Ann Baker

The Peace Pilgrim is one of the few dedicated Indian Buddhist with a deep interest in helping return Buddhism to its home land. As part of his project, he is presently exploring forgotten Buddhist sites on the Middle-Land that were frequently visited by the Buddha. Many of these places were last seen by the British Archaeologists and after the Independence of India, they have neither been visited by the Indian Archaeologists or preserved by them. He intends to bring these sites on to the pilgrim circuit and at the same time also work with like minded Buddhist Organizations globally to help in spreading the teaching of the Buddha to the inhabitants of these remote places .He feels that to return Buddhism to India, the Buddhist will have to work with the same zeal as the Christians have been working here, as he says "to win the heart of the people, we will have to first win their confidence and trust. If there is no school in an area, let us give it to them, then we tell them what the teaching of the Buddha has to offer.

Let us give them what they lack most, teach them about the Buddha and let them judge for themselves the difference between "blind faith" and the good moral law of the Buddha."
As a true believer of 'non-violence' and harmony he has been advocating the message of peace at seminars and inter-religious dialogues. The Peace Pilgrim has been following the path of Xuanzang, the 7th Century Chinese Pilgrim since 1995 and has traveled to sites in the remote parts of Bihar, often having walked for the whole day to reach the site where the Buddha once visited. The trips are often rewarding as he finds the site still existing ... and there have been places where everything has been lost with the onslaught of time and nothing exists there, not even a broken image of the Buddha. In his stride he accepts situations as they are. He is also an avid photographer, he records everything that exists at a site and befriends the villagers too. For him the act of visiting ancient sites is part of a continuous pilgrimage and to persuade the Government Departments to restore them to venues worthy of pilgrimage is the sole purpose of his existence. With a Buddhist Flag, a digital camera and the willingness to travel where no modern pilgrim has gone, where risk is taken with every stride ... The Peace Pilgrim walks on a unique Dharma path and invites you to join him.