Today was the first day of the Kalachakra 2006 Blessing.
The Dalai Lama consecrated the 85-feet tall Buddha statue in the middle of Hussainsagar Lake that connects Hyderabad with its twin city Secunderabad.
A Little Background
The state was a center of Buddhist learning about 2,500 years ago. Andhra Pradesh is a symbol of the true spirit of Indian secularism where people of all faiths: Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu form a symphony of religions.
Once among the poorest states of the Indian Union, its transformation to one of the most industrialized states has been slow but steady. The state stands on the high Deccan plateau, sloping down to the low-lying coastal regions in the the east where the Godavri and Krishna meet the Bay of Bengal. The capital Hyderabad, was built by the Qutb Shahi Kings in 1590.
Inauguration of the festival/blessing will begin on Thursday and continue for 11 days. The last Kalachakra was held in Toronto. According to Buddhist scriptures, it was Lord Buddha himself who revealed the Kalachakra Tantra, believed to be the most profound and complex of all Buddhist tantric teachings. It has been preserved in India and Tibet for the last 2,500 years.
Amaravati is known as the cradle of Mahayana school of thought of Buddhism and it is from here that Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka and later to South East Asia.