Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on an official visit to Lumbini to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, laid the foundation stone for Centre of Buddhist Culture and Heritage within the Lumbini Monastic Zone and also held a meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The center, after it is completed, will offer top-notch facilities to tourists and pilgrims from around the world and enlighten them with the spiritual aspects of Buddhism.
The construction of the centre is at the initiative of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, under the patronage and guidance of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT). The agreement between the IBC and the LDT was signed in March 2022. The Centre will have the latest amenities and will be Nepal’s first NetZero Emission building in terms of waste products, energy, and water. It will have prayer halls, meditation rooms, a library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices, and offer other amenities.
The event began at 2 pm with the screen displaying chants from different Buddhist sites. Monks who represented the three important Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, conducted the “shilanyaas” ceremony after which Prime Ministers of both countries unveiled the model of the centre.
