07/07/2026
๐ธ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐๐'๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐
๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ' ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ค๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ (๐๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐) ๐ธ
Sitting at the very place where Buddha Shakyamuni entered Parinirvana, listening to each event unfold in careful detail, somehow, the distance of more than two thousand years quietly dissolved, and we found ourselves sitting among the disciples beneath the Sala trees, simply witnessing what was taking place.
Guru explained that before entering Parinirvana, the Buddha uncovered his robe and invited the monks to look upon the body of the Tathagata. It was not an invitation to admire the physical body itself, but a final reminder of how extraordinarily rare such a meeting truly is.
To be born in an age when a Buddha appears, to encounter the Dharma while it is still present in the world, to hear the teachings directly, these are conditions that arise only through immeasurable merit accumulated over countless lifetimes. There are said to be vast periods in which no Buddha appears and no Dharma remains.
Sitting there in Kushinagar, we found ourselves turning that teaching toward our own lives.
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ?
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด?
We were sitting in the very place where the Buddha entered Parinirvana, listening to our own Guru explain those final days. Yet even on a pilgrimage like this, our concentration was not always complete. At times the mind wandered. At times it became occupied by thoughts that seemed important only because we forgot where we were.
๐ฟGuru then continued with the Buddha's final journey from Vaisali to Kushinagar. Even at eighty years old, while manifesting illness, the Buddha continued walking, meeting disciples, giving blessings, answering questions, and teaching the Dharma until the very end.
Again and again, he invited his disciples to ask whatever still remained unclear, wishing to leave nothing unanswered.
Hearing this, our thoughts naturally turned to our Guru.
He too spends much of his life travelling from country to country, tirelessly meeting practitioners, giving teachings, answering questions, and patiently guiding beings toward the path.
Yet the journey he points us toward is not one that can be measured in kilometres. It is the journey through our own mind.
There are landscapes within us no map can describe. Habits that disguise themselves as truth. Concepts that quietly imprison us. Attachments that appear so reasonable we rarely question them. Without guidance, it is remarkably easy to mistake these inner constructions for reality itself.
How rare it is, then, to encounter someone who not only knows that path, but has the compassion to patiently walk beside us until we begin to recognize it for ourselves.
Imagining ourselves among those disciples, we found ourselves carrying a quiet feeling of regret.
๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ.
๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต.
Deep in our hearts, we knew that the feeling arose because we recognized how often we postpone practice, believing there will always be another opportunityโฆ
๐ฟGuru then shared the story of the Buddha's final disciple. Although the Buddha was already gravely ill, some monks hesitated to allow a wandering practitioner to approach, hoping the Buddha could rest. Yet the Buddha asked that he be welcomed.
After receiving the teaching, that practitioner attained realization and became the final disciple personally guided by the Buddha before his Parinirvana.
Listening to this, our hearts quietly made a wish:
๐๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ.
๐๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ข'๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ.
And strangely, that aspiration also brought a sense of reassurance.
The Buddha entered Parinirvana, yet the Dharma continues to illuminate our path. In much the same way, the relationship between Guru and disciple does not depend solely upon physical closeness.
Guided by the Guru's compassion and sustained through sincere practice, that connection remains alive. He may not always stand before our eyes, yet whenever we genuinely return to the path, we know that ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฎโ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
๐ฟIt is said that Kushinagar is among the most auspicious places to pray for the long life of one's Guru.
Sitting there, our own prayer arose naturally from the depths of our hearts:
๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ, ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ.
๐๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด, ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.
๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ถ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ.
Writing these reflections has quietly become another form of practice. Looking back on our time in Kushinagar, some of these words have been written through tears.
May we never forget the preciousness of what is already present. May every encounter with the Dharma, every meeting with our Guru, and every ordinary moment of this life become an opportunity to practice more sincerely, so that we do not let such immeasurable kindness pass by unnoticed.
Our journey through the sacred places of the Buddha is also approaching its final chapters. We hope you will continue walking with us through the reflections that remain. ๐ฟ
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ:
๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ช, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ก๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฑ๐ฐ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ป๐ช๐ฏ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฐ, ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ.
