Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha, tesanca yo nirodho evam vadi mahasamanno. of those phenomena that arise from a cause the Tathagata has said, this is their cause and this is their cessation. Thus the Great Sramana teaches. —A common dedication in Pali on votive stupas. In 2009, Bharath Murthy took refuge as a lay Buddhist. Soon after, accompanied by his wife Alka, he set out on a pilgrimage to the historical sites in India and Nepal associated with the life of Siddhattha Gotama the Buddha. The Vanished Path is an account of their journey through the ruins that mark the Buddha's life – the places where he lived and taught, lands from where all traces of that past have almost disappeared. As the duo wends its way from Sarnath to Lumbini, from Kudan to Bodhgaya and many places in between, Bharath's pen brings alive the sights and sounds and smells of these places. Whether it is Buddhism you're interested in or travel, this is a journey you will find yourself drawn into.

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