Offering Prayers at Ravangla Buddha Park, or Tathagata Tsal, is a spiritual and peaceful experience filled with inner reflection. The Ravangla Park, located in the quiet little town of Ravangla, South Sikkim, is a gorgeous holy place that is set at an elevation of roughly 7,000 feet and is surrounded by the peaceful Himalayan ranges. The park is the home of a huge, 130-foot statue of Lord Buddha, which is the highlight of the area with its divine presence. The statue and the park together signify peace, love, and the very strong Buddhist belief that has been at the core of Sikkim’s spiritual identity for ages, as they were built to honour the 2550th birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha. Once you get into the park, peace grips your soul right away. The flagging of prayer flags, the monotonous chanting of monks, and the slightly scented incense in the air are the factors that make the environment go beyond worldly concerns. The huge statue of Lord Buddha that is meditating is very peaceful and lovely. At the bottom of the statue, there is a nicely designed meditation hall where people of faith and visitors congregate to offer prayers and take moments of quiet reflection. The hall is decorated with detailed paintings and lifelike portrayals of Buddha’s path to enlightenment, which is very inspiring to the visitors to practice mindfulness and be compassionate in their own lives. During the prayer session, the sound of Buddhist hymns and mantras occurs. This is the voice that penetrates the valley and mixes well with the nature sounds. The monks from nearby monasteries, such as Ralang Monastery, are the ones who come the most to the park for the performance of rituals and prayers. The scene of monks wearing maroon cloaks and taking their steps slowly and elegantly with the snow-covered mountains as their background is both bringing down the pride and attracting the attention of the onlookers. Visitors may pay by lighting butter lamps, a symbol of the removal of the darkness and the ignorance from one’s life, whereas some others sit quietly and let the energy of such a sacred place. The park’s layout is a perfect model for the Buddhist philosophy- every road, art, and building has its importance in terms of spirit. The areas around the statue are beautiful, being cared for with great attention, and it has well-kept gardens, lawns, and stone paths that lead the visitors to different viewpoints from where the Kanchenjunga range can be seen in its full extent. The setting sun that is throwing its golden rays on both the Buddha statue and the mountains further and creating a spectacular view, which is a lesser-known world of almost neither this nor that, is the highlight of the day. Praying at Ravangla Buddha Park is a feast for the spiritual senses only, not just for religious devotees, though. People from all walks of life and of different faiths come here to seek calmness and solace.
