Dalai Lama inaugurates international Buddhist seminar in Baroda

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Phayul
By Abhilasha Agarwal
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama releases the book "The Buddhist Treasures of Gujarat" during an international seminar titled "Buddhist Heritage" that opened in Vadodara, about 110 kilometers (69 miles) south of Ahmadabad, India, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Vadodara, January 16 - Tibetan students and sweater sellers here added to the spiritual fervor of the city during an international seminar on Buddhist heritage that was inaugurated yesterday at the Maharaja Sayaji Rao University of Baroda by the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The city roads were decorated with more than 10,000 Tibetan prayer flags and the usually bustling Tibetan market remained closed during the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Many Tibetan lamas and Buddhist scholars from all over India and abroad have converged here to take part in this three day seminar which was presided by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The Chief Minister along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama heartily welcomed the MSU proposal to start a center for religious studies in the campus. The Chief Minister who initiated ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ campaign also promised to set up a Buddhist temple and academy to encourage research and study of Buddhism. The four major themes of the seminar are the archaeology and history of Buddhism, the philosophy of Buddhism, conserving the Buddhist heritage and developing Buddhist tourism in Gujarat.

According to the university’s department of archaeology, it has the ashes of Gautama Buddha that was found in a casket buried inside a stupa at Devni Mori, Gujarat ever since they were unearthed by the department in 1963.

“ Gujarat is poised favorably to become a Buddhist heritage circuit not only in India but also the world,” said Chief Minister Modi.

Photo: Abhilasha Agarwal

His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that more than ever "we all need the values of compassion" and propounded on the theory of interconnectedness of Buddhism. This values of kindness and compassion have huge importance during present crisis of climate change, the Tibetan leader said, adding that the people of the world should rise above personal and national interest and work together to be globally responsible citizens for generations to come.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, right, prays in front of relics of Lord Buddha kept at an archaeology museum, as Gujarat state Chief Minister Narendra Modi, front second right, looks on at Vadodara, about 110 kilometers (69 miles) south of Ahmadabad, India, Friday, Jan. 15, 2010. The Dalai Lama inaugurated a three-day international seminar titled Buddhist Heritage. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)