PM Modi to launch work on Buddhist centre in Lumbini

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of the ‘India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage’ recently during a visit to Lumbini in Nepal.

• Modi will participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage.
• He will offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple that is dedicated to the mother of the Buddha.
• He will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organised by the Lumbini Development Trust of the government of Nepal.

Buddha:

• “Buddha” means “one who is awake.” Gautama Buddha was a contemporary of Mahavira. Gautama Buddha’s royal name was Siddhartha.
• He was the son of Suddhodhana, the Chief of Sakya clan of Kapilvastu in the Nepal Tarai area. He was born in 566 B.C. in the village of Lumbini a few miles from Kapilvastu.
• The Buddha who lived 2,600 years ago was not a god. He was an ordinary person.
• Facts also suggest that a young Siddhartha Gautam left his father’s palace before settling at a site where he attained enlightenment. The place is now in present-day India, and is known as Bodh Gaya.
• He discovered four noble truths and the Eightfold Path to Nirvana, or ultimate bliss.
• Noble Truths: The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:
• existence is suffering
• the cause of suffering is craving and attachment
• suffering ceases at some point and turns to Nirvana (liberation or total bliss)
• there is a path to Nirvana which is made up of eight steps, sometimes called the Eightfold Path
• The Eightfold Path to Nirvana is to be "right" in all these areas: concentration, views, speech, resolve, action, livelihood, effort, and mindfulness.
• Major Schools: There are two major schools of Buddhism: Mahayana and Theravada or Hinayana. There is a third school, the Vajrayana, but it only has a small following.

International Buddhist Confederation (IBC):

• In November 2011, New Delhi was host to Global Buddhist Congregation (GBC) that was attended by over 800 delegates and observers from Buddhist organizations and institutions from around the world, who came together to address common issues facing the modern world from the perspective of the Holy Dhamma.
• Under the banner: Collective Wisdom: United Voice, the attendees of the GBC unanimously adopted a resolution to form an international umbrella body – the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).
• The purpose of this body is to create a role for Buddhism on the global stage so as to help to preserve our heritage, share our knowledge, and promote our values and to represent a united front for Buddhism to enjoy meaningful participation in the global discourse.
• Regardless of the doctrinal differences within the rich and varied Buddhist traditions, there is far more that unites us than divides, and the IBC provides the foundation for the growth and development of this common ground.
• The IBC is blessed to include the Holy Sangha and eminent representatives of Buddhist lineages, organizations, institutions, and monastic bodies worldwide as Founding Members and Signatories to its Charter.