According to the Buddha, there were four sacred places for worshippers to visit.
His birthplace at Lumbini.The place where he achieved supreme enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
The place where he delivered his first sermon, the deer park in Sarnath.
The place where he achieved Nirvana, Kusinagara.
A Buddhist worshipper was expected to visit the four sites, in the above order, to chart the Buddha's life. These pilgrimages were an important act for a Buddhist, in order to achieve spiritual happiness, taking the pilgrim to heaven.
Relics and pilgrimage monuments (stupas) constituted the material foci of this spiritual journey.
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