Bodhimaṇḍa is a term used in Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 meaning the "position of awakening." According to Haribhadra, it is "a place used as a seat, where the essence of enlightenment is present." Although spelled similarly, a bodhimaṇḍa is not synonymous with a bodhimaṇḍala

Bodhimaṇḍala

Bodhimaṇḍala is a term in Buddhism that means "circle of awakening." Although spelled similarly, a bodhimaṇḍala is not synonymous with a bodhimaṇḍa, which is a bodhisattva's seat of awakening....

, which is a "circle of enlightenment."

Bodhimaṇḍas are regularly visited by Buddhist pilgrims

Pilgrims

Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...

, and some have gone on to become popular secular tourist

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 destinations as well. In many forms of Buddhism, it is believed that bodhimaṇḍas are spiritually pure places, or otherwise conducive to meditation and enlightenment.

Different Buddhist sects often disagree on the location and significance of different bodhimaṇḍas. As one would expect, the southern Theravada

Theravada

Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...

 tradition tends to emphasize the bodhimaṇḍas of the Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

, while most northern Mahayana

Mahayana

Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...

 schools tend to venerate sites in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

.

Famous bodhimaṇḍas in India

• Bodhgaya: Gautama Buddha
  Gautama Buddha
  Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
  
  
• Mount Potalaka
  Mount Potalaka
  Mount Potalaka , which means "Brilliance", is the mythical dwelling of the Buddhist figure Avalokitesvara, said to exist in the seas south of India. The mountain is first mentioned in the final chapter of the Flower Garland Sutra, the Gandavyuha Sutra, where the chapter's protagonist journeys to...
  
  : Avalokiteśvara
  Avalokitesvara
  Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
  
   Bodhisattva

Famous bodhimaṇḍas in China

• Mount Putuo: Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva
• Mount Emei
  Mount Emei
  "峨眉山" redirects here. For the county-level city that Mount Emei is located in, see Emeishan CityMount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan province, China...
  
  : Samantabhadra
  Samantabhadra
  Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...
  
   Bodhisattva
• Mount Wutai: Mañjuśrī
  Manjusri
  Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Esoteric Buddhism he is also taken as a meditational deity. The Sanskrit name Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"...
  
   Bodhisattva
• Mount Jiuhua: Kṣitigarbha
  Ksitigarbha
  Ksitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb"...
  
  Bodhisattva