In his address after inaugurating the first Global Buddhist Summit held at Ashoka Hotel in the capital, the Prime Minister also took a jibe at rich countries, saying the world is facing the crisis of climate change today as “some countries have had stopped thinking about others and future generations.
He said, “For decades, they kept thinking that this tampering with nature would not affect them. Those countries kept putting it on others.
The Prime Minister described the path shown by Buddha as the path to the future and eco-friendly and said that if the world had followed the teachings of Buddha, even a crisis like climate change would not have come to the fore.
Referring to the various teachings of Lord Buddha, Modi said that today it is the need of the hour that the priority of every individual, of every nation should be the interest of the country as well as the interest of the world.
“This is the only way to establish a better and more stable world,” he said.
He said, “If we want to make the world happy, then we have to come out of our self and adopt the mantra of totality, abandoning the world and narrow thinking and this is also the mantra of Buddha.”
Modi said that everyone has to think about the poverty-stricken people around them as well as the countries that are suffering from lack of resources.
The Prime Minister said that it is universally accepted that today is the most challenging time of this century.
He said, “Today there is a war going on between two countries for months, while the world is also going through economic instability. Threats like terrorism and religious fanaticism are attacking the soul of humanity. A challenge like climate change is looming large over the existence of the entire humanity. Glaciers are melting. Ecosystems are being destroyed. Species are going extinct. But amidst all this there are crores of people like us who have faith in Buddha and believe in the welfare of all living beings.
The Prime Minister termed this hope as the greatest force on this earth and said that when this force unites, ‘Buddha’s Dhamma’ will become the belief of the world and ‘Buddha’s realization’ will become the belief of humanity.
He said that there is no such problem of the modern world whose solution is not found in the teachings of Buddha given hundreds of years ago. He said that the war and unrest that the world is suffering from today was solved by Buddha centuries ago.
Modi said that inspired by the teachings of Lord Buddha, India is taking new initiatives for global welfare and his government is continuously spreading the values of Lord Buddha.
He said his government has upgraded the Buddha Circuit in India and Nepal, developed the Kushinagar and Lumbini International Airports, where India is setting up an International Center for Buddhist Culture.
He said that India is working in this direction in a holistic manner.
Apart from India, 170 delegates from 30 countries are participating in this mega event. Delegates include eminent Buddhist monks, scholars, ambassadors and diplomats.
Recalling his speech at the United Nations a few years ago, Modi said he had proudly said that India had given the world Buddha, not war.
He said, “Where there is the compassion of a Buddha, there is harmony, not conflict, there is peace, not disturbance.”
Modi said that today it is very necessary that the world, coming out of the definitions of materialism and selfishness, should imbibe the spirit of Buddha ‘Bhavatu Sab Mangalam’.