Tourism minister stresses need for making Buddhist philosophy universal

Kathmandu / Aug 14 : Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Bhattarai has stressed the need for making the Buddhist philosophy universal.

Speaking at the 97th meeting of the Buddhist Philosophy Promotion and Monastery Development Committee on Friday, he stressed the need for uniting the human race by making Buddha’s philosophy universal. He also directed all stakeholders to work for the national and international recognition of the Buddhist philosophy. Minister Bhattarai, claiming that there are thousands of monasteries in the country, said that the historical heritage should be restored by consolidating the data of the monasteries.

He also requested everyone to work in coordination with organizations related to Buddha, Nepal Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and the Department of Archeology for the reconstruction of monasteries damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Minister Bhattarai urged the committee to conduct a world-class research on the Buddhist philosophy and publish it.

As the monasteries are culturally and archeologically important, the government has brought Buddhist monasteries under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Phupu Chembe Sherpa, chairperson at the Buddhist Philosophy Promotion and Monastery Development Committee, said that the meeting has decided to draft a bill to amend the Buddhist Philosophy and Monastery Operation Regulations 2014, Directive Regulations 2014, Financial Administration Regulations 2014 and maintain archive of ancient monasteries. He further added that they have also approved the annual program for the current fiscal year 2020/21.