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| Amaravati, 4 January 2006 (www.phayul.com) - His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Nagarjuna Sagar yesterday. Buddhists believe that Nagarjuna, one of eight great scholars better known as gen druk chok nyi or six ornaments and two excellent ones, had spent some important years of his life at Nagarjuna Sagar. His Holiness recited Nagarjuna's Fundamentals of Wisdom at the site where the great Indian master is believed to have taught. His Holiness said that he had visited the site in 1956. 'Nagarjuna seems to have spent his early life here and later years in Nalanda. When I came here in 1956 there was no lake.' His Holiness said that statues and temples are sacred but that the most important thing is the teachings of the Buddha. He said that the Buddhists must sincerely follow teachings of the Buddha and Nagarjuna. Also present at the occasion were Union Tourism Minister Renuka Choudhry and Tibetan Minister for Religion, Kalon Lobsang Nyima. On Monday, His Holiness blessed the Holy Relic Gallery at the Andhra Pradesh State Museum which housed an ancient statue of Buddha excavated from Bavikonda in the coastal district of Vishakapatnam. Also present at the blessing ceremony were Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy and Governor Susheel Kumar Shinde. Later in the day, His Holiness blessed a statue of Buddha brought from Japan, which stands 50 feet high in one of the public parks in Hyderabad. His Holiness arrived today in Amaravati to deliver his 30th Kalachakra Initiation. with inputs from VOT radio |
