Delhi

After you arrive in Delhi, find yourself accommodation and have a look around. Apart from the many tourist sights in the city there are two places that will be of interest to the Buddhist pilgrim. The National Museum on Janpath houses perhaps the finest collection of Indian art to be seen anywhere.

The exhibits are intelligently arranged, clearly labelled and well lit. Galleries 6, 7 and 11 on the ground floor are of particular interest to Buddhists. This last gallery displays the caskets from the Kapilavatthu (Piprahwa) stupa and the relics found in them. These burned bones, along with those from the Vesali stupa, are almost certainly the only genuine relics of the historical Buddha. The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm and closed on Monday.

Tibet House, the Dalai Lama’s unofficial embassy in Delhi, has a small but interesting collection of Tibetan religious art and artefacts. It is in the Institutional Area, Lodi Rd and is open from 10 am to 1pm and 2 to 5 pm, and closed on Sunday. If you are going to Mathura you can take a bus. If you are going to Allahabad for Kosambi or Varanasi for Sarnath you’ll have to take the train.

Statue of Avalokitesvara: One of the principal Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition; personifies boundless compassion.