One rupee donation drive for Lumbini Peace Sanctuary

By Our Correspondent, Bhairahawa, Mar. 2: Currently under construction at Lumbini, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautam, the Mahasiddhi Sanctuary for Universal Peace launched a website on Feb. 27 as a means to entertain and encourage online donation.

Prior to this, SAARC Secretary General Esala Ruwan Weerakoon had initiated a donation campaign to collect funds for the ambitious infrastructure.

According to Shyalpa Tenzing Rimpoche, who envisioned the peace sanctuary, the website has been launched as a way to secure and ease the donation process contributed by Buddhist pilgrims and devotees.

“Those in Nepal can contribute using eSewa while others from all around the world can use PayPal,” explained Rimpoche. "This is everyone's project! If you see something worthy here, everyone can participate by simply donating Re. 1,” he informed.

Anyone can participate in the Muthi Daan campaign by donating one rupee via eSewa. Present in the website launch ceremony, Pasiddha Bahadur Pandey, Chairman of Shangri-La Hotel & Resort inaugurated the One Rupee Muthi Daan campaign.

Entirely reliant on public donation, Shaylpa Rimpoche has envisaged the sanctuary’s purpose as a hub to reconcile differences between and among nations.

Based on German design of architecture, the sanctuary upon completion will house a library stuffed with texts on eastern and Buddhist philosophy, a centre of meditation and research, as well as multiple conference halls.

The structure, which has been under development stage on the site adjacent to the sacred garden in Lumbini, will not only be a place for Buddhism followers, but will also have facilities and separate halls for people from different faiths to pray and meditate