SL Buddhist delegation visits Taxila in Pakistan

Wah Cantt: A Sri Lankan Buddhist delegation of senior Buddhist monks and Buddhist scholars led by Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya and Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe visited Pakistan’s ancient Buddhist center of learning in Taxila, the Taxila Museum and Taxila University on Friday.

The 40-member Sri Lankan Buddhist delegation arrived in Pakistan for a week-long visit that is part of an initiative aimed at introducing the people of Sri Lanka to Pakistan’s rich Buddhist history and reviving the heritage of Pakistan’s “Gandhara Trail,” the cultural and commercial hub of which was located at the present day town of Taxila, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During the visit the delegation also offered their religious rituals and prayed at the Taxila Museum, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr Sarfraz Ahmed Khan was also present on this occasion.

The delegation members thanked the Pakistan government for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to them.

The delegation will be visiting different sites of Buddhist spiritual and religious significance in Mardan, Takht-i-Bahi and Swat, besides visiting Lahore, Taxila and Peshawar Museums, which are home to some of the rarest historical Buddhist holy relics.