Just about two hours ago I got back from a pilgrimage to the holy places of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni's life. I was able to visit the Vihara Maha Mayadevi, built in commemoration of the Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini Nepal, the Mahabodhi Temple of Bodgaya India, the Dhamekha Stupa of Sarnath India, and the Parinibbana Temple of Kusinara India. Most wondrously I did this all in less than one day, without even leaving Florida. Such a moving spiritual experience is made possible because Wat Florida Dhammaram has constructed replicas of the sacred places of pilgrimage in honor Lord Buddha as they are found in India. Therefore, by driving from my home in Plant City to Kissimmee, I was able to make prostrations in the main temple of Wat Florida Dhammaram and then go to each of these shrines and make prostrations in each of them.
As we were driving, it started raining lightly, because a cold front was passing through this area. When we arrived at Wat Florida Dhammaram, it was like a light mist, hardly even a drizzle. This continued as we visited the temple and the shrines, although it was definitely clearing. We were invited to lunch by one of the monks but I declined both because my own focus was on time at the shrines and because I doubted that my sister could tolerate Thai food. Even the mildest can be too spicy for her.
After having our picnic lunch, I went back to the Parinibbana Temple and do circumambulations, prostrations, mantra recitations and meditation at such a holy place. As I started to meditate, I seemed to have a lot of disturbance, but I eventually reached a state of calm and quiet. This was such a great blessing for me at this particular time. All in all we didn't stay very long, but I think I'll try to get back in a month or so, although I might have to recruit a driver at that point.
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