India to display Vesak lantern modelled on Mahabodhi stupa at Colombo

India will be displaying a Vesak lantern modelled on the stupa at the Mahabodhi Temple in Gaya, Bihar, in the Buddha Rashmi Vesak celebrations in Colomobo.

The High Commission of India has issued a statement and expressed delight over the first ever invite from the Sri Lankan Government to participate in the celebrations.

The event is being jointly organized by the Presidential Secretariat and the Gangaramaya Temple from May 21-25, 2016, in Colombo, reports Lanka Page.

Traditional accounts say that Lord Buddha after attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree spent the succeeding seven weeks meditating at seven different spots in the vicinity.

Several specific places at the current Mahabodhi Temple relate to the traditions surrounding these seven weeks.

The first week was spent under the Bodhi tree. During the second week, Lord Buddha remained standing and stared uninterrupted at the Bodhi tree. This spot is marked by the Animeshlocha Stupa, which is located on the north-east of the Mahabodhi Temple complex.

Lord Buddha is said to have walked back and forth between location of the Animeshlocha Stupa and the Bodhi tree.

According to legend, lotus flowers sprung up along this route and it is now called Ratnachakrama or the jewel walk.

The lantern being exhibited is based on the architecture of this stupa at the Mahabodhi Temple, which is one of the oldest brick structures in eastern India.

The Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The relations between India and Sri Lanka have a rich legacy of civilizational, cultural, religious and linguistic interaction.

The advent of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC is linked with the arrival of Prince Mahendra in Sri Lanka known as Arahat Mahinda and later of Princess Sanghamitra known as Sanghamitta Their, the children of the great Indian Emperor Ashoka.

India's participation in the Buddha Rashmi Vesak celebrations is yet another manifestation of the rich cultural tapestry that the two countries share based on historic affinities, which have been nourished over the millennia.