Visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse presented a
replica of the Samadhi Buddha statue to China on Tuesday as state
gift.
A grand consecration ceremony was held for the
one-and-half-meter-tall jade Buddha in Beijing Lingguang Temple on
Tuesday. Hundreds of monks and believers from the two countries
joined the ceremony.
Regarding Sri Lanka and China as two countries with splendid
culture and history, Rajapakse said the mutual understanding and
respect between the two countries set an example for
country-to-country relations.
Rajapakse also worshiped the tooth relic of Sakyamuni that
treasured in the temple.
Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Administration of Religious
Affairs, said the presentation of the Buddha statue is a great
event in the history of bilateral exchanges. He hopes the two
countries' Buddhist circles could take the opportunity to enhance
friendly exchanges and further promote bilateral friendship.
The friendly exchanges between the two countries' Buddhist
circles dates back to more than 1,500 years ago. Chinese ancient
monk Fa Xian spent two years in Sri Lanka in the 5th century and
recorded the development of Buddhism there in his book.
In recent years, leaders from the three major schools of Sri
Lanka and the leaders of the Chinese Buddhist Association kept
frequent mutual visits.
During Rajapakse's seven-day China trip, he also presented two
corneas to be used for transplants in China, and a baby
elephant.
The three state gifts given by Sri Lanka to China are an
evidence of increasingly close and friendly ties between the two
countries.
(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2007)
