A `Lumbini circuit` suggested for Buddhist tourism

Home Asia Pacific South Asia India

New Delhi, India -- Former Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Friday advocated a ‘Lumbini circuit’ of Buddhist tourism sites spanning India and Nepal which would attract millions of Buddhist pilgrims.

Nepal said he was for two different circuits, one for India, touching Buddhist spots of Sarnath, Bodh Gaya and another one in Nepal, touching Lumbini, the ?maternal house? of the Buddha, Kapilavastu, his ?father?s house?, and other sites.

?One broad Lumbine circuit should be there.. both countries can attract Buddhist pilgrims on the circuit? This should be developed to attract millions of pilgrims,? said Nepal at a talk at Sapru House organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).

Last year, in November, an MoU was inked between a committee set up by the Nepal government and a Hong Kong-based NGO to transform Lumbini into a ?Mecca for Buddhists?.

The Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation (APEC) Foundation was to pump in investment worth US $3 to 5 billion to develop infrastructure at Lumbini.

View the original article here

US$ 3b Buddhist Centre for Lumbini

Home Asia Pacific South Asia Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal -- China is providing funds to Nepal to build a US$3 billion Buddhist Centre to attract millions of pilgrims and spiritual tourists to the birthplace of the Buddha.

Lumbini is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts half-a- million pilgrims every year from China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand to its ponds, gardens and temples. Planners hope to build an airport, hotels, convention centres, highways, temples and a Buddhist university at the site on Nepal's Western border with India, where Buddha was born about 2,600 years ago.

The scheme is supported by a Chinese government-backed foundation.

It also has the support of Steven Clark Rockefeller, the heir to the Rockefeller dynasty. According to Nepali officials devout Buddhists spend more time at the other three main pilgrimage sites in India because Lumbini does not have the infrastructure for longer stays.

Saranath, in India's Uttar Pradesh, where Buddha first taught the Dhamma, Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained Enlightenment under the Sacred Bodhi tree and Kushinagar where he reached Parinibbana are all drawing increasing numbers of high-spending tourists, and Nepal's government wants to increase its share of this income.

China and Nepal signed an agreement earlier this year to develop the site, and the Beijing-based Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation has launched an ambitious campaign to raise the three billion US dollars required for the site to be transformed into the world's leading Buddhist pilgrimage site.

Nepali Government officials have made a number of fund-raising trips to Singapore and Malaysia, and hope the project will create new jobs in Lumbini, a poor area.

View the original article here