President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Sanchi:

‘Buddha’s message of tolerance-all important’

‘We embrace all of India in bonds of friendship and history’:

The Buddha’s message of tolerance and understanding is of great relevance today, as we see the tragic results of enmity and hatred towards other faiths leading to violence and destruction, and great loss to societies.

It is of equal importance in the East and West alike, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the ‘Sanchi University of Buddhist and Indic Studies’, at Madhya Pradesh, India, yesterday.

He said “in practising this message, the great Emperor Asoka, honoured and supported all religions in his empire.

“He declared that one should not honour only one’s own religion and condemn the religions of others, but one should honour the faiths of others, as well.”

“The federal structure and the emergence of states has not erased our vision of India as a single land of friendship with the great bonds of history.

“It is important to recall that we in Sri Lanka have always considered India as a friendly land and people. As in the past, our people still refer to India as Dambadiva and Jambudveepa and still undertake pilgrimages to Dambadiva.

“I believe this tradition of embracing all of India in friendship will continue to enrich our relations,” President Rajapaksa said.

“My journey to Sanchi today, is primarily an act of gratitude on behalf of the people of my country; I am here as a pilgrim, in veneration of sacred Sanchi, saluting and celebrating the glorious past of this region,” the President added.