Hosting the two-day Summit in collaboration with International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) on April 20-21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Buddhist Summit in New Delhi on Thursday. 

Organised by the Indian Government, the theme of the Summit is “Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis”. 

“The Summit is an effort towards engaging the global Buddhist Dhamma leadership and scholars on matters of Buddhist and universal concerns, and to come up with policy inputs to address them collectively. It features eminent scholars, Sangha leaders and Dharma practitioners from all over the world including members of the clergy and officials from Sri Lanka,” the Indian High Commission said in a statement.  

Speaking at the inaugural session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Buddha is a consciousness beyond manifestation. He added that the presence of so many people from diverse areas at the Summit represents the expansion of Buddha that binds humanity in a single thread. He underscored the contemporary relevance of Buddha’s teaching and stressed that problems of modern times lend themselves to solutions through the ancient teachings of the Lord. 

The Prime Minister said that India has worked with dedication for the propagation of Lord Buddha’s teaching. He talked about the development of Buddhist circuits in India and Nepal, the renovation of Sarnath and Kushinagar, Kushinagar International Airport, and India International Center of Buddhist Heritage and Culture at Lumbini in collaboration with the IBC, High Commission stated.

Noting that the Summit is taking place during India’s 75th year of Independence, the Prime Minister underlined that India has a major goal for its future and new resolutions for the global good. He emphasized that the inspiration behind India achieving the recent global landmarks in various sectors is Lord Buddha himself.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the inaugural Global Buddhist Summit will create an effective platform for the efforts of all nations.