Buddha Jayanti special ceremony at UN Headquarters

Kathmandu, May 21: A special commemorative event was organized on the occasion of the ‘Day of Vesak’ (Buddha Jayanti) at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters, today.

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Acting President of the General Assembly, and representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam made statements on the occasion.

In his statement, Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Ambassador/Permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations, said that the Buddha’s timeless teachings of Ahimsa and the Middle-Path have been edifying to our societies for over two millennia, and should resonate with us at the UN, whose ideals are also of non-violence, tolerance and compassion.

He said that the Buddha’s larger message aims to free humankind from the sources of misery and suffering—the Klesha of ignorance, attachment, and aversion. “This desire to allay human suffering and lift the human condition lies at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, and also at the heart of the work of the United Nations” he said.

The PR called on all to ‘reflect on our efforts at the United Nations to assuage human suffering in all its manifestation’, and to ‘resolve to fortify our efforts on all fronts’ since that would be a true homage to the great apostle of world peace- the Buddha

In the morning, a food offering ceremony was organized at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, where Nepal also participated and offered Nepalese foods to the monks.

After the adoption of the resolution A/RES/54/115 at UNGA in 2000, of which Nepal was a leading cosponsor, the Vesak Day event has been organized at the UN Headquarters every year with Nepal as a principal organizer or a member of the organising committee. The event this year was co-hosted by Sri Lanka and Thailand. RSS