In the Footsteps of Buddha

This is the India Pilgrimage page. Information about the 2012 pilgrimage to Nepal can be found on the Nepal pilgrimage page.

2012 Pilgrimage with Yogi Acharya Lama Gursam — 14 nights / 15 days

Delhi • Dehra Dun • Lumbini • Kushinagar • Varanasi • Bodhgaya • Taj Mahal

This is a journey through South and Northeastern India that follows the footsteps of Buddha! You will enjoy daily meditations and profound teachings with Yogi Lama Gursam, who will accompany you through every aspect of the trip. Highlights include Dehra Dun, where you will visit Jangchubling Monastery and meet Buddhist Masters such as H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche; Lumbini, where Siddhartha Gautama, the Shakya Prince and the ultimate Buddha was born in 623 BC; Kushinagar, the place chosen by Buddha for his Mahaparinirvana, or final exit from this earth; Varanasi, where you will witness life and receive teaching on the banks of the Holy Ganges river; Bodhgaya, the place where in the 6th century BC, a young ascetic, Siddhartha, attained enlightenment to become the Buddha, and founded Buddhism; Vultures Peak, where Buddha delivered the Heart Sutra, and Nalanda, the first ancient university of Nagarjuna. Our last stop is Agra, to see the wonderous Taj Mahal.

Day 1 — Delhi

You will be met on arrival by Lama Gursam and ever helpful Lama Jamdor and your tour guide, Tenzin, and taken to your hotel in Delhi where you will spend the rest of your day and one evening. Tenzin and Lama Jamdor have 15 years of experience guiding pilgrims in India. This countries energetic capital offers a panorama of fascinating images as you begin to settle in.

Day 2 to 4 — Dehra Dun (Drive by coach)

Jangchubling Monastery is the central institute of the seat in exile of the Drikung Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. The Institute was founded in 1985 by His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche. It is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, outside Dehra Dun, in the northeast of India. Here you will meet masters and yogis of this lineage and receive teachings From Lama Gursam on developing a good heart and the 37 Bodhisattva Practices. You will also visit the renowned Tushita Stupa.

Day 5 and 6 — Lumbini, Nepal (Drive by coach and overnight sleeper train)

Here you will visit and tour the birth place of the Buddha and also receive the foundational teachings on the wheel of interdependent origination and the practice of calm abiding meditation with Yogi Lama Gursam.

Day 7 — Kushinagar (Drive by coach)

This is the place where Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana and was cremated. It is an international Buddhist pilgrimage center for the followers of the Buddhism, many who wish to visit this place at least once in their lifetime. Meditation and teachings on living free and dying free with Lama Gursam will prepare you to experience Varanasi.

Day 8 to 10 — Varanasi (Drive by coach)

In this heavenly and spiritual place called Varanasi the life and activities in the city revolve around the holy river. Life on the banks of the Ganga begins before dawn when thousands of pilgrims, men, women and children, come down to the river to wait for the rising sun. Here you will take a boat cruise down the river. This is one of the most extraordinary experiences of a visit to India. Here in the ghats you also will meditate and receive teachings with Lama Gursam on the great commentary on Mahamudra known as the Ganga Ma in the same place where Tilopa bestowed this deepest of teachings on to his disciple Naropa.

Day 11 to 13 — Bodhgaya (Train)

Two full days and three nights with time on your own, silent calm abiding meditation and Ganachakra feast offering with Lama Gursam at the Mahabodhi Temple complex where at the western side stands the large and historic Bodhi Tree under which Shakyamuni Buddha, then known as Gautama, attained enlightenment some 2540 years ago. You will also visit the historic Vultures Peak in Rajgrir where you will receive the transmission of the Heart Sutra and you will also visit the Nalanda historical site which founded about 1200 years ago.

Day 14 — Agra (Sleeper train to Delhi and drive by coach to Agra)

Here we will visit and tour the Taj Mahal, one of the Wonders of the World, created by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. There is also the option to visit come other monuments.

Day 15 — Return to Delhi and depart for USA

Cost of Pilgrimage in US dollars will vary based on the number of people in actual attendance.

Full amount for tour is due in to Mahayana Travels office in Delhi the morning after arrival in USD cash. Travelers checks and credit cards are not an accepted form of payment.

Inclusions:

You will need to provide:

Overview of entire cost of Pilgrimage:

The total minimum cost for the tour if 20 to 25 people attend, including everything above, is only $2035 and if 25 to 30 people attend is only $1945, all inclusive. Please remember the cost will be considerably less is more people come.

We are now open for registration! Here are the registration instructions (pdf), cost worksheet (pdf). and all of the forms (pdf) for the India Pilgrimage with Yogi Lama Gursam from February 28th to March 14th, 2010. There are 24 spaces available and we will be accepting registrations up until Sept 1st or until it fills up. Please print, read and fill out the attached forms and make out the 105 US dollar deposit check payable to Gurme Lama.  This fee is non refundable and included within the entire cost of the pilgrimage. Then send to the address below in order to register.

Email us to let us know when you have sent in your registration forms.  You may also scan and them to me. Please contact to register and for assistance with visas and anything else.