Troll_Bait
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: [T]eaching experience doesn't matter much. -Lee Young-chan (pictured)
|
 Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 12:14 am Post subject: Remains of Buddhism's founder enshrined in India |
 |
|
Remains of Buddhism's founder enshrined in India
| Quote: |
Thousands of Buddhists from India and abroad gathered in the western financial hub of Mumbai to lay to rest some of the remains of Buddhism's founder, a report said.
The relics, some ashes and bones of Gautam Buddha, were lowered into a shallow pit on top of a 90-foot (27-metre) high stone structure -- the Global Vipassana Pagoda -- at Gorai island in the city's north, the Press Trust of India reported.
Buddhist monks, in flowing orange robes, chanted hymns from scriptures during the ceremony, which formed part of celebrations to mark the 2,550th anniversary of Buddha's enlightenment.
Buddhists from across the globe -- the United States, Britain, Australia and Cambodia -- sat in meditation during the ceremony inside the dome, which can accommodate about 9,000 people, the report said.
The devout believe that the enshrined relics emit spiritual energy and vibrations that help meditation.
Organisers said Sunday's ceremony was the first time in about 2,000 years that the spiritual leader's mortal remains were being enshrined, the report said.
After Buddha's death, his disciples divided his remains and kept them in eight separate locations across Asia.
The relics laid to rest Sunday were discovered during an archaeological expedition in southern India in 1920, the report quoted S.N. Goenka of the Vipassana Foundation, which built the stone structure, as saying.
Organisers said the newly-constructed pagoda was an architectural marvel as it had one of the world's largest stone domes, made without pillars supporting it.
"No cement, concrete or metal has been used," said Indian media baron Subhash Chandra, a Buddhist, the report said.
"We built it entirely in stone. A total of 1.8 million tonnes of stone was used ... and 5.2 million hours were put in to build it since 1997," he added.
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
