Consecration and presentation ceremony of Lord Buddha statue at New Delhi, October 1993
Since 1959, India has extended its hospitality to about 100,000 Tibetan refugees following the Chinese occupation of their country. India, the land of Arya, or the noble ones, from which Tibet received the Buddhist teachings, became the second home for the Tibetans. It provided a fertile and friendly soil on which the Tibetans could preserve their culture and religion.
As a gesture of deep gratitute of the Tibetans to the Indian people, His Holiness the dalai lama expressed his wish to presenmt a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. He selected the Buddha Jayanti park in the centre of Delhi, the Indian capital, to be the home of the statue.
The main consecretion and presentation ceremony of Lord Buddha statue was held on 2nd October 1993 to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
