Place of enlightenment

Mahabodhi Temple
Bodh Gaya is the location of the Bohdi tree under which Buddha attained elightenment. As a consequence, temples of all varieties of Buddhist have sprung up around the temple celebrating the enlightenment. The major ones seem to the Thai Theravada monastery and the Tibetan Kagyu monastery. The Kagyu site also includes a huge prayer hall which is used for the annual Monlam prayer festival which is held annually at the Tibetan New Year. At this time of year the hall is a totally empty, echoing building capable of holding about 10,000. In addition to the major sites all of the following are represented (and probably many more that I did not see): Burmese, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Korean, and Vietnamese.

The temple area itself is very peaceful area, and although there were a fair number of people there, there was no sense of crowding, even round the Bohdi tree. Here the entire space was taken up by sleeping /meditation mats occupied by those spending a period of time there.

Outside the temple complex there was some, but surprisingly little, religious tourism tat.