One of the most famous Buddhist monks, Aryawangsu, chief monk of Thailand, visited the World Heritage Site of Jaulian Buddhist Stupa and Monastery in Haripur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The chief monk, along with his 20 disciples, is on a visit to Pakistan for a three-month Rain Retreat Programme usually known as the intense learning period. During the programme, monks reside in one certain location during the rainy season for three months and the monastic retreat is determined by the lunar calendar. The monks would meditate and conduct research at Taxila, Swat, Takht-i-Bahi and Peshawar Valley during this time.
According to Britannica Encyclopedia, vassa is a monastic retreat observed in Buddhist communities in Southeast Asia during the three-month monsoon period every year.
Visiting Buddhist sacred sites in Pakistan for a Rain Retreat Programme and disseminating a message of peace by a high-ranking Buddhist monk is unprecedented in the history of this area. About 150 monks and disciples would join the delegation to participate in monastic practices at prominent Bhuddhist sites in Taxila and Takhat Bhai.
This retreat programme comes to an end with a closing ceremony that includes chanting, donations and blessings from the monks.
This event is celebrated in India, Nepal and Bhutan every year but for the first time the Buddhist monks came to Pakistan to perform the service.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, hoped that the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would exert every effort to pull the country out of this economic calamity.
The minister said that they will make accountable all those who had ignored the country in the past and that the Supreme Court of Pakistan should take notice of Imran Khan's anti-government statements.
He was addressing a public gathering at village Diwal, Satura, and other areas in his constituency on Saturday.
Murtaza Abbasi said that if Imran Khan's government was given more chance, the country would have gone bankrupt. Since the allied parties left PTI, the former government lost its majority in the assembly and Imran Khan eventually lost power, he added.
The minister further stated that the supreme court should take notice of the way Imran Khan is talking about the division of the country and the division of Pakistan's forces in public gatherings.
Murtaza Abbasi said that the people of Tehsil Havelian have always supported PML-N and they would maintain their support and vote in favour of their favorite party in the coming days as well.
He said that no mega project was given to Tehsil Havelian during the last 7 years by the provincial government of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Murtaza Abbassi said that after the division, the city of Havelian has gained political importance again and in the coming days, PML-N will be more active in Tehsil Havelian. The fruits will be visible to the people of the entire constituency, he hoped.
With additional input from APP
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2022.
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