BHUBANESWAR: On January 12, when His Holiness Dalai Lama unveils the monastery at Chandragiri, Orissa, will be home to the biggest Buddhist temple in South Asia, also the first of its kind in the State.
Built in Atanpuri style of architecture at Nalanda, the monastery’s inauguration would witness a congregation of 4,000 guests from across the globe. The monastery will be called Padmasambhava Mahavihara.
The consecration ceremony would continue for four days beginning January 11, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche, Lama of Rigon Thubten Mindroling at Chandragiri told mediapersons here.
Dalai Lama will arrive in the State on January 11 and head for Chandragiri.
This is his ninth visit to Orissa which holds significance on the Buddhism map.
Currently, there are 200 resident monks in the new monastery which has been built at a cost of about Rs 8 crore. A Stupa of Enlightment would also be inaugurated by His Holiness Dalai Lama during his visit.
Named after Acharya Padmasambhava who was born in Orissa and believed to have spread Buddhism to Tibet in the 7th Century, the monastery will be a link between Orissa’s history with that of Buddhism. Padmasabhava was the founder of Tibetan Buddhism.
During the 7th and 10th centuries, Lama Rinpoche said, Orissa was cradle of Vajrayana Buddhism, or Tantric Buddhism known as Tantrayana. The Mahanadi basin played a great role in the spread of Buddhism and the new monastery is an attempt to pay tribute to the past glory.
The first Rigon Thubten Mindroling Monastery was founded in 1966 and the site for the new Padmasambhava Mahavihara Monastery was given accord by Dalai Lama himself in 1998. The foundation stone for the Buddhist temple was laid in 2003 and work was completed in 2008. Dalai Lama is also scheduled to deliver a public talk at Bhubaneswar on January 14.
