Published On:Thursday, 23 October 2014
Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog
Monks visit Buddhist monastery
The eight-member delegation of Buddhist monks from South Korea visited Takht Bhai Buddhist monastery on Thursday and offered special prayers and performed religious ritual for peace and stability in the world particularly this region.
The delegation headed by Han Soon AE arrived in Pakistan last week and visited different Buddhist sites, including Julian monastery (Taxila), stupa known as ancient Taxila university and Sirkap, the second city of Taxila civilisation. They also visited Peshawar Museum the other day.
The members of the delegation
include Han Sang Beon, MS Sim Gab Shik, Lim Lim Yeon, Lee Sung Hee, Lee Sung
Hee, Sung in Sook, Kwak Eun Hi and IM Eun Ju.
The religious ceremony was held
at Buddhist monastic complex at Takht Bhai’s hilltop location, established in
early 1st century BC, which is enlisted in UNESCO world heritage sites in
Pakistan.
The delegation later came to
Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU) Mardan and met with its vice-chancellor and
other officials.Earlier, the officials of Directorate of Archaeology and
Museums Khyber Pakhtunkhwa briefed the visiting Buddhist monks. They were also
scheduled to visit Swat.
“Every year, monks from different
countries arrive in Pakistan, particularly the Gandhara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and visit Buddhist relics, where the monks performed religious ritual, said
Director Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdul Samad.
He said the monks usually visit
archaeological sites, Julian, (Taxila region), Takht Bhai, Jamal Garhi in
Mardan and Butkhara in Swat. The director said the visit would help promote
religious and archaeological tourism besides promoting a soft image of
terrorism-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the directorate has
outlined a plan for promotion of archaeological and religious tourism to
highlight the soft image of the province.“The region is politically, culturally
and religiously very rich. We always think about the Buddhist’s archaeological
remains, especially in this part of the world, said Han Sang Beon, a member of the
delegation.
“It was a heart-touching when I
first visited the stupas and statues,” told another, monk. He said they offered
special prayers at ancient sites and prayed for the stability, religious
harmony in Pakistan.
They usually offer special
prayers on the first and 15th of the month. The monks said they also pray to
revive those times when the Buddhism was flourishing and there was peace and
stability all around the world.
Sang Beon said Pakistan was their
second home. He dispelled the negative perceptions about this region,
particularly regarding safety and security by saying “Pakistani people are
loving, very peaceful and friendly.”
The monks also offered prayers
and held ritual ceremony at the Peshawar Museum on Wednesday and took keen
interest in archaeological relics displayed there. Peshawar Museum in-charge
Bakht Mohammad briefed the delegation about the museum and historical
importance of Peshawar valley.
He said there were 50,000
Ghandharian sculpture in the museum dating back from the 1st century AD to 7th
century AD.Bakht Mohammad said Gandhara, Greco-Buddhist, Kushan, Parthian, and
Indo-Scythian life, had been preserved in the museum that included, art,
sculptures, coins, manuscripts, statues, ancient books, early versions of the
Holy Quran, weapons, dresses, jewellery, Kalash effigies, inscriptions,
paintings of the Mughal and later periods, household materials and pottery, as
well as local and Persian handicrafts.
Commenting on the visit of the monks from
South Korea, Advisor to Chief Minister on Archaeology and Tourism Amjad Afridi
said the government was taking steps to promote religious tourism and protect
and preserve the archaeological sites across the province.He said the visit of
the monks would help promote the soft image of this region and archaeological
and religious tourism. -The News PK.
