corrected its grammatical errors here. By the Way,if you want to visit here,you'd better go from Varanasi Old Town.It's nearer(10km) than you go directly from the railway station(30km).

Please rent a tutu motorcar for a whole day tour,but you need to fix the price beforehand.It will be a hassle to find a car back to Varanasi then.

另個角度 Other views of the Stupa.

另個角度 Other views of the Stupa.

公園裡原修道院場景 The site in the park originally was monastery compounds.

原修道院Original Monastery 

牌告內容翻譯如下,The translation of the sign is stated as below,

~基本資訊:Basic information,~

***************************************

鹿野苑公園位於瓦拉納西以北10公里處，面積約占350公畝，從火車站約10公里，從機場約30公里遠。 以前這裡是濃密的森林，野鹿可以無憂無慮的亂逛，這裡從以前就被當作聖地了，常常有高僧或隱士在這裡修行。

"Sarnath Deer Park" is situated in Northern side of Holy City of Varanasi, Its area is about 350 acres, about 10 km north from Varanasi Contt Railway Station and 30 km from Babatpur Airport. In old days,it has a dense forest where deers(Indian terms as chittals) used to roam fearlessly,and was considered as a holy place for hermits and monks practising asceticism. This is also known as "Mirigdavvan Ishipahana".

這裡是佛祖在成道後第一次傳道的地方，將愛、無暴力、和慈悲教導給世人，首次傳道時是對五位信徒(五貼身護衛)，當時還有野鹿在現場聽。This is the place where Lord buddha delivered his first sermon of love ,non-violence, and kindness to all human beings after achieving enlightenment.The first sermon was delivered to five disciples ,along with some deers present.

鑒於鹿野苑的歷史重要性，印度獨立後的首位首相在1956年時來訪。 訪問後，將鹿野苑的保護和管理權責交付給U.P.森林部門，同年，U.P.政府當局即成立"鹿野苑公園"。Considering the historical importance of Sarnath, the first prime minister of independent India, Pondit Jawaharlal Nehru ,who visited Sarnath in 1956. After his visit,the responsibility of protection and management of this forest was given to U.P.Forest Department. In the same year, "Sarnath Deer Park" was established by U.P.govt.authority.

現在，公園已由印度位於新德里的中央政府的動物局所認列，受到瓦拉納西森林部門的鹿野苑森林農場所管理。At Present ,this park is recognized by Central Zoo Authority of New Delhi govet.of India, and managed by Sarnath Forest Ranch of Varanasi forest Division.

瓦拉納西森林部門辦公室。

Divisional Forest Office of Vanarasi.

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原修道院Original Monastery

原修道院

Original Monastery

如同大家了解，一個教派要成為一國的信仰基礎，一定有一個強力的���治背景來支持發展，是的，鹿野苑是佛教發展的初地，強力的政治支持者是孔雀王朝的阿育王，孔雀王朝在西元前325年打敗了侵犯印度的羅馬帝國亞歷山大大帝。

As you guys know ,if a religious sect became a nation's faith foundation,it must have had a strong political force to back it.Yes, Sarnath is the beginning of Buddhism,and the strong force is King Asoka,Dynasty of Mayura,which beated Alexander the Great(Roman Empire) in B.C.E.325.

另個角度 Other view.

園區裡面重要的古蹟亮點不少，首推答枚克(達美克)佛塔(高度H:39m X 直徑D:28m)，是少數阿育王時期殘留建物，紀念佛祖教授佛法的地點，四周石墩(紅磚)是當時寺院遺跡，大唐三藏在七世紀時來訪，當時盛況空前，往東直傳到日本，往南斯里南卡成南傳佛教中心。

There are many touring points that should be put under spotlight.The most important point is Dhamehk Stupa(Height:39m X Diameter:28m),which is one of the few left from the period of Dynasty Mayura.The stupa was built to commemorate the location where Buddha first lay out his sermon to his 5 disciples.The red-bricked mounds that scattering around the Stupa were the relics of temple building in old time. In 7th century,Buddhist Master of The Tang Dynasty of China, San Zhan(the master of "Magic Monkey",if you don't know him),who also came to visit here.Then Buddhism went even further to east to Japan,and south to Sri Lanka(which became the center of southern sect of Buddhism),and to Indonesia.

另個角度 Other view.

說一點達美克佛塔的事吧，土耳其人在12世紀有來侵略印度，還好佛塔沒有被破壞很多，這個塔有歷代信徒用金箔貼上，外面另有8面浮雕，各有黃金佛像，精美非常不用再說，園區不只這一座，另一座可以從裂縫看到裡面，我就逛呀逛的，就看到裡面還有一層，厲害吧，達美克佛塔其實是���兩層，我就被嚇一跳，很好奇說，我不是唯一很皮的人，亞歷山大大帝在這裡的時候也是，他還叫人從上面挖個洞用繩子下去，聽說底層發現紀念碑什麼的。

Let me say something about the Stupa.Well,I love funny stories,too. In 12th century,when Turkish invaded India.Luckily,they didn't make enough harm to the stupa,so we can see what the stupa looks like now. People at that time came to worship the stupa,and they used gold foils to coat the surface of the stupa.A way of expressing their love to Buddha and Buddhism.There were exquisite bas-reliefs in octagonal directions on the base wall of the stupa too.It looked imposing and grand as you can imagine. There are other stupas there in the park.So,when I loitered with no specific purposes,I saw a large crack in one of the stupas,which allowed me to see into.Wow !! I was kind of surprised to know there was another layer of stupa inside.So,I see.there are two layers in this type of stupas.But,I am not the only one who is curious about things. Alexander the Great,who also came and even asked workers to dig a hole on top of the stupa.He then sent workers inside to fine some tablets,and so on.

鹿野苑之答枚克佛塔，建於孔雀王朝阿育王。Dhamekh Stupa,at Sarnath Deer Park.,built by King Asoka,Dynasty of Mayura.

另個角度

Other view.

另個角度 Other view.

另個角度 Other view.

公園四周整理得很好，真是太美好的一天了，從瓦拉納西市區過來前，被市區的亂象煩死，包車過來的路也坑坑巴巴，震到內臟都要跳出來了，一到這裡整個人接觸到熟悉的佛教氛圍，一下子都回復平靜。

The surroundings were well managed.What a wonderful day! I thought. I was irritated constantly by the unruly city sight.Even the road condition was bad.The motorcar I rented kept swinging and tittering all the way to Sarnath from Varanasi city.I thought my guts were about to jump out of my body along the way. However,it all worthed it.It was worthy of the turmoils.When I arrived at my destination,I felt familiar Buddhist ambience,and then,everything,every struggle of mine was calmed.

紋飾近照close-up of emblems on the surface of Dhamekh Stupa.

紋飾近照close-up

公園內的考古還在進行中，有看到阿育王佇立的阿修羅石柱，刻的是佛祖對世人的教誨(紀念佛教成孔雀王朝的國教，相當頒發的飭令)，上面以四面獅雕像鎮守，四面獅已經移到園區外面的博物館，放在一進門的地方，四面獅也是印度鈔票上的圖案，是現今印度國徽。博物館不可以照相，害我好扼腕，好可惜，其中我覺得很誇張的是一座華蓋，用來佛祖上課時遮雨的，是石頭雕成，比整個人還大，那不是很重嗎?竟然千年來沒有碎掉。

The archaeological work was still undergoing at the park.I saw the columns carved with buddhist lessons by the order of King Asoka(Asura Columns).On top of the columns sat a 4-headed lion,which was moved to the museum nearby(outside of the park).You can see it right away after entering the front doors of the museum's hall on the ground floor.The 4-headed lion is printed on Indian banknotes now,which is also Indian national emblem.

I felt pity that I couldn't take photos,because the museum didn't allow.However,I saw many fantastic relics there.One of them that caught my attention was the giant stone umbrella,with glamourous carvings.I thought it's a miracle that such a heavy object survived from being shattered,keeping almost intact for thousands of years.

四面獅 The 4-headed lion

公園旁有座摩訶菩提寺，造型跟台中的中台禪寺很像(規模是差很多，有興趣問我再回答)， 印度摩訶菩提會(Maha Bodhi Society of India) 的所在， 反正事情就是，我去的時候內部正在維修，日本方面捐贈的壁畫也還沒好，畫風也滿漫畫的，所以我有些失望，但是再過去一點點也有露天的紀念佛塔(摩犍陀俱提寺 Mulgandha Kuti Vihar)，有佛祖和五護衛的雕像，而雕像身後的那棵樹，據說是佛祖在菩提伽耶成道時，用來遮風避雨的菩提樹的分枝移栽長成的，很多人常常來這裡上課的樣子，建物是各國捐贈，其中也有台灣的代表紀念碑。

Temple of Maha Bodhi is the location of Maha Bodhi Society of India(An institute),which looked a bit like our Temple of Chung Tai,Taichung,Taiwan(The largest Buddhist temple-compound building in the world). 

Anyway,when I arrived there,the temple was undergoing a revamp.The donation came from Japan.I thought the style of murals were too much inclining to the style of Japanese animation,which was about the Buddha's stories.Well,I felt a bit disappointing. So I went outside to the adjacent temple ,Mulgandha Kuti Vihar.There were statues of Buddha and His 5 first disciples outdoors,and there was a Bodhi Tree behind the statues.The tree was re-planted with the branches came from the same Bodhi tree,under which Buddha finished His englightenment in Bodhi Gaya,India. Many people come to study or practise their Buddhist lessons here all the time.Mulgandha Kuti Vihar was donated by many countries,including a temple from Kaohsiung,Taiwan.They all set up large tablets for commemoration.

摩訶菩提寺 Temple of Maha Bodhi

近照close-up

另個角度 Other view.

在印度旅遊時候，常常有人過來乞討，但是佛教的化緣儀規卻是有一定的方式，外道不明所以，因此反而常常被人欺騙，比如前幾年，在澳洲就有中國人假裝是和尚，滿街向路人強討金錢，佛教徒的乞食是完全不同的事情。

When I was traveling around in India,it was no strange that people in difficulty approached to me begging for money or things.However,to Buddhism,it totally is a different thing,when it comes to "donation".People who are not Buddhists might not know that Buddhism set a very strict and righteous way about asking for donation.Please note, it is NOT BEGGING at all. Thus,people with good hearts usually get scammed,like I've heard some fake monks asking for money from pedestrians directly in the street in Australia a few years ago.They're basically harassing people,or robbing people.It has nothing to do with Buddhism at all.

摩犍陀俱提寺 Mulgandha Kuti Vihar

說一下我知道的佛教修行人為何要這樣做(asking for food)的緣故吧，當時佛祖在這裡(鹿野苑)與五護衛會面相遇後，馬上要以"四諦法"幫助五人修行成道，上課就沒辦法到外面營生，因為會妨礙修行，可是這身肉體還是需要生存啊，為了維持生存就必需進食，那就早上3個人上課，另外2個人就到外面乞食回來，下午這2個人上課，換其他3個人去外面找點食物回來，這樣開啟了"化緣"的工作。

Here,I want to talk about why Buddhism doing so(asking for food or donation). When Buddha met with His 5 guards here,Buddha wanted to start lessons right away.But,if they practised their lessons,they wouldn't have time to take care of their livelihood.Because the lessons(苦Bitterness、集Aggregation、滅End、道Enlightenment) were about life and death,which was very important,and they didn't want to be distracted by other things in life. But,if they didn't eat ,their bodies would die off .too. Then they couldn't learn the lessons,either. So,Buddha asked 2 of them to go out finding donations(food) in the morning,and the rest of them stayed to practise Buddha's lessons.In the afternoon,its the turn for the rest of them to find food,and the 2 stayed to learn from Buddha. This is the original source of "asking for food(donation)" in Buddhism.

摩犍陀俱提寺中台灣捐贈石碑  The stone tablet that Taiwan donated at Mulgandha Kuti Vihar

台灣捐贈石碑 The stone tablet that Taiwan donated

要注意的是，這裡到外面化緣的修行人不是乞丐，你給于食物稱為"供養"，不是"施捨"，修行人化緣行動上是身心寧靜不動，絕對不可能開口用語言、或手勢示意要求，而是過往的人一眼就可看出，從而產生敬仰，出於內心願意捐輸奉獻，而受供養者更除食物外，不接受其他形式財物，因此，我們可以非常清楚，甚麼樣的人是真正修行人。

Please note one more time, it is not "begging". Monks are not beggars. A real monk who undergoes an ascetic practice do not speak out or make a hand gesture to ask for "money,or food,or anything".The monks will show their tranquil disposition by standing or sitting or perhaps reciting sutra by the road,even walking with upright position to perform the outcome of hard-worked mortification,which making people understand and summon respect immediately,so as to make donation from their own inner wills. Here,"donation" in old times means Food,not money.

那麼，問題來了，目前現代社會各佛寺山頭林立，一家比一家有錢，這是因為受到基督教"濟世"觀念的影響，這是另一個議題，這裡我不再說明。

Then,here comes controversial issues about donation nowadays.We can see temples today are very rich.I think the result has something to do with the modern concept of Christian " philanthropism ",which is not my discussion topic in this article.So,spare it from me.

硬要我拍照的小朋友，哈哈哈，我是招誰惹誰了?The little boys who asked me to take pictures of them~What??!! Why???!!! lol.

我再說一個故事，因為我覺得有趣，跟"化緣"教規有關，佛祖未出家前他的父王就有命令一位叫"迦留陀夷"的人服侍，他長得黑又不是好看，舉止不拘小節，但是人緣很好，有天下午外出乞食時，天空烏雲看起來要下雨的樣子，前方有戶人家剛好有位懷孕的婦人開門，迦留陀夷也剛好轉過彎路來到眼前，天空驟然���雷，電光閃爍、雷霆萬鈞下迦留陀夷身影讓那位婦人受到驚嚇，差點流產，這位婦人家族氣到就鬧到佛祖跟前，迦留陀夷當場被罵到臭頭，佛祖自知理虧，倒是一聲不吭，自此後就下令，以後"過午不食"。

Lastly,I say one more story about "donation",for I feel it interesting. Before Buddha went for asceticism,His father,a king who sent a servant,Ga Liu Tou Yii,to Buddha.Ga Liu Tou Yii was not handsome,skin complexion was dark and usually behaved vulgarly,however people still liked him very much,for he was socially friendly. One day,Ga Liu Tou Yii went out for food on an overcast day.It seemed to rain from no time,and occasionally stroke thunders.A pregnant woman then happened to open her house's door and Ga Liu Tou Yii also made a turn to show up in sight on this dreadful weather.The combination of loud thunders ,sparkles of lightenings ,and the dark silhouette of Ga Liu Tou Yii,which frightened the woman to almost miscarried accidently her baby on the spot.The woman's family was so angry and they went to see Buddha asking for punishment on Ga Liu Tou Yii.The sight was not pretty ,of course.Buddha understood it was part of Ga Liu Tou Yii's fault,so from that on,Buddha ordered not to go out for afternoon's food.Thus,that's why Buddhists only eat before noon.

園區外有一區是各國建的代表佛寺，風格各個不同，非常國際化，可以一間一間去玩去看，這張好像是泰國的吧?忘了。There were other areas in the park,where many countries' representing temples were here.I visited each temple to appreciate their distinctive style from each others.This was fun and relaxing.

"喬堪祇塔Chaukhandi Stupa"，是紀念佛祖第一次與五護衛再相見的地點，本來只是一巨大土堆，後來1588年蒙兀兒王朝第2任皇帝來訪時才又在頂上加上八角塔。Chaukhandi Stupa is a building to commemorate the location,where Buddha first met his first 5 disciples.It was only a huge mound,but later the 2nd emperor of Dynasty Mogul added the octagonal building on top in 1588.

喬堪祇塔Chaukhandi Stupa

另個角度 Other view

另個角度 Other view

另個角度 Other view

喬堪祇塔Chaukhandi Stupa

迦留陀夷這個人很有趣，也是好人，下場卻很淒慘(有興趣再說)，被謀殺後，好幾天沒來上課，大家遍尋不著，佛祖心知，也沒有說什麼，只交代弟子將迦留陀夷的袈裟捐給別人，說他再也用不著了，說完一時靜靜地，遙望向天空白雲深處............~ 全文完 ~.

Ga Liu Tou Yii was a funny person,a good man,but he ended up to get murdered.After his death,his friends and co-workers couldn't find him, for he didn't show up in class for days.Buddha seemed to know his whereabout already before the sad news revealed. Before the tragedy came,Buddha stood quietly gazing long into the white clouds afar in the sky,and then gave orders to one of his disciples to give away Ga Liu Tou Yii's monk suit to others,saying he(Ga Liu Tou Yii) will never use it again........~ End~ .

在摩犍陀俱提寺的那棵菩提樹 The Bodhi Tree at Mulgandha Kuti Vihar.

  ~ End~