An inaugural flight from Colombo carrying a Sri Lankan delegation of over 100 people, including Buddhist monks and five ministers, and holy Buddha relics will land in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate an international airport there on Wednesday. The airport has been built as part of efforts to connect Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 12 development projects worth over ₹180 crore in the poll-bound state.
In a tweet, Modi said, “Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a special day for our infrastructure and civil aviation sector. The Kushinagar International Airport will be inaugurated, with the inaugural flight landing from Colombo, whose passengers include a group of respected monks. This airport will benefit UP (Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar.”
Kushinagar is a sacred Buddhist site where Lord Buddha is believed to have delivered his last sermon and attained salvation or Mahaparinirvana. Modi will also participate in an event marking Abhidhamma Day at the Mahaparinirvana Temple there, pay his respects to the reclining statue of Lord Buddha and plant a Bodhi tree sapling.
Abhidhamma Day symbolises the end of three-month rainy retreat--varshavaas or vassa--for the Buddhist monks. The monks stay at one place in vihara and monastery and pray during this period.
“The highlight of the event is the Exposition of Holy Buddha Relic being brought from Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihara Temple, Sri Lanka by the Mahanayaka of the temple. In 1898, Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India excavated a large mound in the estate of British landowner, William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, Sidharthnagar district U.P (Uttar Pradesh). It is 160 km from Kushinagar,” a culture ministry statement said.
{{/usCountry}}“The highlight of the event is the Exposition of Holy Buddha Relic being brought from Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihara Temple, Sri Lanka by the Mahanayaka of the temple. In 1898, Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India excavated a large mound in the estate of British landowner, William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, Sidharthnagar district U.P (Uttar Pradesh). It is 160 km from Kushinagar,” a culture ministry statement said.
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Monks from Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, and Cambodia, and foreign envoys will also attend the event.
Modi will also visit an exhibition of paintings of Ajanta frescos, Buddhist sutra calligraphy, and Buddhist artifacts excavated from Vadnagar and other sites in Gujarat.
(With agency inputs)