January 15, 2010
Press Trust of India

Vadodara: The country's biggest Buddhist temple will be set up in Gujarat
with the help of Tibetan spiritual guru the Dalai Lama, Chief Minister
Narendra Modi said today.

"The meeting (with the Dalai Lama) was very fruitful. He has assured help
for setting up the country's biggest Buddhist temple in Gujarat," Modi told
PTI on the sidelines of a seminar here.

"This will put Gujarat on the Buddhist tourism circuit of the country," Modi
said.

"The Dalai Lama also suggested that there should be a research centre in
India at the university-level for promoting various aspects of Buddhism," he
said.

The Dalai Lama and Modi, who were in the city to participate in a three-day
international seminar on 'Buddhism Heritage in Gujarat', held a one-to-one
meeting in which many issues were discussed.

The seminar has been organised by state government and the Archaeology and
Ancient History Department of Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU).

Over 1,000 experts, scholars and Lamas from 15 countries and other parts of
the country have gathered here to highlight the contributions of Buddhism
and its philosophy.