Dalai Lama to open temple
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(Patna,
Feb 1, IANS)
Tibetan spiritual leader
the Dalai Lama will inaugurate a temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya, the birthplace of
Buddhism, a senior monk said.
The temple is set to draw
Buddhists across the globe because relics of the Buddha will be shifted from a
temple in Sri Lanka to the new one. Moreover, relics of Buddha's two disciples
from Kolkata will also move to the temple.
The Dalai Lama would open
the temple Feb 3. "The holy relics of Buddha from Sri Lanka as well as his
disciples' relics would be placed in the temple in the presence of the Dalai
Lama," said a functionary in Bodh Gaya.
The relics of the Buddha were
handed over to the Buddhist monks by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse
Tuesday. They had been kept in a Sri Lankan temple for decades.
Sri
Lanka decided to shift the holy relics to Bodh Gaya because it is the holiest
shrine of Buddhism in the world. The Buddha, who was born as Prince Siddhartha,
founded Buddhism and is said to have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree
in Bodh Gaya, about 110 km from here.
The relics will be on public
display in Chennai and New Delhi before being brought to Bodh Gaya
Friday.
Last year, Bihar had turned down a Sri Lankan government's
request to send a casket containing the ashes of the Buddha for public
exhibition.
Officials said the casket, kept at the Patna Museum, was
too fragile to be transported to Sri Lanka.
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