Why in news? The Ministry of Culture along with IBC will celebrate the auspicious day of Vaisakh Purnima with reverence and piety on 5th May. International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in coordination with the Himalayan Buddhist Culture Association (HBCA) will be celebrating the event at the National Museum, New Delhi.

Highlights:

• Various autonomous Buddhist organisations and grantee Institutions under the Ministry of Culture are organising several programmes/events on the occasion.
• Recently, Ministry of Culture held the first Global Buddhist Summit (20-21 April) attended by over 500 participants from 30 countries.
• The Ministry of Culture along with its grantee body, IBC also held a successful international meeting of experts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) nations on “Shared Buddhist Heritage” from 14th – 15th March, to re-establish trans-cultural links and seek out commonalities, between Buddhist art of SCO countries.

Vaishakh Buddha Purnima

• It is the most sacred day of the year for Buddhists all over the world as it marks the three main events of Lord Buddha’s life – Birth, Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana.
• The day assumes special significance since Buddhism originated in India.
• Since 1999 it has also been recognized by the United Nations as the ‘UN Day of Vesak’.
• This year the Vaishakh Buddha Purnima is being celebrated on 5th May.

International Buddhist Confederation (IBC)

It is a global Buddhist umbrella body, headquartered in New Delhi