Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Nov 22 : Indian and Japanese Buddhist devotees participated in 20th anniversary celebrations of the 80-feet-tall Lord Buddha statue in Daijokyo Buddhist temple in Gaya.

The foundation stone for Lord Buddha statue was placed in 1986. On November 18, 1989, the statue was inaugurated in Bodh Gaya, a city in Bihar’s Gaya District by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The statue was inspired by a Buddha statue in Japan.

"There is huge statute of Lord Buddha in Japan and this statue was inspired by that statue," said Bhante Bodhipal, Chief Priests of Mahabodhi temple.

Bodh Gaya, Dec.28: An 84-year-old Buddhist monk from Bhutan, has alleged immolated himself on Thursday inside the premises of Maha Bodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar under mysterious circumstances.

Police recovered the dead body in meditation posture with 90 per cent burns. The body has been identified to be of monk Gem Lhamo with the help of an identity card recovered from his bag.

The dead body suffered 90 per cent burns and was in static meditation posture, police said.

Police suspect it to be a case of suicide by initial investigation, though declined to confirm anything without due examinations.

Bodh Gaya, Feb. 13 : Thousands of Buddhist monks and devotees, many of them from abroad, are participating in a 10-day chanting ceremony for world peace here.

Organised by the Mahabodhi Society of India, the over weeklong festival is being attended by several Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Thee monks will recite the “Tripitak Sutra Path” under the famous Bodhi tree, where Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.

Bodh Gaya, Feb 16: Buddhist monks in Bodh Gaya have raised a stink over prayers being disrupted at the Mahabodhi Temple on Friday because President Pratibha Patil was visiting the area.

The monks were conducting a ten-day long chanting of the scriptures of the 'Tipitaka', the collected teachings of Lord Buddha written in Pali.

They also protested against pictures of the President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being placed above Lord Buddha in a poster, which they termed as disrespect to the lord.

During her visit, President Patil said the teachings of Lord Buddha should be adopted by all humans.

Bodhgaya, May 19 : Followers of Buddhism from across the world celebrated Lord Buddha's birth anniversary with religious fervor in Bodh Gaya on Monday.

Followers from across the world thronged the holy land of Bodh Gaya to commemorate Buddha Jayanti.

Special prayers were organised under the Bodhi tree (the tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment) and on this occasion where worshippers prayed for world peace.

Bodhgaya, Oct 21 : Monks in Bodh Gaya have staged a demonstration against barricading of the sacred Bodhi tree by the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC).

Monks alleged that a scientist of Forest Research Institute (FRI) had submitted to BTMC a report stating that offering of prayers by the monks just below the sacred tree would stop intake of oxygen to its roots, drying down it in due course of time.

They marched down towards the Bodhgaya management office, raising slogans for removal of the barricades around the sacred tree.

Bodh Gaya, Nov 8 : Two Buddhist devotees from Thailand, on a visit to India, have taken -up monk-hood in Bodh Gaya on Saturday.

They were accompanied by hundreds of devotees who had come with them from Thailand.

The devotees took up monk-hood under the Bodhi Tree amid the chanting of sacred hymns.

Bante Achan Vichian, a Buddhist Monk said that if one takes up monk-hood he can lead a peaceful and successful life.

Bodh Gaya, Nov. 9 : With the onset of winter, Bodh Gaya, the famous holy pilgrimage center of Buddhists, starts witnessing the arrival of a growing number tourists and pilgrims from different parts of the county and world. 

Not many may know but Bodhgaya is today not just known as an important Buddhist pilgrim center and an archeological site, but also for its various meditation courses offered by a number of institutes, in and around the town. 

Most of these courses are conducted in winters. Hence, the number of visitors keep swelling between October and February. 

Bodhgaya, Nov 21: Thousands of Buddhists from across the world congregated at Bodh Gaya for Krodhi-Kali ceremony for world peace on Thursday.

Nuns and monks attired in the traditional Buddhist costumes played instruments made out of human bones to the accompaniment of special prayers.

Devotees said attending the ceremony gave them a lot of satisfaction.

"This is our second annual Krodhi-Kali ceremony. Last year also we had a similar event which went very successfully, and everybody of us satisfied and we went back to our country with full satisfaction," said Nangye, a Bhutanese monk.

Apart from India and Bhutan, a large number of monks from many South-Asian countries attended the ceremony.

Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Dec 1 : Hundreds of Buddhist monks and devotees from across the globe gathered in Bodh Gaya for an eleven-day long chanting prayer ceremony for world peace that started on Monday.

Monks and nuns in saffron robes chanted scriptures of the ''Tipitaka'', the collected teachings of Lord Buddha in the sacred Pali language, at Mahabodhi temple.

The monks prayed for the prosperity and well-being of all living creatures.

Bodhgaya, Dec 2: His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje led the prayers for world peace and liberation for all sentient beings here at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya.

The Tibetan spiritual leader called upon people to embrace peace and compassion in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks and offer prayers to stop any further violence.

"These are sad and terrible times. We must put our focus of our wisdom to really reflect and do our best to pray to wish that all of these will cease," said Karmapa.

Bodh Gaya, Jan 28 : Thousands of Buddhist monks converged at Bodh Gaya on Tuesday to offer ''Nigma Monlam Puja'', a ritual of special prayers for universal peace.

Lama Buddhist monks from various countries participated in this 10-day event.

"For decades, the Nigma Monlam Puja has been organised during this particular time and attended by thousands of monks. The main purpose of this prayer is world peace. Buddhist Lama Monks from various countries are participating in this prayer," said Bhante P. Civili, a Buddhist monk, Bodh Gaya.

Bodh Gaya (Bihar) Nov 21 : Buddhist monks from various parts of the globe offered prayers for world peace here.

Scores of monks participated in the prayers that began under the sacred Bodhi tree, where Gautam Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment on Friday.

"We are offering these prayers for the world peace particularly in the wake of disturbances in various countries including India," Sonam Dorjee, a monk said.