At this moment, dawn was breaking, and the sound of a rooster crowing came from
afar. The Buddha felt unusually joyful and excited that morning. He didn’t feel tired at
all, even though he hadn’t slept all night. He wondered who should be the first person
to know this method. Then he thought of the five men who had followed him and
waited for his enlightenment, who were now back at Isipatana Mrigadayavana forest,
and who had a strong desire to discover such a state. So, the Buddha prepared to travel
a long distance immediately. He spent 35 days traveling, taking the opportunity to
review what had happened to make sure he could truly communicate this story or tell
everyone how to become the Buddha.

The location where the Buddha attained enlightenment was under a large Bodhi tree,
about 600 meters from the banks of the Neranjara River or the Mekong River. The
important landmark is that on the opposite bank of this point, another small river
flows into it. That river is called the Champa River, today the Se Bang Fai River, which
flows from Khammouane province, Laos.”

“So, where exactly is the location where the Buddha attained enlightenment?” I asked
Lord Phoche.

“Today, it is the area of Wat Phra That Phanom, where there used to be a large Sri Maha
Bodhi tree. When the Buddha and Phaya Asoka traveled to bury hair relics in various
places to lay the foundation of Buddhism, that place was still like a forest edge near
Uruvela Senanigama village, and no one knew its significance.

When the Buddha and Phaya Asoka arrived, they performed the hair relic burial
ceremony near this Bodhi tree. Phaya Asoka ordered the construction of a small
*chedi* covering the spot, a few dozen meters away from the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. The
word ‘Phanom,’ which means *chedi*, was used to refer to this place from then on.
Phaya Asoka also ordered his servants to select stones from the river, roughly shape
them into four large pillars, about two meters high, and place them at the four corners
around the Bodhi tree. And they placed another large stone at the base of the Bodhi
tree, where the Buddha used to sit, and he smoothed the top into a base for placing a
small carved stone Buddha image, to symbolize that this Bodhi tree was the place of
the Buddha’s enlightenment. Today, those stones still exist, but they have been moved
and placed around the Phra That Phanom *chedi*, which was built after the Buddha’s
passing by the group of Maha Kassapa, who brought the Buddha’s relics to be
enshrined here. The rulers of the four kingdoms in this area jointly donated funds to
build a new *chedi* over the original one, adding the word ‘Phra That,’ which means
the Buddha’s bones, to the name. So, this place has a new name, Phra That Phanom.”

“And is that Bodhi tree still there?” I asked Lord Phoche.

“For a while after the Buddha’s passing, there was a king of Nakhon Sri Kotraboon,
which was not far from this place. He had great faith in the Buddha and took good care
of this Bodhi tree. His queen became jealous and sent people to secretly burn it down.

At that time, this Bodhi tree was already several hundred years old. Even if this
incident hadn’t happened, its lifespan probably wouldn’t have lasted until today. But
before that, seeds from this Bodhi tree had been taken to plant in various places
throughout this subdistrict and important Buddhist temples throughout the region,
such as in Kapilavastu and Jetavana Vihara in Savatthi. Later, seeds from the original
tree that had been planted elsewhere were brought back to plant in the original
location where the Bodhi tree used to be, about 40 meters south of Phra That Phanom.”
Lord Phoche elaborated.

“Lord, is Achita’s caravan still following the Buddha?” I asked Lord Phoche.

“Yes, they are still following. But because Achita’s caravan is large, it is slow and more
noisy. When they reach a city, people flock to see them and ask about their origins.
Especially the time spent gathering information about whether the Buddha has
traveled here and where he will travel next,” Lord Phoche answered.

“Can you summarize the entire route the Buddha traveled?” I asked.

“Yes… in the second half of the journey, which started from Kosinarayana, located west
of Phra Thaen Dong Rang, currently in Kanchanaburi province, passing through Sri
Vijaya City, currently Nakhon Pathom province, he traveled directly to Phanom Di City,
currently Chachoengsao province. From there, he went to Devadaha, the birthplace of
the Buddha’s mother, located in Phanat Nikhom district, Chon Buri province. Then he
traveled north along the route between Devadaha and Kapilavastu, passing the
Buddha’s birthplace, located in Phanom Sarakham district, and entering Kapilavastu,
Prachin Buri province.

After completing his business in his hometown, he traveled along the path he took
when he renounced his possessions, building a *chedi* at the place where he
renounced his status to become a monk, currently Chao Pho Phra Plong Shrine, Prachin
Buri province. Then he traveled through Sa Kaeo province to the Kamboja Dvaravati
Kingdom, on the other side of the Phanom Dong Rak mountain range, to Buriram,
Surin, Roi Et, Sisaket, Yasothon, Sri Kotraboon City or Nakhon Phanom, to the place of
enlightenment, or Wat Phra That Phanom today.

From there, he traveled west along the route he took when he returned to meet the five
ascetics, passing through Sakon Nakhon province, parts of Udon Thani province, at
Kumphawapi City, heading to Saranganatha City or Isipatana Mrigadayavana forest.
Then he traveled down, passing through Khon Kaen province, Chaiyaphum province,
passing Mithila City, and ending at Pavala Chedi, Vaishali Kingdom, which you probably
know today as Sri Thep City, located in Phetchabun province.”

“Oh… why did it end there? Didn’t the Buddha travel back to Savatthi?” I asked.

“At that time, Phaya Asoka was one of the eight royal families involved in governing
Vaishali. So, this place was like another home for Phaya Asoka.”

“How was Phaya Asoka involved in governing?” I asked.

“Because the location of Vaishali City was in the middle, a border area between several
large kingdoms, the governing system of this city was special and different from others.
No royal family had absolute ownership of the area. The principle of governing for the
happiness of the people was paramount.

Also, it was a large city with a large population, a free trade zone where foreigners
from all eight kingdoms could trade freely. The taxes collected were kept in a central
fund. All the laws of this place had to be approved by all eight royal families, which
were the rulers of the surrounding territories. So, this was like a special administrative
zone or a special economic zone, with the Licchavi royal family as the core. Also, this
city had Pavala Chedi, the largest Brahmin religious site, located about 2 kilometers
north of Vaishali City. There were residential buildings built to accommodate
dignitaries and attendants of all eight royal families during ceremonies or large
meetings. This residential area was called ‘Kutagarasala,’ which means a large
residential building that could accommodate tens of thousands of people, like a large
hotel with thousands of rooms. Phaya Asoka requested to use this place to
accommodate Achita’s caravan of over twenty thousand people. Therefore, the Buddha
and Phaya Asoka considered this place suitable for Achita’s group,” Lord Phoche
answered.

“Lord, is Pavala Chedi similar in style to Buddhist chedi?” I asked.

“No,” Lord Phoche answered.

“Then why is it called a chedi?” I asked.

“The word chedi was used before Buddhism arose. This word was used to refer to
anything composed of a pointed top, whether built from bricks, stones, or even
mounds of earth and sand. In the Brahminical belief at that time, they liked to build
Mount Meru, which is a symbol of the universe, the abode of the gods. As you can
observe, most of them were built in a rectangular shape with four doors or four
directions, which means the universe composed of the four directions, heading
towards the center point, to indicate that there is only one supreme god in the center.

Pavala Chedi was also like this. Mount Meru was simulated by dividing the area into
three levels. The first level was the flat area from the wall to the base of the chedi,
which means the human world composed of the tangible physical world. The second
level means the realm of the gods. And the third level means the highest realm, the
Brahma realm or the realm of the creator.

This final part would have a rectangular chedi shape with a pointed top, unlike the
circular chedi shape common today.”

“If you had seen this chedi during the Buddha’s visit, you would immediately know
that this was not a Buddhist chedi because each level would be composed of many
deities. Later, the ruler of Vaishali ordered all those deities to be destroyed as well,” he
explained.

“Will I see this chedi?” I asked.

“You will definitely see it through Achita’s eyes,” Lord Phoche answered.