NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday he proposed the creation of a library in India dedicated to traditional Buddhist literature and scriptures, stating that it would be a platform for inquiry and dialogue.
Heading to the sixth Indo-Japan Samwad Conference via video conference, Modi praised the forum for doing a great job promoting the ideas and ideals of Lord Buddhaespecially among young people.
“Today, I would like to propose the creation of a library of all traditional Buddhist literature and scriptures. We will be happy to create such a facility in India and provide the appropriate resources for it,” he said.
The library will collect digital copies of all that Buddhist literature from different countries, will aim to translate them and make them available to all monks and scholars of Buddhism, he said.
The library will not only be a repository of literature, it will also be a platform for research and dialogue, “a true ‘SAMWAD” between human beings, between societies and between man and nature, Modi said.
“His research mandate will also include examining how the Buddha’s message can guide our modern world against contemporary challenges,” he said, citing challenges such as poverty, racism, extremism, gender discrimination, climate change, among others. .
In his remarks at the conference, Modi noted that the light of the Buddha’s message spread from India to many parts of the world.
“However, this light did not remain static. In each new place it arrived, Buddhist thought continued to evolve over the centuries. Because of this, today great treasures of Buddhist literature and philosophy can be found in many different monasteries, in many different countries and languages, “he said.
This body of writing is a treasure of humanity as a whole, Modi said.
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