Third International Buddhist Conference to be Held in Lumbini on Vaishakh Purnima

Rupandehi. The third International Buddhist Conference is set to be organized in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. The Lumbini Development Trust's council meeting held today decided to organize the international Buddhist conference in Lumbini coinciding with the occasion of Vaishakh Purnima next year.

Deepak Shrestha, Member Secretary and Engineer of the Lumbini Development Trust, informed that the decision was made to organize the conference on the 16th and 17th of Baisakh next year with the objective of taking the promotion of Lumbini's tourism and increasing tourist arrivals to a new height by promoting Lumbini in the international community.

The meeting, chaired by Anil Kumar Sinha, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust, formed the main organizing committee for the International Buddhist Conference. It was decided to form a 10-member main ceremony committee with Dr. Lharkyal Lama (Khenpo Chhimedchirring), Vice-Chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust, as the coordinator of the committee.

The government has allocated a budget of NPR 30 million for organizing the conference in the current fiscal year. Member Secretary Shrestha of the Trust informed that the conference, which was previously planned for November due to political and structural changes in the country, is now being prepared to be held in Lumbini on the 16th and 17th of Baisakh next year, coinciding with the 2570th Buddha Jayanti.

Dr. Lama, the coordinator of the main ceremony committee, informed that the conference is being organized with the objective of promoting world peace through Buddhist religion and philosophy and spreading the spirit of compassion, kindness, and world brotherhood. He expressed confidence that Buddhist scholars, gurus, distinguished guests, and important personalities from various fields from more than 60 countries around the world would participate in the conference.

It has been stated that discussions and paper presentations will be held during the two-day conference on the heritage sites of Lumbini, Kapilvastu, and other areas related to the Buddha, the environmental condition of the Lumbini area, world Buddhist heritage, and Buddhist education and culture.

The Lumbini Development Trust stated that the first and second International Buddhist Conferences previously held have made significant contributions to Nepal's religious, cultural, and tourism sectors.

Member Secretary Shrestha of the Development Trust stated that the main objectives of this year's conference are to introduce Lumbini internationally through publicity, enhance the importance of Buddhism worldwide, and promote tourism in Lumbini.