India displayed its brotherhood towards Bhutan by presenting the country with a statue of the Buddha on the birth anniversary of Guru Rinpoche. He was an eighth-century Guru, born in India and propagated Buddhism in countries like Bhutan, Tibet, and the rest of southeast Asia. His birth anniversary is a national holiday in Bhutan and falls on 10th day of the 6th lunar month, which is the 20th of July this year.
The statue resembles The Buddha sitting in the padmasan posture. It weighs 200 kilos and 3.3 feet tall. It has been completely made of bronze by Naresh Kumar Kumawat, a renowned sculptor.
This was presented at a virtual conference by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who is the president of the ICCR. Speaking at the event, he said, “the statue symbolises not just our age-old cultural ties, but also our shared commitment to the values that Buddha taught us and the relationship between Bharat and Bhutan is laced with cultural bondage since time immemorial… What was destroyed in Nalanda and other similar places are the assets saved by your monasteries, stupas..we owe a lot to our friends in Bhutan.”
At the virtual hand-over, Bhutan’s Foreign minister Dr Tandi Dorji was present, who said, “This is a fitting tribute to our special relationship as the close bonds of friendship we enjoy today, have roots in our deep religious and spiritual connection.”
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