International Buddhist meet begins in Udayagiri

Kendrapada: The 2nd Guru Padmasambhava Buddhist International Conference kicked off at Udayagiri in Jajpur district on Sunday. Around 2,000 Buddhists from 22 countries gathered to honour Guru Padmasambhava, known as the second Buddha, who was born in Sambalpur. Buddhist scholars, monks and researchers from countries, including Thailand, Bhutan, South Korea, Japan, Cambodia and the US participated in the opening day ceremonies."This conference is a rich tribute to Guru Padmasambhava. He was a teacher in Puspagiri university for a period of time. His body remains had been preserved in a casket in and around Udayagiri as deciphered from the inscription found at the back of Avalokitesvara statue at the entrance of Udayagiri," said Ranjan Kumar, chief organiser of the event. Brazilian participant Nelson Chanma, 68, said, "I visited many Buddhist sites around the world. But the diamond triangle of Lalitgiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri is really amazing. Many Buddhists and overseas tourists throughout the globe are unaware of the rich Buddhist heritage of these sites and our visit will be useful for them to know about the historic Buddhist sites of Odisha. Buddhism is growing in Brazil. Now 10% of our country's population are Buddhists."