Pilgrimage is first mentioned in the Pali Tipitaka
where the Buddha says that one should try to visit at
least once in Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Isipatana and
Kusinara. He says that if such a journey is undertaken
with a 'devout heart' it will be very beneficial to
one's spiritual growth.
Obviously pilgrimage, like worshipping Buddha statues
or performing pujas, is a behaviour growing out of and
able to reinforce positive emotions like faith,
determination and humility which in turn strengthens
one's practice.
Over the centuries countless pilgrims journeyed from
every part of Asia to the four places mentioned above
and other sacred sites in India.
In time each Buddhist country developed centres of
pilgrimage as well, places associated with the
introduction of Buddhism, the lives of great saints
etc. Some of the most interesting examples of Asian
literature are accounts of pilgrimages - Fa Hien,
Hsuan Tsang and Dharmasvarmin's pilgrimages to India
(5th, 7th and 13th centuries respectively) and Ennin's
account of his pilgrimage from Japan to China in the
9th century being amongst the most famous.
H.A. Giles, The Travels of Fa- Hsien;
S. Si-Yu Ki Beal, Buddhist Records of the
Western World, Delhi 1969;
S. Dhammika, Middle Land Middle Way - A
Pilgrims Guide to the Buddha's India, Kandy,
1992.