International Buddhist Seminar in Lumbini from May 4

A two-day international seminar is going to take place at Lumbini Buddhist University in Lumbini starting tomorrow.

The seminar themed ‘Exploring the Relevance of Buddhist Education in Addressing Global Challenges: Perspective from Lumbini, the Birthplace of Buddha’ seeks to address pressing questions concerning the role of Buddhist education in dealing with contemporary global challenges.

Scholars, educators, researchers and practitioners of Buddhist faith from around the world will attend the seminar for offering insights and expertise along with experience sharing and deliberating on the theme, said Dr Manik Ratna Shakya, Dean of Faculty of Buddhist Studies in the University.

Participants from home and abroad such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Portugal and France among other countries will present working paper in the event, it was shared.

Dean Dr Shakya further shared that while the people around the world were suffering from challenges such as environment crisis, global warming, ecological imbalance and physical and psychological issues, there is a need to seek relevance of the teachings of the Buddha from the place he was born.

Against this background, the event will debate and deliberate on importance of Buddhist education, conservation of Lumbini and other Buddhist shrines and academic programmes in the Lumbini Buddhist University among others.

Participants will discuss on Buddhist philosophy and yoga in the event, said the organizer.

Furthermore, attempts will be made to explore key themes and questions pertaining to the forms of Buddhist education essential in addressing contemporary global challenges and contribution of the University in disseminating such education.

Participants will also seek to find out people’s expectation regarding the types of courses to study in the University, according to the organizer.