Nagpur
In October 2012, thirty Theravadin Venerable Monks were invited to chant from the Tipitaka at the annual Deekshaboomi celebration of the Ambedkarite Community in Nagpur. “Deekshabhoomi” is a Sanskrit term that means “Thousands of Blessings.” Deekshabhoomi celebrates the life and teaching of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar (1891-1956), a great twentieth-century reformer who encouraged hundreds of thousands of low-caste Indians to convert to Buddhism.
LBDFI sponsored the visit and donated 50,000 portable shrines and hundreds of copies of the Dighanikaya in Devanagari to the assembly. 300,000 lay people attended this remarkable and moving event. Chanting ceremonies were held in Nagpur in 2013 to 2015, and now more than a thousand lay people from the Ambedkarite community regularly attend the annual Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony at Bodh Gayā. We will continue to work in this area since this is a very large Buddhist community and they attend the Bodhgaya Tipitaka chanting program every year with growing numbers.
