There are quadrangular stone railing with a height of 0.2m around the Bodhi Tree and the Mahabodhi Temple. Lotus motifs are used among these ancient railings. The older set of railings were made of sandstone dated back to about 150 B.C. while the other set of railings were believed to make from course granite dated back to Gupta period (300 - 600 A.D.). The older set portrays a design of Lakshimi being bathed by elephants, Surya riding a chariot drawn by four horses, but figures of stupas, Garudas are found on the other set. A visit to the Bodh Gaya Archaeological Museum is a must for religious art enthusiasts as they can see gold, bronze and stone images of Buddha. Apart from that a large collection of Buddhist sculptures from 1st century B.C. to 11th century A.D. are well kept at one place here.
Another interesting spot to visit is a Jewel Walk or Chankramanar which was built as a low platform adorned with 19 lotuses lining parallel to the Mahabodhi Temple on its north side. It is believed that the Buddha was strolling here while he was in a deep thought during the second week after his supreme attainment. In this place a stupa called Animeschalochana was built which is situated to the north of the Chankramanar.
Since 1953, Bodh Gaya had an architectural amalgamation of many cultures as it had been developed as an international place of pilgrimage. Most Buddhists came over from different countries to construct their representative architectural monasteries in Bodh Gaya. Thus, one will see a Thai temple which looks very much like a typical colorful Wat of Thailand, Tibetan temple and monastery houses the massive Dharma Chakra or the large prayer wheel, Burmese monastery, Japanese temple (Indosan Niponji) that has a very beautiful image of Buddha brought from Japan, and Tai Bodhi Khan monastery built by Buddhist tribes from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. There are also Vietnamese, Nepalese, Taiwanese, Sri Lankan, Bhutanese, Korean and Bangladeshi monasteries. Many shrines were constructed with enshrined images for use as places of worship. There were also a large number of images of Buddha and the carved inscriptions showing that pilgrims from Sri Lanka, China and Myanmar had visited this place between 7th and 10th century A.D.
The City of 10,000 Buddhas - United States of America
The City of 10,000 Buddhas which is situated in Talmage, Mendocino Country, California is one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the United States. It was established in 1976 and Master Hsuan-Hua is the founder of this city.
The city is noted particularly for its Dharma Realm Buddhist University, Tathagata Monastery, Joyous Giving House (convent), Instilling Virtue Elementary School and Developing Goodness Secondary School, International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts and the Center for East-West Medicine. Another noted feature is the Jeweled Hall of 10,000 Buddhas which was constructed in 1982.
This hall accommodates a 6-meter statue of a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Guan Yin). Its walls are adorned with 10,000 images of Buddha. There are also murals adorned the outside wall of Jeweled Hall of 10,000 Buddhas.
Other interesting features to note have been described in details in my article here.
