The Reflections of Venerable Ajaan Anan

The Reflections of Venerable Ajaan Anan

Is it necessary to go to the 4 Holy Pilgrimage

sites - where the Buddha was born, attained Enlightenment, gave his first sermon and entered Parinibbana?

Phra (Monk): Excuse me, Tahn Ajaan, yesterday I was doing work with K. Boss, and I had a question about the 4 holy sites of pilgrimage. Is it necessary to go there to pay homage at the actual sites? And if one doesn’t have any opportunity to go, then what should one do?

Ajaan Anan: If we ask, is it necessary? 

This is up to our situation.

1. We have the faith already.

2. Do we have the money and funds?

As monks, our lives are supported by pindapata (alms). If there are lay people who have given us a pavarana, an invitation, they have faith and they invite us. We are fit to go, our health is good. We have the opportunity. 

Then it is possible that we do go to travel to the important places of the Lord Buddha.

If we ask, is it really necessary? In regards to Dhamma practice, the Kruba Ajaans, the great teachers of the era of Phra Ajaan Mun, they had practiced and many attained to becoming arahants. And most of those monks didn’t go to the holy sites. So the importance is with Dhamma practice. If we practice according to the teachings of the Buddha, then we’ll be able to see and attain to Dhamma.

Here Phra Ajaan Chah has said something about this. He said, “Can’t the Buddha be born in Thailand? I thought then, how was it possible that the Buddha was born in Thailand? 

There was only one Buddha. He was born, attained enlightenment, passed away into Parinibbana, and taught Dhamma in India and Nepal.

But Ajaan Chah asked, “Isn’t it that the Buddha will attain enlightenment in Thailand? 

This is being ‘Buddha’, that is, being a Savaka Buddha, a noble disciple of the Buddha, which is up to our own practice. If we can practise following the Buddha, then we can reach the state of ‘Buddha’ (Awakened).

We can be in Thailand, we could be in Malaysia, we could be in America, in the UK, or in any country in the world, the Buddha can arise. This is important. But if we are prepared in all ways, then we can take the opportunity to go once. We have gained the faith already, then we use it to do our utmost homage through our practice (patipada puja). This is the important point.

Phra Ajaan Anan

Wat Marp Jan

Rayong Province