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Contents
What is the News?
The Prime Minister will visit Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh to inaugurate an international airport and attend an event marking Abhidhamma Day at Mahaparinirvana Temple.
What is Abhidhamma Day?
The Abhidhamma Day marks the end of a three-month rainy retreat – Varshavaas or Vassa – for the Buddhist monks and nuns, during which time they stay at one place and pray.
What is the story behind Abhidhamma Day?
According to widely held belief, this is the day when Lord Buddha came back to earth from heaven.
He is believed to have gone to heaven to teach Abhidhamma Pitaka (a basket of ultimate things) to his mother. The teaching took three months after which Buddha came back to Earth.
Hence, his followers too mark the three-month time by staying at one place and praying.
What is special about the event at Kushinagar?
According to a Culture Ministry, the highlight of the event is the exposition of the Holy Buddha Relic being brought from Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihara Temple in Sri Lanka by the Mahanayaka of the temple.
These relics are accepted as real relics (bone fragments, ashes, pieces of Jewels) of the Buddha.
These relics were found in Piprahwa, Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, about 160 km from Kushinagar, in 1898. A part of the relics was sent to the King of Thailand and another part was sent to the King of Burma.
| Read more: About the importance of Kushinagar and the Buddhist Circuit |
Source: This post is based on the following articles
- “Prime Minister to attend Abhidhamma Day programme at Kushinagar” published in PIB on 19th October 2021.
- “Tourism Minister to address the conference ‘Tourism in Buddhist Circuits” published in PIB on 19th October 2021.
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