Spiritual chanting by Buddhist monks launched the celebration of ‘Dhammapada Festival-2015’ here on Saturday, which also marked the inauguration and consecration of ‘Mahabodhi Buddha Vihara’, a branch of Bangalore’s Mahabodhi Society, at Mahendra Hills.
A group of 21 monks from Sri Lanka’s Mahamewanawa Buddhist Monastery began chanting Buddhist verses from 5 p.m. , while meditating for peace, happiness and protection. The night-long ritual will continue into the early hours of Sunday.
Dhammapada festival is an annual event celebrated to mark the birthday of Acharya Buddharakkhita, the founder of the society.
Buddharakkhita was born a Bengal Brahmin in British India, and joined Indian Army as an engineer. After participating in the World War-II and witnessing human suffering, he renounced the world, and began his search for meaning to life. He became a Buddhist monk after reading Buddhist text ‘Dhammapada’, organisers of the festival informed.
