Bhairahawa, April 29

The two-day international Buddhist conference in Lumbini ended today issuing a 10-point declaration.

Representatives from 23 countries participated and presented their papers in the conference. The participants included university professors, Buddhist scholars, nuns and monks, among others.

The participants, recognising Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, pledged to promote Lumbini and Buddhism personally and on behalf of their representative nations. The joint pledge has been mentioned in the first point of the 10-point declaration.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who attended the conference today, said he was glad that the conference served to show to the world that Lumbini was not only the birthplace of Lord Buddha but also the origin of Buddhism.

“Let others peddle their lies. We have proofs; the artefacts that date back to the time of Buddha, excavated from different places are testament to the fact that Buddha and the religion he preached had their origin in Lumbini,” he reasoned, also dwelling on the importance of the philosophy of Buddhism in a world mired in hatred and violence. Today’s declaration also adopted the points included in the Lumbini declaration of 2016.

Besides, the declaration also points out the need to implement the Lumbini master plan designed by Kenzo Tange. The declaration seeks to promote Buddhism as a way to resolve the problem of growing violence and conflict in Asia and the world and to promote peace and harmony.

Similarly, the conference also stressed the need to develop Lumbini as a pilgrimage circuit in Asia and conserve and manage the archaeological, natural and cultural heritage herein. The declaration has also mentioned development of Lumbini as a world centre for Buddhist education.