The three-day long international Buddhist conference ended on Sunday at the famous Buddhist site in Udaygiri in Jajpur district.
The main objective of the conference was to give major thrust to cultural tourism and explore potential related to the Buddhist circuits in India, particularly to Odisha. The challenge was to craft a perfect platform for such a high profile event and implement perfection from beginning to the end. Odisha has a rich Buddhist heritage with several important sites associated with the life of lord Buddha, which are of great interest for followers of Buddhism the world over.
“The conference was held with a view to showcasing and projecting the Buddhist heritage of the State. It highlighted the relevance of Buddhism more than 2,000 years after the ancient Indian King Ashoka took it upon himself to spread the message of lord Buddha,” said Tourism Director Manoranjan Patnaik.
The event was attended by more than 110 overseas guests, 25 Indian tour operators, international Buddhist scholars and others.
There were separate sessions connected with academics and tours to focus on developing and highlighting the Buddhist tourist potential of the country, particularly in Odisha. The tourism marketing event was designed to bring together international buyers from around the world particularly from the popular Buddhist destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, China, etc,” said convener of the conference Sunil Patnaik.
“Buddha believed that the edifice of peace could be erected only on the foundation of love, compassion, tolerance, coexistence and nonviolence, which are the keys to happiness and which unfortunately, seem to be lacking among the peoples, communities, societies and nations of the world at present. Buddhism unfolds before us the real path and ways to survive in this world with peace and serenity,” said Anura Manatunga of Sri lanka.
“Odisha has rich Buddhist heritage sites and this conference will help the Buddhists of other countries know more about Odisha and its rich heritage,” said Utkal University of Culture VC DN Jena.