PM Modi: Buddha's ideas offer solutions to world challenges

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the world is passing through challenges such as war, economic instability, terrorism, religious extremism and climate change and asserted that Lord Buddha's ideas offer a solution to these problems.

Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Global Buddhist Summit in the national capital, the Prime Minister said that the current time is the most challenging time of this century as there is war, economic instability, terrorism and religious fanaticism, along with the challenge of climate change with species disappearing and glaciers melting.

"Amidst all this, there are people who believe in Buddha and the welfare of all creatures. This hope, this faith is the biggest strength of this earth. When this hope gets united, the Buddha's dhamma will become the world's belief and the Buddha's realisation will become the belief of humanity."

Mr Modi underscored the relevance of Buddha’s teaching by saying that all the problems of modern times lend themselves to solutions through the ancient teachings of the Lord.

"Lord Buddha preached abandoning war, defeat and victory for eternal peace. He said enmity can never be countered with enmity and happiness lies in unity. Similarly, Lord Buddha’s teaching that one should first look at the conduct of oneself before preaching to others can address the menace of imposing one’s own views on others, so prevalent in today’s world," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi, in his address, recalled his speech at the United Nations a few years ago and said that India has given the world Buddha, not yuddha (war).

The Prime Minister said: "The path of Buddha is the path of the future and the path of sustainability. Had the world followed Buddha’s teachings, it would not have faced the problem of climate change."

"This problem arose as nations stopped thinking about others and coming generations. This mistake has accumulated to catastrophic proportions. Buddha preached good conduct without any consideration of personal gain as such behaviour leads to overall good," he explained.

Mr Modi highlighted how each person is affecting the earth in one way or another, be it with lifestyle, eating or travelling habits and pointed out that everyone can contribute towards fighting climate change.

Throwing light on Lifestyle For Environment (Mission LiFE), an initiative by India influenced by the inspirations of Lord Buddha, the Prime Minister said that if people become aware and change their lifestyle, then this huge problem of climate change can also be tackled. "Mission LiFE is influenced by the inspirations of Buddha and it furthers Buddha’s thoughts," he remarked.

He emphasised that the inspiration behind India's recent global landmarks in various sectors is Lord Buddha himself. Remembering the Buddhist path of theory, practice and realisation, the Prime Minister talked about India’s adoption of all three points in its journey in the last nine years.

"India has worked with dedication for the propagation of Lord Buddha’s teaching with a sense of dedication," he said and mentioned the development of Buddhist circuits in India and Nepal, the renovation of Sarnath and Kushinagar, Kushinagar International Airport and the India International Centre of Buddhist Heritage and Culture at Lumbini in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).

The Prime Minister credited the teachings of Lord Buddha for an inherent empathy in India for the issues of humanity and mentioned peace missions and India’s efforts in rescue work for disasters like the earthquake in Turkey.

The Prime Minister said, "The journey from the problem to arriving at the solution is the actual journey of Buddha."

Mr Modi emphasised that the only way to achieve the goal of a prosperous world is when one gives away the idea of self and narrow-mindedness and realises the totality of the Buddha mantra of adopting the idea of the world.

He stressed that a better and stable world can be achieved only if we consider the nations dealing with a scarcity of resources. "It is the need of the hour that the priority of every person and nation should be the interest of the world along with the interest of the country", the Prime Minister remarked.

Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Meenakshi Lekhi and Dr Dhammapiya, secretary general of the IBC, were present on occasion.

The summit is being hosted by the ministry of culture in collaboration with the IBC. The theme of the summit is "Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis".