Buddha is Nepali: a world conference to clarify the origins of Buddhism

May 20, 2016

KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal organized an international conference to assert, once and for all, that the Buddha and Buddhist philosophy were born in Nepal. It was held in Kathmandu on May 21, Gautama Buddha’s 2,560th birthday.

“There is so much confusion about the origin of Buddhism and the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha Gautama,” said Nepali Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (pic). “This conference should help us make clear to the world that Buddha was born in Nepal and that Buddhist philosophy is the product of Nepal.”

On May 21, Nepalis mark Buddha Jayanti, the birthday of Buddhism’s founder. The day is a national holiday in the Himalayan nation. Everyone – including political leaders, public servants, and religious – observe the celebration.

According to religious tradition, Siddhartha was born in 566 BC in Lumbini, southern Nepal, into a noble family. He lived in Tilaurakot Palace until the age of 29.

After he fled his father’s palace to see the real world around him, he witnessed the cruelty of life in three meetings (with an old man, a sick man and a dead man). This changed his vision and, at that moment, he decided to abandon comforts and riches and devote himself to an ascetic life.

Prime Minister Oli said that Nepal is not only the birthplace of the Enlightened One, but also the cradle of the three traditions of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana).

Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Ananda Prasad Pokharel announced that he had invited world leaders as well as Buddhist religious leaders to the conference, including the secretary general of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

The minister also asked that textbooks claiming that the Buddha was born in other countries be changed. South Korea has announced that it had taken steps to eliminate the historical mistake. -- AsiaNews