Driving about 12 km northeast of Bodh Gaya to reach the ancient Dungeshwari Cave Temples, also known as Mahakala Caves; I met few times a group of young boys, this boy is one of them. They were crossing a shallow River. It is believed that Lord Buddha meditated in the three caves here before continuing his journey to Bodhgaya. The caves here also feature Buddhist shrines which are called Sujata Sthan by the natives. There is an interesting story behind the existence of these cave temples, which states that during his self-mortification, Gautama became extremely weak and starved. At that time, a lady named Sujata from a nearby village offered him food and water. Later Gautama realized that one cannot attain enlightenment by self-indulgence or self-abasement. He then carried on with his journey and reached Bodh Gaya where he finally attained enlightenment. In one of the cave temples, you can see a beautiful golden statue of Buddha, which is about 6 feet tall. When in Bodh Gaya, do not miss out on paying a visit to these ancient cave temples as the journey will add to your Buddhist experience.

Nikon D5000 | Exposure f/5.6 @ 1/1000sec | ISO 500 | Focal Length 190mm
A Bodh Gaya Boy by Ryszard Wierzbicki

Award Winner: Photo of the Day | March 11
Award Score: 67 (Value 13, Clarity 12, Composition 18, Style 12, Skill 12)
Photo of the Day Award Category: Candid Photography
Photograph Location: Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India

Photographer: Ryszard Wierzbicki (Swindon, United Kingdom) Registered
Ryszard Wierzbicki was born in 1963. Graduated with a Master degree of Social Sciences in Children Care Education from University of Gdańsk in 1992 in Poland. He worked in an orphanage and four other companies, going through positions of Educator, Marketing Specialist and Sales & Marketing Manager in various branches (child care, dentistry, orthodontics and IT). Apart of his regular jobs he continued developing his Scuba Diving qualification resulted of an instructor level in PADI. Emigrated to UK in 2006, from where he started his real traveling & photography experience and exploration of South-East Asia. Volunteering occasionally with Stu and the Kids charity organization of Thai and Burmese Orphans (stuandthekids.org). Established 2 forums for active travelers and photographers named Instant Travelling (instanttravelling.ning.com) and World Around (worldaround.pl) in 2010. Changed an ironed suit and laptop for cargo trousers, hoodie jacket, knapsack and started to manage freely the passion of photography, traveling and scuba diving.

Website: http://ryszardwierzbicki.com
Website: http://instanttravelling.ning.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryszard1963