Nepal Requests Korea To Change The Name Of Buddha's Birth Place

Nepal’s Ambassador to Korea Kamal Prasad Koirala has written a letter to President Lee Myung-bak requesting him to change the erroneous information in South Korean textbooks regarding the birth of Lord Buddha.

The four-page letter The Korea Times has obtained exclusively states that Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini and that Lumbini is a part of Nepal. “Most humbly I beg to bring to your kind notice the factual accuracy about the birthplace of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni which has been for many years and by many scholars has been (factually mistaken). Being aware of its significance and magnanimity of the sentiments of its large (body of) believers I take this opportunity to state the facts with humble request subsequently for its correction.”

The letter further states that when India was under the British rule, some British writers had written that Buddha was born in India and this is still believed to be true in many parts of the world.

The Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which at present is in Nepal, the ambassador writes. This place is at a distance of 32 kilometers north of the border of the Republic of India and while writing chronicles about Buddha the facts are in the ground.

“But many scholars mistakenly mention it following the old British archive. It seems many people are confused even today while answering the birthplace of Buddha,’’ he said, citing the colonization of India by Britain as the main reason. “With colonization of India British historians began to write its history in English. In these English histories it was written that Buddha was born in India. This mistake was done without any wrong motive. Until the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries the exact location of Lumbini remained unknown to them.”

Amb. Koirala also said that General Secretary of United Nations Ban Ki-moon has shown keen interest in the development of Lumbini, as it is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. He also stated that even the British Museum changed the birthplace of Lord Buddha to Nepal on Nov. 7.
He said President Lee would pay heed to the plea.

Amb. Koirala has also sent a copy of the letter to Lee Sang-ki, a founding member of the Asia Journalists Association and the publisher of The Asian. Praising Koirala’s attempt, Lee said the South Korean government would definitely pay heed to it.

“My humble request to Your Excellency is that the Korean children and college students should be given the opportunity to read the facts on the life of Shakyamuni Buddha. The fact known to His Excellency Ban Ki-moon and thousands of Koreans should be made known to children, students and young people of Korea as well,” the diplomat said in his letter.

A South Korean primary school textbook, ``Ethics Part One,’’ states that Lord Buddha was born in Khapila Castle in India. Similarly, another secondary school book, ``World History,’’ states that Lord Buddha was born in a Royal Brahmin family and his birthplace has been stated as India.

Indonesian Buddhist Population

According to the national censes conducted in 2010, the population of Indonesian stands at 237,641,326 and of this figure the number of Buddhist numbers 1,703,254 which is 0.72% of the total population.

Facts about Buddhist in Indonesia

- 1,500,475 reside in cities while 202,779 come from villages/rural areas
- DKI Jakarta has the most number of Buddhist with (317,527) or 3.30% of the
city's population
- North Sumatera comes in 2nd place with 303,546 followed by Western Kalimantan and
Banten with 237,741 and 131,222 respectively
- Number of Buddhist in the most western part of Indonesia, Acheh = 7062
- Number of Buddhist in the most eastern part of Indonesia, Papua = 1452
- Province that has the least number of Buddhist is Northern Maluku = 90
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (0-4 year old) = 117,323 or 6.89%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (5-10 year old) = 132,162 or 7.76%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (10-14 year old) = 129,950 or 7.63%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (15-19 year old) = 135,442 or 7.95%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (20-24 year old) = 143,362 or 8.42%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (25-29 year old) = 153,338 or 9.0%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (30-34 year old) = 131,651 or 7.63%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (35-39 year old) = 115,180 or 6.76%
- Number of Buddhist in the age group (above 60 year old) = 207,550 or
- Male Buddhist (869,097), female Buddhist (834,167)

Rock Music In Upcoming Buddhist Festival

The youth rock Band Dhamma Wings is ready to electrify the audiences with their mystical performance at the Buddha Festival 2012. The contemporary trend of rock music will be blended with the Buddhist culture and heritage in a three-hour show in the four-day Buddha Festival at Nagpur.

Nagpur Buddhist Centre ( NBC), a unit of Triratna Boudha Mahasanga is organizing the festival from January 26 at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur. The attraction for this festival's archaic ambience would be a 50-feet high structure, which is conceptualized by artist and stage designer Digambar Bagde. The structure will resemble the statue of Buddha in Bodhgaya, Bihar.

The chief coordinator of the fest, Ritayush said, "The teachings of Buddha are very relevant in the contemporary age, hence this festival is an attempt to propagate peace, harmony and compassion in the society. Also attempt is being made to promote principles of Buddha through rock singing, as there was a very good response from youth in attending the gala in 2011."

The theme for the event runs around life of Buddha, based on which artists from Mumbai, Lucknow and Ujjain will present cultural programs. Scintillating collection of paintings and sculptures of Buddha by Dilip Wankhede will be exhibited.

Taiwan's New Buddha Memorial Hall

A Buddha memorial hall built by the Fo Guang Shan Monastery was unveiled December 25,2011 in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, attracting more than 20,000 visitors eager for a peek at one of the grandest Buddha halls in Taiwan.

With funding entirely from the private sector, the five-story memorial hall was unveiled earlier in the day after nine years of construction.

The 4,000 ping (13,240 square meter) establishment, which has eight stupas, 48 underground palaces and the world's tallest Buddha statue at 108 meters high, drew hundreds of tourist buses and cars that jammed traffic on Provincial Highway No. 21.


















Many were stuck in jams for more than 30 minutes, prompting the Kaohsiung City Police Department to issue an apology and give an assurance that more effort will be devoted to providing better traffic controls during similar events in the future.

President Ma Ying-jeou, who took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the hall, praised the humanitarian aid provided by the monastery around the world, adding that the charity group does not get any funding from the government and in fact donates funds to the government to assist with disaster-relief efforts.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, said the memorial hall is free entry, adding that it was established to provide visitors with peace of mind.

He also urged people to not get too involved in the upcoming elections, saying too much of anything does not benefit the peaceful development of a society.

Buddhist Concert

Photos gallery of a Buddhist concert held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on December 21st 2011.