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Buddhism in India today has only about 7 million adherents, placing it behind Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism. Yet it was in India in the 5th century B.C. where Buddhism developed. Some of the most sacred Buddhist sites are in India and India is the home in exile of the Dalai Lama.

Like Jainism, Buddhism developed as a reform of Hinduism, especially against the abuses of Brahminism. The egalitarian emphasis of Buddhism has led many lower caste and Dalit Indians to convert to Buddhism (and to a lesser extent Christianity), and away from Hinduism, as a protest gesture. In doing so, they are following the example set by Dalit activist Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who urged such conversions to Buddhism as a way of symbolically renouncing the prevalence of caste in Hinduism.

It was in the present day city of Bodhgaya (Buddha Gaya) in the state of Bihar where the Buddha (born Siddhartha Gautama) achieved enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi (bo) tree.

This bo tree is thought to be a descendant of the original. Its caretakers try to preserve the tree by fencing it off and by setting a few ground rules such as prohibiting the taking of leaves or soil from around the tree.

The tree is found within the Mahabodhi Temple complex (below left). Many stupas (pagodas) have been built around the central temple, and the temple itself is adorned with many images of the Buddha, such as the one below right.

The temple contains a large golden image of the Buddha (below left), which a member of our group jokingly dubbed "Las Vegas Buddha" because of the tiny red and green lights around the head of the statue.

On the right is a lingam, which was found near the Buddha image. A guide explained to us that Hindus consider Buddhists to be Hindus, since Buddhism developed as a reform of Hinduism.

Other attractions in Bodhgaya include the alleged footprints of the Buddha (below left) and the huge (25m) Japanese style Great Buddha Statue (below right).

The city of Sarnath, a few miles from the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi, is another important site to Buddhists. It was here that the Buddha preached his first sermon in the deer park. The Dhamekh stupa (below left) marks the site of where the Buddha preached to five ascetics, who later became his first disciples. This sermon is commemorated by the statues on the right. A stupa is like a pagoda, serving as as repository of various relics.

There are monasteries and attached temples in Sarnath from a variety of countries including Tibet, Japan, Burma, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Vietnam and Nepal, with others in the works.

Prayer wheels outside the Tibetan temple. Prayer wheels usually contain paper scrolls with prayers or mantras written on them. When the prayer wheels are rotated clockwise, the prayers are released.

Political signs protesting Chinese occupation of Tibet were in evidence at the Tibetan temple in Sarnath. This one commemorates the life of the founder of an underground military resistance movement against the Chinese in Tibet. The sign dedicates a Buddha statue to him and to "all those Tibetan men and women who had made the supreme sacrifice for Tibet." It goes on to say "May their sacrifice be remembered and emulated by every Tibetan. May the Tibetan people be re-united in our beloved fatherland under the leadership of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama."