Kushinagar — the reclining Buddha

At Kushinagar the long life ends. Here, in a grove of sal trees, aged eighty and worn by the road, the Buddha lay down on his right side and passed into parinirvana — final liberation, beyond birth and death. His last words, the tradition records, were an instruction to keep going: "All conditioned things are impermanent. Strive on with diligence."

The Mahaparinirvana Temple

Within a simple white temple lies a six-metre reclining Buddha in red sandstone, carved in the 5th century, his face caught in the moment between life and its letting go. Pilgrims drape it in saffron cloth and sit in silence at its feet. Beside the temple stands the Mahaparinirvana Stupa, and the sal grove is kept green around them. Of all the eight great places, this is the stillest.

Where we sit longest

Because Kushinagar asks for quiet, we give it the most time to sit and the least to talk. On our circuit we hold a long, wordless hour before the reclining Buddha, and return at dusk to the Ramabhar Stupa, the cremation place, as the monks circumambulate. There is a companion essay on how to sit here — How to sit at Kushinagar without saying anything.