Best Foot Forward

Title: BEST FOOT FORWARD Secondary Title: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Sacred Sites of the Buddha Description: ““The aim of all Buddhist practice is to catch a glimpse of the awakened state. Going on pilgrimage, soaking up the sacred atmosphere of holy places, and mingling with other pilgrims are simply different ways of trying to achieve that glimpse.”—from chapter 1, “Holy Buddhist Sites” Pilgrimage is a powerful method for remembering the Buddha’s teachings and putting them into practice. For Buddhists, the most important holy places are the four sites associated with the Buddha’s life: - Lumbini, where Siddhartha was born as an ordinary human being - Bodhgaya, where Siddhartha became enlightened - Varanasi (Sarnath), where the Buddha taught the path to enlightenment - Kushinagar, where the Buddha passed into parinirvana While it may be an inconvenient, chaotic, and even dangerous journey, traveling to these places can be profoundly affecting and transformative for a practitione