Thousands of Buddhists celebrate Gautam Buddha's birth anniversary in Lumbini

Lumbini [Nepal], May 23 : Thousands of devotees and monks celebrated the 2568th birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha at his birthplace in Lumbini on Thursday.

Nearly 100 monks, half of them from the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) joined the event. India also held a special pooja next to the pond in the Maya Devi Temple premises for world peace.

"This morning the Lumbini Development Trust had organized a peace chanting which started early in the morning. The IBC component had 50 monks from both the traditions that are Theravada and Bhayala, after that, we participated in a peace march which was from the site of chanting to the conference hall," Vijayant Thapa, Director (Project) at International Buddhist Confederation told ANI.

Joined by hundreds of others, the monks then rallied to the International Buddhist Conference to celebrate the birth anniversary of the "Light of Asia" Gautam Buddha.

The event was organized by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in cooperation with Lumbini Development Trust and was attended by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, and Tourism Minister Hit Bahadur Tamang.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava along with the Secretary General of BIMSTEC, Indra Mani Pandey and ambassadors as well as Deputy Chief of Mission of various diplomatic missions in Nepal.

Buddha, regarded as the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born on Shukla Purnima of Baisakh month in the lunar calendar. There is a coincidence that the dates (lunar calendar) the Buddha got birth, wisdom, and Mahaparinirvan (passing away) fall on the same.

While addressing the event, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava said "This land is specially blessed as Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini on the day of Baisakh Purnima. Nearby in the town of Bodh Gaya he attained enlightenment and he gave his first sermon in Sarnath, again not far from here. He attained Maha Parinirvan in Kushi Nagar. Lord Buddha's life journey and dissemination of his teachings and message starting from his first sermon in Sarnath formed an enduring parallel bond between India and Nepal. That adds to our unique relationship. It symbolizes our shared heritage and values."

"In this context, I would also like to recall, the visit of Prime Minister Modi who had visited Lumbini in 2022 on the occasion of Baisakh Purnima. He then spoke about the importance of developing this shared heritage together and enriching it further. During his visit, Prime Minister Modi and the then Prime Minister of Nepal laid the foundation of the International Center for Buddhist Culture and Heritage which is progressing well. Thanks to the support provided by Lumbini Development Trust." he added.

The Buddhist communities in the world including Nepal observe the Day with much reverence. The birth anniversary of Buddha, the apostle of non-violence and peace, is being observed with spiritual leaders and gurus at monasteries.

Buddha was born in the royal family of King Suddhodhan and Queen Mayadevi had left his palace at the age of 29 for penance. He is regarded also as the 'Light of Asia.'

Buddhist philosophy is taught in internationally acclaimed universities like Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard.

There are also MA-level programmes on Buddhist philosophy at Tribhuvan University, Nepal Sanskrit University, and Lumbini Bauddha University in Nepal. The teachings and sermons given by Lord Buddha during his lifetime of 80 years are collected in 'binaya', 'sutta', 'abhidhamma' and 'tripitak'.

"Visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha is a matter of pride for citizens of the world. For Buddhists this has high significance and pride, hence, Lumbini should be developed as the centre of Buddhists and promote this place as well as the nation with high significance, this probability lies in front of us," Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said.

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