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The 80-foot standing Buddha in the gardens of the Thai temple, Sarnath
BuddhistVihar

International Buddhist Temples of Sarnathसारनाथ के अंतरराष्ट्रीय बौद्ध मंदिर

  • TimingsEach temple keeps its own daytime hours; no official timings published (guides give the Japanese temple 06:00–18:00)
  • EntryNo ticket reported
  • Time needed1–2 h for several temples
  • Best timeMorning, together with the Dhamek Stupa and the museum; Buddha Purnima (April–May), when the monasteries hold their celebrations

Around the ruins, Buddhist communities from across Asia keep their own temples, each built in its home tradition; UP Tourism lists more than a dozen, from Thai, Tibetan, Japanese and Chinese to Myanmar, Vietnamese and Sri Lankan.

Photos

Visit at a glance

Timings and fees are not confirmed from an official source; check before you go.

Good to know

  • These are working monasteries: take shoes off where asked, keep your voice low and ask before photographing monks or shrine rooms.
  • A little north of the main site, the Vajra Vidya Institute, a Karma Kagyu monastery founded by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in December 1999, is also worth the walk.
  • All are walkable from the Dhamek Stupa, but no temple publishes official hours; visit in daylight and check at each gate.
Read the full story

In the grounds of the Thai temple (Wat Thai) stands a Buddha 80 feet (about 24 m) tall, built of 815 stone blocks over 14 years and unveiled in March 2011. The Tibetan temple keeps a Shakyamuni image and rows of prayer wheels; the Japanese temple, Nichigatsuzan Horinji, has its name carved at the gate; the Chinese temple, which guides date to 1939, is built in Chinese style.

The standing Buddha's form recalls the great Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, destroyed in 2001. The former Thai prime minister Surayud Chulanont unveiled it in the presence of Thai monks, a gift of Thai Buddhists to the place of the first teaching.

Sources: DNA India — India's tallest Buddha statue inaugurated in Sarnath (17 Mar 2011): 80 ft, 815 stones, 14 years, unveiled by Surayud Chulanont · Wikipedia — Sarnath (Thai temple's 24.3 m standing Buddha, begun 1997, unveiled 2011; Vajra Vidya Institute) · Karmapa Office — Vajra Vidya Institute, Sarnath (inaugurated by the Dalai Lama, December 1999) · OpenStreetMap — Thai Temple & Monastery, Sarnath (way 103197199) · UP Tourism (Government of Uttar Pradesh) — Varanasi–Sarnath: list of Buddhist temples and monasteries in Sarnath · Trawell — Japanese Temple, Sarnath (Nichigai Suzan Horinji; 6 AM–6 PM, free)

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