The Vulture Peak (Pali: Gijjhakūṭa गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: Gṛdhrakūṭa गृध्रकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle PeakorGridhrakūta (orGādhrakūta), was, according to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha (now Rajgir, or Rajagrih). It was the scene for many of his discourses. Rajgir is located in Bihar, India. It is so named because it resembles a sitting vulture with its wings folded.
| Gijjhakūṭa | |
|---|---|
| Vulture Peak or Eagle Peak | |
Vulture Peak from above
| |
| Highest point | |
| Coordinates | 25°00′06″N 85°26′47″E / 25.00167°N 85.44639°E / 25.00167; 85.44639 |
| Geography | |
  Gijjhakūṭa
| |
| Parent range | Rajgir hills |
Vulture Peak Mountain is, by tradition, one of several sites frequented by the Buddha and his community of disciples for both training and retreat. Its location is frequently mentioned in Buddhist texts in the Pāli CanonofTheravada Buddhism[1][2] and in the Mahayana sutras as the place where the Buddha gave certain sermons. Among the sermons are the Heart Sutra, the Lotus Sutra and the Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sūtra as well as many prajnaparamita sutras. It is explicitly mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, chapter 16, as the Buddha's pure land:
And when the living have become faithful,
Honest and upright and gentle,
And wholeheartedly want to see the Buddha,
Even at the cost of their own lives,
Then, together with the assembly of monks
I appear on Holy Eagle Peak.
...
Such are my divine powers.
Throughout countless eons,
I have always lived on Holy Eagle Peak
And in various other places.
When the living witness the end of an eon,
When everything is consumed in a great fire,
This land of mine remains safe and tranquil,
Always filled with human and heavenly beings.[3]
