Mihintale, Sri Lanka
You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.
—Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, (563–483 B.C.), father of Buddhism
When Indian Emperor Ashoka wanted to spread Buddhism, he sent his son Mahinda with yellow-robed Buddhist monks to the island of Sri Lanka on the full moon of June 247 B.C. While camping on the sacred mountain of Mihintale, they encountered King Devanampiya Tissa and gave him a sapling from the bodhi tree of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Today, Mihintale is considered the cradle of Sri Lankan Buddhism, and meditation on the holy peak under the full moon in June is a popular pilgrimage.
If climbing a sacred mountain with a meditation rock on its peak and amazing panoramic views is the kind of pilgrimage that speaks to your spiritual yearning, come to Aradhana Gala in Mihintale. Get there early and give yourself plenty of time to walk the site and climb the 1,840 granite steps. The mountain is about 5 miles from the bus depot of Anuradhapura, the nearest city.
Carry the words of Buddha in your heart as you explore the upper terrace; then remove your shoes and climb to the white Maha Seya dagoba (said to house a single hair and some ashes of the Buddha) before venturing up to the meditation rock and even beyond to the seated Buddha. Find a place to meditate, if only for a few moments—there are a couple of stone meditation slabs overlooking a pond and the mountains.
When Mahinda first introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks at Mihintale would take refuge and meditate in caves during the rainy season.