India’s Shakyamuni Buddha travels to Bali

Bali, March 2:

The Shakyamuni Buddha from India is visiting Indonesia’s Bali island in the form of an exhibiton entitled ‘Buddha-Carika – In the footsteps of the Shakyamuni Buddha’, which is currently on display at the Agung Rai Museum of Arts (ARMA) in Ubud town.

The Pali words ‘Buddha’ and ‘Carika’ refer to the ‘Enlightened One’ and the ‘sublime wandering’, respectively.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Vice-Governor of Bali Ketut Sudikerta, along with Ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Gurjit Singh, at a ceremony held in the museum on February 27, according to a statement from the Indian consulate in Bali.

The exhibition comprises three-dimensional images and replicas of the master pieces of Indian art, artefacts and important archaeological sites as well as photographs showing some of the sites of Buddhist pilgrimages in India. It also provides information about ‘Dhamma Yatra’ (Buddhist Pilgrimage) by depicting the art and artefacts discovered from the numerous archaeological sites in India.

The artistic arrangement of the exhibition was accompanied by audio chanting of verses from original Pali Tipitaka (a standard collection of scriptures in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition).

Agung Rai, founder of the ARMA Museum, said the mutual relations of Hinduism and Buddhism can be seen everywhere in Bali. He highly appreciated the Sahabat India – Festival of India and hoped that this celebration all over Indonesia would foster the spirit of brotherhood.

Vice Governor Sudikerta highly appreciated the initiative and the efforts to support bilateral tourism exchanges. He stated that sister city relations will be developed with India shortly and hopefully there will be direct flight between India and Indonesia to facilitate enhanced people-to-people connectivity.

Ambassador Gurjit Singh emphasised that Buddha brought a special message of peace to the world. He highlighted that the exhibition shows the close ties between India’s Pala dynasty and Indonesia’s Sriwijaya dynasty.

The exhibition has been conceptualied, prepared and mounted by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM) in Bihar, India. Its Director, R. Panth, hoped to present similar exhibitions highlighting India-Indonesia linkages in other cities and also to create more interaction and understanding among people to appreciate strong historical relations and values of two countries.

The exhibition is open till March 10. IANS