Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has expressed his belief that the 2560th Buddha Jayanti and the International Buddhist Conference will clear confusions surrounding the Buddha.

The Prime Minister said this chairing the meeting of the 2560th Buddha Jayanti Programme and the International Buddhist Conference Celebration Main Committee held at his official residence in Baluwatar on Monday. Prime Minister Oli is the chairman of the 501-member main committee.

"There exists some confusion about the Buddha. This is because of lack of adequate publicity. The conference with international participation will help remove the confusion and prove that Buddha and the Buddhist philosophy started from Nepal," PM Oli said.

Stating that it was due to the wisdom derived from Buddhism that Siddhartha Gautam could renounce family, the palace and the crown all at once, he said it would not have been possible for Siddhartha Gautam to show this extraordinary courage of giving up attachment and greed without attaining this wisdom.

The Prime Minister noted that the entire country was enthusiastic to celebrate the Buddha Jayanti (birth anniversary of the Buddha) and the International Buddhist Conference, adding the politicians, government high officials and religious institutions all were one on this.

On the occasion, PM Oli also made it clear that Nepal was not only a historical place of Buddhism but all the three Buddhist sects also originated from Nepal.

Stating that the Buddha Jayanti is to be celebrated in Lumbini itself as it is the Buddha's birthplace, he said, however, the international conference would be held in Kathmandu as it would be very hot in Lumbini.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ananda Prasad Pokharel also said the international conference would prove that Nepal is the source of Buddhist philosophy as Nepal alone is the birthplace and place of work of Gautam Buddha, the apostle of peace.

He said letters have been sent to the countries concerned asking them to make correction in various documents including in school textbooks that the Buddha was not born in Nepal but in some other country, and South Korea has replaced the statement that the Buddha was born in India with the statement- Buddha was born in Nepal.

The participants of the meeting attributed the confusions regarding the Buddha'sa birthplace to the lack of publicity, expressing the belief that the historic international conference would end all the confusions regarding the Buddha.

International Buddhist Conference is to be organised on May 20 and 21 in Kathmandu and the 2560th Buddha Jayanti in Lumbini on May 21 around the theme - 'Lumbini, Nepal: The Birthplace of Lord Buddha and the Origin of Buddhism'.

Committee member-secretary Bachchu Narayan Shrestha presented a working paper and briefed the meeting about the conference. He shared that the Ministers of Culture of 13 different countries are expected in the conference.

Similarly, 13 different sub-committees have been formed for the conference. It was informed at the meeting that 24 working papers, including six from Nepal, are to be presented in the conference. RSS