Reiterating the message of peace and harmony to the world, Nepal is celebrating its most-revered Buddha Jayanthi on April 30, 2018.<\/p>\n
Buddha Jayanthi 2018, the 2562th<\/sup> birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, is being celebrated across the country on a grand scale with many special programs across the country.<\/p>\n Special celebrations have been planned at Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and other monasteries across the country.<\/p>\n On the occasion, President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari extended her warm Buddha Jayanthi wishes to the people of Nepal<\/a> and especially the country\u2019s Buddhist community. She pitched on the need for the internationalization of Buddhist philosophy for the world peace and harmony.<\/p>\n Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun also made a similar pitch while speaking about the relevance and significance of the principles of Lord Buddha and Buddhism regarding peace and non-violence that have increased in the current-day world.<\/p>\n Stating that Buddha\u2019s message holds high relevance in the present world, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said, \u201cit is because Buddha’s view showed the path to non-violence, harmony and human welfare that they are so popular around the world today,” in his message to the country\u2019s populace.<\/p>\n The leaders also extended their warm wishes to the local and the global Nepali communities on the eve of Ubhauli, the greatest festival of the Kirant community, which is being celebrated on the same day of Buddha Jayanthi.<\/p>\n Marking the occasion, the World Peace Prayer was organized in Kathmandu during April 23-25, 2018 for collecting funds towards the construction of a 132-feet-tall Buddhist stupa<\/a>. The stupa to be constructed at the Chandranigahapur of Rautahat District is going to be the country\u2019s tallest stupa. <\/p>\n Commemorating the day, a two-day International Buddhist Conference was also organized in Lumbini<\/a> during April 28-29, 2018.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Delegates from 16 countries including the United States of America, Japan, India, China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka attended the conference, wherein, Buddhist scholars from different countries presented their research papers. A Lumbini Declaration was also issued at the conference.<\/p>\nGrand Celebrations<\/h4>\n