Andalib Akhter / NEW DELHI

“World today is facing an existential crisis on many fronts and the Buddhist community has much to offer to humankind” said President Droupadi Murmu while addressing the gathering of the first Asian Buddhist Summit in New Delhi.

President stressed the need to discuss the role of Buddhism in strengthening Asia and how it can bring real peace to Asia and the world. She said Budhism’s central message remains focused on peace and non violence and highlighted that the world needs compassion today.

The President said that the preservation of Buddha’s teachings has been a great collective endeavour for all of us. She was happy to note that the Government of India granted the status of ‘classical language’ to Pali and Prakrit, among other languages. She said that Pali and Prakrit would now receive financial support, which will contribute significantly to the preservation of their literary treasures and to their revitalisation.

President said India is the blessed land of Dhamma and in every age, there have been great masters and mystics.

President Murmu said the Budhha holds a uniqie place among these pathfinders. She highlighted that the enlightenment of Sidhhartha Gautam under the Bodhi tree in Budh Gaya is an event unparalelled in history.

The President said that over the centuries, it was only natural that different practitioners would find different meanings in the Buddha’s discourses and, thus, there arose a variety of sects. In broad classification, today we have Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, with many schools and sects within each of them. Moreover, such flowering of the Buddha Dharma proceeded in many directions over different periods of history. This spread of Dhamma over an expanding geographical area created a community, a larger Sangha. In a sense, India, the land of the Buddha’s enlightenment, is at its centre. But, what is said about God is also true about this larger Buddhist Sangha: that its centre is everywhere and circumference nowhere.

The Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation, is organizing the two day Summit to honour Buddhism, an ancient tradition that not only flourished within its borders but also spread to various countries. The theme of the summit is “The Role of Buddha Dhamma in Strengthening Asia.”