Rebuilding Lumbini

It is hard for anyone now to imagine what Lumbini looked like during Buddha’s days, but historians have it that Lumbini was a flourishing village even then. Without communication and transportation facilities though, it was the spiritual center—a holy hub in the modern sense of the word—where emperor Ashoka from the south had paid his royal visit in 249 BC. The site of such historical and spiritual fame has not received its right share of publicity.



Not that attempts have not been made at all. From king Ashoka to former UN secretary-general U Thant to present UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon (in his meeting with Maoist Supremo Pushpa KamaL Dahal back in December last year), concerns for Lumbini’s developments have been raised. But strangely, most of those speaking for Lumbini’s cause have been foreign-born dignitaries. When famous German archaeologist, Feuhrer, revealed the importance of great Asoka pillar as the marker of holy place in 1895 its importance had begun to grow high.



There are many astounding facts about Lumbini. Lumbini is said to have some spiritual healing power. Pali and Sanskrit literature shows that despite being based in the hot plain at the foothills of the Himalayas the natural beauty of the place had healing power. Maya Devi, it is said, was spellbound to see the natural grandeur which had healed her labor pain.



The image of Mayadevi standing with her right hand holding on to a branch of a Sal tree with a newborn child standing upright on a lotus petal, shedding an oval halo, around his head, while two celestial figures pour water and lotuses from vessels of heaven, has been found in artifacts of Malla era. These artifacts and the image of meditating Buddha could be an inspiration for performing arts, paintings, thankas, architecture and sculptures, poetry, novels, hymns, movies, serials and yogic arts among others.



Though born to the warrior caste, Buddha was a lover of peace who gave up all his royal luxuries for knowledge to understand the cause of human sufferings. This message must be spread to the world where modern politics has plunged youths to wars, terrorism and suicide killings in the name of ideology and religious faiths. Lumbini is said to be a must visit site for all regardless of their creeds. Parinibbana Sutta has it that Buddha himself had identified four places as pilgrimage sites and one of them was his own birth place, Lumbini.




So Lumbini has potential of becoming more than what Pashupatinath Temple has become for Hinduism, Mecca and Medina for Islam, Jerusalem for Christianity: Not only a holy shrine for Buddhists but also an artistic center which gives people an aesthetic sublime along with spiritual peace. Buddha himself never claimed Buddhism to be a religion; so, his eightfold path of peace can be taken as principles of secularism. In the age of wars and terrorisms, the secrets of conflict management and peace as espoused by Buddha can enlighten the world leaders.



Lumbini should not be viewed just as a pilgrimage sites for head-shaven monks and nuns dressed in saffron red robes and telling the holy beads, but also as a cultural and historical sites even for modern day youths with WiFi mobiles and video cameras in their hands, in company with their boyfriends or girlfriends, but in search of peace.



Lumbini, with about 500 million followers of Buddhism all over the globe, deserves its renaissance and modernization. Though several beautiful shrines have been built by devotees from Buddhist countries recently, the process needs faster extension. Lumbini should be brought to the domain of a performative culture that appeals all people of all faiths. The “renaissance” initiated by the former UN secretary-general U Thant with his Master Plan in 1978 and a recently devised plan by Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF) need to be given a concrete shape.



Ministry of Culture has announced 2012 as the Visit Lumbini Year. Though Hollywood megastar Jackie Chan and Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Rekha could not make their visit at inauguration ceremony, as had been rumored earlier, the news has made quite an impact on the youths. This has signaled the possibility that mixing cultural elements of secularism in Lumbini can be an indirect way of introducing and promoting importance of Lumbini. After all, renaissance is not always the repetition of everything past but also its modern adaptation.



The ongoing efforts in Lumbini development plan need to be redirected at turning it from a spiritual holy shrine for Buddhist people to holy-cum-touristic destination for all who want peace and who want to learn the life styles of the local people. Apart from development of the sacred garden and the monastic zone in the two inner circles of Lumbini, the development of the new Lumbini Village with all the facilities of basic needs for the visitors—communication, transportation, foods, water, lodgings and cultural performances representing not only the ancient Buddhist cultures but all Nepali cultures—should be initiated.



What Lumbini lacks is a performative art culture to make one feel at awe with exciting and inspiring ambience of Nepali and Buddhist cultural practices, arts, architectures, foods and attires. Limiting Lumbini to mere slogan of Visit Lumbini won’t be enough. Bringing it to the ambit of media discourse, academic curricula, tourism and cultural industries like films, music videos, songs and performativity will surely add to its already established value and fame.



The writer is a lecturer at Central Department of English, Tribhuvan University



khanal_khemraj@yahoo.com

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