This morning we got up early committed to experiencing Buddha’s birthplace. When we walked in the first part of the site was a temple where people gathered much like all the rest of the temples that we have seen. This time I went inside. I watched as mothers, children, men, women faced a large statue of Buddha and kneeled, bowed, stood up and did this over and over again. I observed a mother and daughter (about 5 years old) arrive and when they entered I saw that they were both there to pray. Not just the mother, but also the daughter was also almost relieved to have arrived.

We then walked over to the Buddha’s birthplace. Outside prayer flags covered the grounds from top to bottom. While I am not Buddhist or religious for that matter, my mother practices Buddhism and I often ask her to chant for relatives, friends or me. So I had hoped to feel a connection to the place, yet I left a bit disappointed. The birthplace was essentially rubble from the old structures of the building and the museum built a structure around the exact spot Buddha was born. After waiting on the line to see Buddha’s birthplace I was not impressed by the exact spot that was a glass-encased hole. Yet, many people chanted as they waited on the line up until the birthplace. So it seemed that the devoted were thankful for this space. I think what was most impressive was the famous tree. People crowed around the tree and chanted. Even though the grounds had little spirituality for me, I understood the symbolism behind the tree and was grateful to have experienced Lumbini.