only the holy. holey.....HOOLEEY

Let's get holy!!

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Plans for S'pore project on Buddhist site

Pilgrims House will be built in ancient holy town of Bodh Gaya in India, says George Yeo

By Ravi Velloor, South Asia Bureau Chief


Mr George Yeo (centre) was on a three-day trip to Bihar that ended on Saturday. -- PHOTO: MFA

Nalanda, Bihar - A touch of Singapore will soon grace Bodh Gaya in India, the most important of the four main pilgrim sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha.

A Singapore Pilgrims House will take its place alongside similar facilities set up in this ancient Buddhist holy town by several countries.

Foreign Minister George Yeo announced the plans after calling on Mr Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of India's eastern state of Bihar, last Friday.

'The Bihar Chief Minister has offered us two plots of land, both very good,' said Mr Yeo, speaking in Patna, the Bihar capital.

'We will choose one and I hope work on this will begin very quickly. I want to thank the Chief Minister on behalf of the entire Singapore Buddhist community.'

Bodh Gaya, in Bihar's Gaya district, is where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. The area, along with nearby Buddhist sites such as Nalanda and Varanasi, draws thousands of visitors every year.

There are also plans to build a new Nalanda International University here. The site is a 10-minute drive from the ruins of the ancient university believed to have been set up around the 5th century.

Excavations of the ancient site have revealed a campus so large that it accommodated 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers in its prime. Among its alumni was the Chinese monk Xuan Zang, who arrived here to study Buddhism 1,300 years ago.

Singapore's interest in the project was kindled in February 2006 when then-Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on a visit to the island, mentioned his interest in seeing the ancient university revived.

Since then, Singapore has taken the lead in gaining acceptability for the project in Asia and hosted the inaugural meeting of the Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG) in July 2007.

Mr Yeo was on a three-day trip to Bihar that ended yesterday. He participated in the final meeting of the mentor group, set up to revive the world's most ancient seat of learning.

Accompanying him were delegates from the Singapore Buddhist Federation and Singapore Buddhist Lodge.

Mr Yeo last visited Bodh Gaya in 2002, when the Mahabodhi Temple here was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

He painted the Nalanda university project and the push by the Indian government to promote its Buddhist heritage sites such as Bodh Gaya as measures that may lead to a revival for all of Bihar state.

Millions of visitors from East Asia are expected to come in future. Many will visit the holy sites of Buddhism - Gaya, Rajgir and Nalanda. This is expected to boost prosperity in the area.

'Of course, you need all kinds of things and Nalanda university would be an important piece in this much larger scheme of development,' he added.

'But the fact that centuries ago the local economy could have supported such a huge university shows there is in this land something special.'

velloor@sph.com.sg

Big boost for Bihar

'Nalanda University would be an important piece in this much larger scheme of development... The fact that centuries ago the local economy could have supported such a huge university shows there is in this land something special.'
MR YEO, who visited the site of the ancient Nalanda university with other NMG members and participated in the final meeting of the mentor group set up to revive the world's most ancient seat of learning

wowsay!! a sinkie's own pilgrimage retreat in INDIA!! soon, peesailand might have another sinkie's pilgrimage land in JERUSALUEM or another muslim one in MECCA or maybe another taoist in MT WU TANG.

when the pockets are holey, let's get HOLY....and noti clones shall get HOOLEEY. u see what i mean soon LOL!!