Ulaanbaatar [Mongolia]: The four Holy Kapilavastu Relics of Lord Buddha brought from India by a delegation led by Union Law and Justice Minister, Kiren Rijiju, have been displayed with reverence and ceremonial fanfare at Ganden Tegchenling Monastery in the capital Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday.
A holy procession was also carried out from Sukhbaatar Square near Parliament to Ganden Monastery.
The four Kapilavastu relics, along with the relic of the Buddha’s tooth, a blessed idol of Mongolians, have been put on display for 11-days.
Union Minister, Mangolian Parliament Speaker Gombojav Zandanshatar, Khamba Nomun Khan of the Gandan Monastery and a large number of monks, among other foreign dignitaries, were present on occasion.
Speaking on occasion, Kiren Rijiju said, “Several centuries ago, the spirit of Buddhism traversed from the Himalayan mountains of India into Mongolian steppes and became our precious shared heritage. Since then, this spiritual connect continues to bind the people of our two nations.”
“During the historic visit of Prime Minister Modi in 2015, our relationship was elevated to strategic partnership and a special focus was accorded to the shared heritage of Buddhism between our two countries,” he added.
Khamba Nomun Khan (Khamba Lama) expressed his hearty gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for his utmost support and decision to send the Buddha’s most precious relics to Ganden Tegchenling Monastery.
Speaking to ANI, Gombojav Zandanshatar said, “I want to pay the sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Government of India for bringing Buddha relics to Mongolia. On the behalf of Parliament of Mongolia and on the behalf of the Buddhist community of Mongolia, I would like to thank the government of India.”
Zandanshatar said that today they are celebrating three holy events of Buddha’s life. He further said that Mongolia considers India, a spiritual neighbour.
Mongolian parliament speaker recalled PM Modi’s speech during his 2015 visit, where he said that the spiritual neighbourhood is the highest level of cooperation and relationship. “So, it is a great symbol of our spiritual neighbourhood of bringing Budda’s relics to Mongolia,” Gombojav Zandanshatar added.
Artist Mohit Chauhan, who is the cultural ambassador of Mongolia to India, is also part of the Indian delegation.
“The relations between our countries are extremely beautiful. There is a whole lot of love, and spirituality between us and because of the Buddhist traditions I look forward to building closer relations between our countries through music. I hope to meet up more artists from here and hope to tell people in India about this beautiful country,” Chauhan added.
The Holy relics of Lord Buddha, which are returning to Mongolia after 29 years, will be made available for devotees to pay respects and seek blessings until June 24. (ANI)
