Bodh Gaya

I was in Bodh Gaya in the northern Indian state of Bihar, the birthplace of Buddhism, on the first night of Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.

Disillusioned by the impermanence of life, Siddhartha engaged in six years of ascetic practice and attained enlightenment at the age of 35 in Bodh Gaya in northeast India.

The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is decorated on this day and devotees perform special prayers under the bodhi tree under which the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment.

Finally, he attained awakening and became the Buddha while meditating under a peepal tree in Bodh Gaya, a village in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar.

Today, Bodh Gaya — and its Mahabodhi Temple Complex — is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites.