"A monument lost to humanity for over 1000 years" Lumbini Zone by josephescu

I quite didn’t know what to expect from “the birthplace of Buddha”, except for one thing I could have bet on - masses of pilgrims queuing, walking, or trying to meditate in a overwhelming noise.
Once again, my ignorance and temptation to extrapolate familiar events to different circumstances proved a wrong measure. For Lumbini had the most innocent and simple atmosphere, modest, nothing extravagant or out of ordinary or meant to impress the pilgrims. The birthplace of Buddha seemed to me as simple and clear as a Buddhist monk, covered only in its characteristic clothing, no jewels and no ornaments.

A small lake surrounded by a well maintained park (“sacred garden”) and by the foundations of ancient stupas and Buddhist monasteries, a small pavilion (“Maya Devi Temple”) marks “the exact spot” of this unique event….this is it.

Of course, pressures from Buddhist communities worldwide materialised in a maze of monasteries being build around “the spot” over the last decades. Fortunately, they followed the plans of a Japanese architect (Kenzo Tange), who more or less anticipated the need to keep distance in order not to suffocate the monument itself, and initiated plans for a “development zone”, far away from the “sacred garden” surrounding the temple.