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Places where the Buddha lived and taught two and a half thousand years ago are now sites of pilgrimage. A Guide to Buddhist Holy Places of India and Nepal is a book for those who have an interest in Buddhism and who aspire to visit these places. Each chapter narrates the history of that site, its significance within Buddhism, how it was discovered in modern times, and suggests how each location may be visited.

Homeland paints a picture of life on the Ganges plain during the Buddha’s time. The Buddha is presented as a human being who was subject, as all humans, to the difficulties of being alive, and of dying. That he became an exceptional human being, who became enlightened, is a hope for all humankind.

John McKinnon, the author, has visited the holy Buddhist places many times since the 1960s and, for more than twenty years, has been a practitioner of Zen Buddhism. As a young man, he lived in the Mount Everest region of Nepal as the first doctor at Khunde Hospital. Since then he has been continuously involved with Sir Edmund Hillary’s development work in that country. A Guide to Buddhist Holy Places of India and Nepal brings this lifetime experience into focus as a practical, informative guide to the major Buddhist sites of India and Nepal.