What Are The Four Sacred Sites In Buddhism?

May 2024 ยท 1 minute read

According to Tricycle, Sarnath is sacred because it is the site at which the Buddha gave his first sermon. His sermon discussed the four noble truths. The first is the existence of suffering in life and in the world. The second is that suffering is caused by desire and ignorance. The third states that suffering ends when one reaches enlightenment (nirvana). The last noble truth lays out the path to enlightenment. The path includes moral conduct, meditation, and wisdom (per PBS). 

At Sarnath, the Buddha also chose his disciples to spread his teachings. It was there that Emperor Ashoka built the Ashoka Pillar, which features inscriptions regarding unity among the disciples. The monastery and temple ruins date back over 1,500 years (per Tricycle). The ruins were from monasteries built by the Maha Bodhi Society and are located slightly northeast of Varanasi in India. Varanasi includes pilgrimage sites for Hindus as well, making it a historic location for millions of religious pilgrims.

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