Meraj and Lha Bab Duechen: Muhammad and Buddha visit heaven

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was sleeping at the house of his cousin Umm-e-Hani. Archangel Gabriel brought him an animal called Buraaq. The Prophet mounted Buraaq and visited Kaaba (Mecca), Medina, Mount Sinai, Bethlehem and Masjid al-Aqsa. At Aqsa he met Abraham, Moses, Lord Jesus and all the other Prophets. Buraaq then flew the Prophet through the universe, past hell and heaven. Gabriel was not allowed past Sidrah ul Muntaha. However, the Prophet ‘certainly saw the greatest signs of the existence of God.’ (Holy Quran, 53:12-18) This event is called the Meraj.
The Shakyamuni Buddha, too, had bodily visited heaven. Lord Buddha used to miss his mother, Queen Mahâ Mâyâ, who had died in his childhood. Six years after he attained enlightenment, Buddha used his spiritual powers to go to Trayastrimsa, the heaven where his mother was. The deities there so loved him that they refused to let him return. His disciple Maudgalyâyan successfully argued that the deities could visit Buddha on earth but earthlings could not go to heaven to listen to the Lord’s sermons. Buddha returned to earth. The Himâlayan Buddhists celebrate the event as Lha Bab Duechen.
HT 19 August 06