Lagatar24 Desk
Lumbini, May 16: The shilanyaas ceremony for the construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone was held on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, will build the Centre on a plot given to IBC by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) under an agreement made in March 2022, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The two Prime Ministers also displayed a model of the Centre after the shilanyaas ceremony, which was performed by monks from three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, he said.
When finished, the Centre will be a world-class facility that will welcome pilgrims and visitors from all over the world to experience the essence of Buddhist spirituality.
Prayer halls, meditation centres, libraries, exhibition halls, cafeterias, offices, and other amenities will be housed in the new structure, which will be NetZero compliant in terms of energy, water, and waste treatment, according to the MEA.
