As a student just starting to learn and discover all that Buddhism encompasses, it's easy to get caught up in the facts and never feel truly connected to the religion. I believe the best way to fully understand something is to experience it first hand. During this semester I learned about the values, history, teachings, and practices of Buddhism, but I missed the opportunity to see and experience these things firsthand. While there are many important Buddhist sites scattered throughout India and Nepal, I would choose four of the most significant ones to organize a tour for myself and my classmates. This tour would allow us to see the sites where Buddha himself lived and where Buddhism took root. First I would plan a visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. The next stop on the tour will be Bodhgaya, the place where the Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The third sacred site of the tour will be Deer Park, located in Sarnath, and the fourth stop of the tour will be the place where the Buddha achieved parinirvana in Kushinara. In the Parinibanna sutra, the Buddha declared that these four places would be sacred places of future pilgrimages. These four points are significant to the Buddhist religion and its followers, as well as being significant to me on a personal level. Lumbini, located in Nepal, is the place where the Buddha as Siddhartha Guatama was born. Maya Devi, the mother of the Buddha, was traveling to see her parents when she stopped in the Lumbini garden under a sal tree. Suddenly she felt the pangs of labor, grabbed the branch of a falling tree and gave birth to Siddhartha Guatama who would grow up to be t...... middle of paper...... located in India and is where Buddha meditated under the Bodhi tree until he found the truth and became enlightened. Once the Buddha realized the suffering that was happening around him, he embarked on a journey to discover a way to eliminate all suffering for humanity. After many failed attempts, Buddha sat down with the belief that he would not move until he achieved enlightenment. The Buddha is said to have said: “Here on this seat my body may wither, my skin, my bones, my flesh may dissolve, but my body will not move from this seat until I reach Enlightenment. ..." (“Bodh Gaya Buddhism", n.d.). Works Cited"Bodh Gaya Buddhism, Guide to Buddhism in Bodh Gaya, Buddhist Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya in India. Bodh Gaya Buddhism, Guide to Buddhism in Bodh Gaya, Buddhist Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya in India. Np, nd Web. 12 December. 2013.