Vesakha (Vesak) Festival: Enhanced ties between Pakistan, Sri Lanka stressed

[Gibbs]

Vesakha Festival: Enhanced ties between Pakistan, Sri Lanka stressed

Sri Lankan monks are currently visiting Pakistan as part of a delegation. PHOTO: EXPRESS

TAXILA: Adviser to Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddique has said that culture makes it easier for people to understand each other.

He said this while addressing a group of 50 Sri Lankan monks including ministers and media representatives who observed Vesakha Festival at Buddhist sites in Taxila on Monday.

The Sri Lankan delegation visited Dharmarajika Stupa, Sirkap site and Taxila Museum and offered religious rituals.

Irfan Siddiqui, adviser to the prime minister on National History and Literary Heritage inaugurated the celebrations in presence of Sri Lanka’s Minister of Primary Industries Daya Gamage and Dr Gamage.

The inaugural ceremony was also attended by Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan Maj-Gen (retd) Jayanath Lokuketagodage.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Siddiqui said that “We are proud to be custodian of the holy relics and the Buddhist monasteries, [which were an] asset of the whole mankind.”

He expressed the hope that the mutual cooperation and friendship between the two countries would further grow in the future.

“Culture makes it easier for people to understand each other better,” Siddiqui said.

“It is a result of cultural and people-to-people contact between the two countries that Pakistan decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha for the first time in Pakistan,” he said.

Siddiqui said that “We are alive to our national and international responsibilities for proper preservation, protection and projection of holy establishments of all faiths on the soil of our country”.

Pakistan is committed to safe guarding and preserving not only all the Buddhist archaeological sites and monuments but also such kind of ritual places of other religions as well in the best possible manner, the adviser said.

Siddiqui said that the traces of earliest known urban settlement in the history of the sub‑continent could be found in various parts of Pakistan including Mehergarh, Moenjodaro and Harappa.

Siddiqui said that Pakistan had sent Gandhara relics of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka on a month long exhibition as a token of friendship from the people of Pakistan for the people of Sri Lanka from May 19 to June 30, 2016 on the occasion of the Vesakha Festival.

Gamage thanked the Government of Pakistan for organising Vesakha festival in Pakistan.

He said it gave a great message of peace, tolerance, and harmony and it would further cordial and friendly relations between the two countries.

Gamage said that the members of the delegation would visit holy places of Buddhists and also perform their religious rituals.

Vesakha Festival is also known as Buddha Purnima.

Buddha Day is observed as holiday in all Buddhist countries of Asia and some other places of the world. Vesakha Festival is celebrated to commemorate events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions; the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2016.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1113157/vesakha-festival-enhanced-ties-pakistan-sri-lanka-stressed/

 

[Gibbs]

Sri Lankan delegation visits historic Buddhist Monastery at Takht-i-Bhai

ISLAMABAD: The Sri Lankan delegation to Pakistan led by Minister for Primary Industry Daya Gamage and Deputy Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Anuma Gamage visited the historic Buddhist site at Takht-i-Bahi (Throne of Origins) in Mardan.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, University of Paradeniya’s Emeritus Dr Madduma Bandara said during the visit that these archaeological sites were considered most sacred and important for the Buddhists all over the world. He said, "We are privileged to visit these sites". He added that the preservation of centuries-old Buddhist sites in a Muslim majority proves Pakistan's mutual respect and tolerance for other religions.

The Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bhai was the part of Gandhara Civilization which is one of the earliest urban settlements documented in the history of the sub-continent. The heritage site was first excavated in 1936. The ostentatious structure and imposing relics of the monastery had mesmerized a large number of locals and tourists who had flocked to see the ancient site which dates back to early 1st century AD. Listed in the World Heritage List, it is considered as one of the well-structured Buddhist monasteries in Gandhara district.

It is perched about 500 feet atop a small hill, about two kilometers east of the Takht Bhai bazaar in Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Once known as the heart of the Gandhara civilization, it attracts tourists, historians, archeologists and Buddhists from across the world. After performing their religious rituals, the delegation visited the Hund museum in Swabi which is the last capital of Gandhara civilization. The delegation also visited the Pukhtun cultural stalls at the museum and showed keen interest.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/pakistan/0...s-historic-buddhist-monastery-at-takht-i-bhai