Bodhgaya

"Bodhgaya is little more than a shantytown and most visitors are shocked and stunned by the dust, the dirt, the beggars and the poverty—although the situation is slowly improving. What many people experience once they’ve left the madness and entered the inner circle is that the atmosphere created by the Mahabodhi Temple is so potent it’s as if you fall into a trance. Here you’ll find the vajra seat (vajra asana, also known as the Diamond Seat) where, after many years of searching for the truth and six excruciating years of penance by the banks of the Niranjana River, Siddhartha finally discovered the Middle Path and achieved enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The actual tree under which Siddhartha sat was destroyed centuries ago, but a seed found its way to Sri Lanka and a tree was propagated so that later its fruit could be returned to India (there are many wonderful stories about how this seed was acquired) and planted on the exact spot of the original tree. The bodhi tree is important to Buddhists because it is a symbol of enlightenment." ~Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche