Buddha Smriti Park, Patna, Bihar India

Situated at the center of the city, in front of Patna Junction and Mahavir mandir lies this beautiful multipurpose Buddha Smriti Park, developed by the State Government to commemorate the 2554th birth anniversary of the Lord Buddha. This park was inaugurated by His Holiness Dalai Lama on 27th May, 2010 (Buddha Poornima) amid the chant of hymns and in presence many dignitries, including Governor and Chief Minister of the State. He also planted two saplings, one brought from Bodh Gaya and another from Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka of the sacred Bodhi tree.

The park has been constructed at the place where once Bankipore Jail was situated. Spread in an area of 22 acres, the central attraction is the Stupa, 200 feet high, situated in the middle of the park.  The dome rises high in the sky and provide a magnificent view of the park. The Stupa contains the relics of Buddha, secured in a glass enclosure, where a tiny golden statue of the sitting Buddha is kept. The holy relics was brought by His Holiness and the monks from Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka. Circular path has been provided at three different level that leads to the highest level of the building. The Stupa is named as Pataliputra Karuna Stupa.

The park also includes a Mediation Center, Library and Museum. The Mediation is build using state of art technique inspired from the plan of the monasteries of the Nalanda University, consisting of 60 cells, each having a view of the Stupa. The library consists of books related to Buddhism. The museum has been designed to show the life and teachings of Lord Buddha using original artifacts, audio-visual medium and multimedia presentations. The work on the various structure is still going on. Only 16% of the area is being used for built-up purposes, leaving the rest for open space, for Buddhist Theme Park, named as Park of Memories. The Park of Memories symbolizes Bihar's status as the place of both the origin and dispersion of Buddhism.

The plaque, where the sapling from Anuradhapura  was planted, reads " A branch of Bodhi tree under which Siddartha Gautam attained Enlightenment at BodhGaya was taken to Sri Lanka by Sanghmitra, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and planted at Mahameghvana Park, Anuradhapura ".

The park is a great place to visit and understand the life and teachings of Buddha. The open park is great for recreation. The park is still being developed and it is hoped that it will attract a large number of people from abroad also. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday inaugurated the Buddha Smriti Park, a sprawling 22 acre park dedicated to Lord Buddha in the heart of the city, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.
PATNA: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday inaugurated the Buddha Smriti Park, a sprawling 22 acre park dedicated to Lord Buddha in the heart of the city, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.

The inauguration of the Buddha memorial park was an international event attended by delegations from four predominantly Buddhist countries –Sri Lanka, Burma, Japan and Thailand.

The Dalai Lama thanked Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for inviting him to inaugurate the memorial park built to commemorate the 2,554 th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha and described his visit to the state as a pleasant one.

The foreign delegations attended the prayer ceremony during the inaugural function. They brought consecrated Buddha urns and gifts, which were kept at the memorial park by the Dalai Lama.

The spiritual leader also planted a sapling of the tree under which Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. A branch of the original Mahabodhi tree is believed to have been taken to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka by Emperor Ashok’s son Mahendra.