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Celebrating World Meditation Day
OM MANI PADME HUM! We wish you physical, mental, and spiritual peace on this World Meditation Day. And what better place to find it than at Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha? For centuries, this holy site in Southern Nepal has been one of the most important destinations for meditators.
Lumbini is adorned with ancient monasteries, a sacred tree, and an array of temples. Although it’s only 4.8 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide, this place offers a world of monuments to discover. According to Buddhist tradition, Siddartha Gautama was born in one of these temples around 623 BC. He was born into royalty, but turned away from his privileged life to search for Nirvana. Ultimately attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya (present day India), thus earning the revered title of the Buddha, "the awakened".
Finding serenity in Nepal
After his death, Buddha’s meditative practices spread across the entire Asian continent as the basis of Buddhism. Today, meditation has also found its way to the Western world, being used for various therapeutic effects such as stress reduction and enhanced concentration.
Every year, about 1 million tourists visit Lumbini. One of the highlights is the Maya Devi Temple, considered to be the place where Queen Maya gave birth to Buddha. The adjacent sacred pool and garden are also highly visited by tourists. Additionally, there are 32 other monasteries to discover, all of them protected as World Heritage by UNESCO since 1997.
This Sentinel-2 L2A image shows Lumbini, Nepal on April 19, 2024. Discover the area yourself via the Copernicus Browser.
