Telangana: Bhutanese Buddhist Monastery to come up at Buddhavanam

The Bhutanese Buddhist monk delegation was impressed with the features and facilities at Buddhavanam and announced their intentions to set up Monastery

Hyderabad: A Bhutanese Buddhist Monastery is coming up at Buddhavanam, Nagarjunasagar. This was announced by a Bhutanese Buddhist monk delegation that visited Buddhavanam, the largest Buddhist Heritage Theme park in Asia.

The Bhutanese Buddhist monk delegation, Led by Tenzin Nyamgyal, Central Buddhist Body, Thimphu representing the International Buddhist Confederation, was impressed with the features and facilities at the theme park and announced their intentions to set up Monastery. After the visit, the Chief Monk of the Central Buddhist Body said they would also explore possibilities of collaboration with the Telangana Government in promoting Buddhist culture and education.

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Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud had instructed tourism officials to arrange for a guided tour for the Bhutanese monks and accordingly Buddhavanam Special Officer Mallepalli Laxmaiah facilitated the visit. During the visit, Buddhist Expert Consultant E.Sivanagireddy briefed the monks on the advent of Buddhism, Buddhist Heritage of Telangana, Buddhism at Nagarjunakonda, Contribution of Acharya Nagarjuna and important Buddhist sites of Telangana.

The Bhutanese monks were told about the concept and segments of Buddhavanam, including Buddhacharithavam, which features the five great events of Siddhartha Gautama’s life, Jataka park in which 40 Jataka narratives are displayed, Meditation park where a 27 feet high Buddha Statue donated by the Sri Lankan Government is installed and Stupa park in which six Indian and seven South East Asian scale model Stupas are built.

The Monks were so impressed upon the design and interior of the Stupa that they contemplated meditating there. The delegation also enjoyed a boat ride and visited the Island Museum at Nagarjunakonda. They expressed their thanks to Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud and Buddhavanam Special Officer Mallepalli Laxmaiah for their support extended in organising the tour.