Shocking news! Bomb blast in Mahaboddhi Temple, Bodhgaya

[Aurore]

Nine serial blasts in a coordinated terror attack rocked the Mahabodhi temple complex in south central Bihar's Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya early on Sunday, injuring two monks.
 
Union home secretary Anil Goswami said the blasts were a terror attack.

Sources in the ministry of home affairs said there had been intelligence of a possible attack on the temple and the state was alerted last month.

State officials did not immediately confirm receiving any such alert.

While four blasts took place inside the Mahabodhi Temple complex, three occurred at the Karmapa monastery and one each near the 80-ft Buddha statue and at the bus stand near the bypass, Nayyer Hussnain Khan, deputy inspector general of police, Magadh range, told PTI.

"The blasts took place between 5:30 and 5:58am," he said.

The 7th century AD Mahabodhi temple is regarded as one of the holiest Buddhist shrines and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Buddhists from all over the world visit the temple, which has the Bodhi tree under which Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment.

"The holy Bodhi tree is safe and there is no damage to it," Bihar director general of police Abhayanand told AFP.


Read more here --> http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Bihar/Terror-attack-rocks-Bihar-s-Bodh-Gaya-serial-blasts-at-Mahabodhi-temple/Article1-1088481.aspx
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Other Sources: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Terror-strikes-Bodh-Gaya-serial-blasts-rock-Mahabodhi-Temple/articleshow/20953906.cms



Apparently, the terrorist chosed a time when it was safe with less people around. Motivation is to scare rather than to destroy. I believe their intention was to stop people from practicing Buddhism. What is your take on this?

[dondrup]

It is distressing to hear the news of the bombings in Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya!

Irregardless of what time the terrorists chose to bomb Mahabodhi Temple, this very act of wanting to destroy the holy Temple and harm its inhabitants or visitors is totally inhumane and cold-blooded!  Only a person who is full of hatred or vengeful or insane would want to do this! 

One of the possible reasons that I could think of that had triggered this is the series of clashes between the Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and most recently Myanmar. As long as the governments and citizens of the countries concerned do not take quick action to douse fire of hatred, misunderstanding, disharmony, intolerance, disharmony and etc, the situation may become worse. 

The bombing at Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya is already a clear sign of retaliation from those who is unhappy with the situations that had happened  and are happening in the above-mentioned countries! 

The World had already suffered enough from so many incidences of terrorists' attacks.  So many casualties and deaths!  All these are really unnecessary if only the citizens of this World can live in total harmony and understanding!  United Nations should step in soon to arrest the tense situation.

[Benny]

This is clearly a terrorist act targeting Buddhist in retaliation to the current spat of violence against Muslims in Myanmar . Terrorist acts are acts of cowardice and done when the opposing force is too powerful to be challenged face on , as such the weaker force or minority would have to adopt a terrorist approach to counter the " injustice " done onto them. In the beginning it is always small , to send out a warning , but as time goes by without any positive changes , those terrorist will become more and more violent to the extent that their "small" acts will take on a more shocking nature . We should all be very very concerned about the ethnic  violence happening in Myanmar and Thailand . Violence would only beget violence .

[fruven]

Fortunately there is no death. How serious is the injury of the monks? People would be afraid to do pilgrimage if the area is deemed to be unsafe for the public. Unfortunately we cannot really stop people from bombing anything when they are really determined. For us who are practitioner we should increase our effort in practicing the Dharma in our daily life, support the works of the sangha, and do our prayers.

[diablo1974]

Another violent perhaps due to politics. Its sad to hear news of one of Buddhism sacred places being bombed.  Reported bomb are not destructive hence no structural sites are damaged but two people are injured. Placing bombs as a threatening act has becomes a trend, such acts needs to be heavily reprimanded and punished. Not to say its a holy places of millions of buddhists but also a heritage of the India republic. Imagine if the bomb is activated during the festival of Monlam, it will be disastrous.  I think the local authority needs to step up their security from now onwards to prevent bigger bombing where more people will get injured.

[cookie]

In the history of Buddhism, there were many attempts to destroy the religion in India. Way back since 12th century University of Nalanda was completely destroyed by the Islamic activists. In other countries for e.g Afghanistan, one of the world's tallest Buddha statues was also bombed as the Talibans considered Buddhism as idolatry, the practice of praying to statues .
Its obvious that the people who perform such destructions are motivated by ignorance and anger. Its very sad to see such violence and insane actions being taken then, and now with what they do in Bodhgaya. No one knows why and who did them.
Now is the time for the Buddhists around the world to keep calm and practice patience and tolerance . Have compassion over these "sick" people ! We must embrace the wisdom of the Buddha's teachings in all we do!

[samayakeeper]

It is indeed shocking to learn of this sad news. Even though no one was killed but still to plant and detonate explosive devices in holy places shows the negative and evil minds of those involved in this dastardly act of terrorism. It is not so much of people of one faith exacting revenge or acting out of blind anger to people of another faith, it is the terror of the act that resulted in the destruction of private properties of places of worship and the terror instilled in people's mind that no place is safe from terrorism, even at holy places. So sad.

[bambi]

It is Unbelievable that such incidents happen! What is wrong with people nowadays? Nothing better to do than hurting and killing people especially the innocent ones? How sad that they have created more negative karma by doing this. Its very important that the government take measurements and not let this happen anymore. We have to preserve the Holy sites for future generations...

[kris]

This is so sad to hear this

@Benny, although nobody has claimed ownership of the bombing attack, I would agree with you that it is most likely to be related to the issues of Muslim and Buddhists in Myanmar. I do hope the tension between Muslims and Buddhists can be relaxed very soon.

This reminds me of a lot of relics, statues in Afghanistan which has been destroyed. We should preserve these history instead of destroying them.

[RedLantern]

This is unfortunate,and should not have happened in a state which has been peaceful.The Government must do everything to arrest the culprits.
It is sad that people find the need to harm the Mahabodhi Temple and the people who maintain or visit it.In every religion,one's holy site should be respected and not targeted.Prayers to the two monks who were injured by the blasts.Relieved that the blast were inaffectual in completely damaging it's targets.
As for the security of Buddhist temples,hopefully it's approved to avoid future attacks.

[brian]

This is a bad news for Buddhists and Muslims at the area. Why would there be such bombings near holy sites? Just to tell that the bombers are stronger than their victims? Are we running a competition here?  Are the terrorists giving warning to Buddhists ahead of time?  What happened to inter religious harmony here? Such acts of violent will only increase the tension between the parties and do not help in this situation which is already complicated.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This is so disturbing to read on another violent act related to religion. Truly, all the holy places of every religions are always the target of some groups of reckless people. So far no group have claim they are responsible for the bombing yet and making any assumption would definitely create strain among people of different religions. Even though there were no life taken, this incidence have created a lot of anxiety among the locals and many pilgrims may put their visit on hold for the time being.

[pgdharma]

This is  indeed sad and shocking news!!! In wake of the continuing violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar, it is not surprising that this incident occur. It is fortunate that no one was killed, however, this bombing and terrorists threat is a clear indication of retaliation from unhappy groups and these terrorists will become more and more violent if no actions are taken. Also adequate security must be provided to all Buddhist shrines and Buddhist places of worships.

[Rinchen]

This is such a shocking news. If the bombers are of another religion, there would definitely be some disputes over this issue by the lay practitioners. Causing many problems between the two religions.

If the bombing is done by Buddhists, I would say that these people should not be calling themselves Buddhist. Simply because they did such terrible things to one of the holiest places of Buddhism.

Hopefully the culprits and mastermind to this bombing will be captured soon, and that there would not be any other bombings. So that people that go for their pilgrimage will not be harmed.

[Jessie Fong]

This is so disturbing to read that people with evil minds can go to the length of doing this.  Irregardless whether there were any lives taken, the culprits should not have done what they did.

Places of worship/pilgrimage are holy sites.  No Religion supports such acts. 

Security must be tightened at such holy places, not only to protect lives but also the buildings on the site.  These buildings must be preserved.