This is one of the places I've always wanted to visit, having read about it several times in different books. This is the spot where 2500 ish years ago the Buddha attained enlightenment after fasting and meditating under the Bodhi tree for 40 days and nights. I guess you could compare it with Bethlehem or Jerusalem for Christians, but this is a place of peace and tranquility even now in the 21st century. Modern day Bodhgaya is a sleepy little town in Bihar, one of the poorest and most crime ridden parts of India. But it is peppered with monasteries of Buddhist monks from around Asia...Burmese, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Bhutanese etc. The local beggars here are on to a right winner, as you can imagine, with tourists and monks giving alms. The Mahabodhi
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