BWW Previews: THE LARGEST BUDDHIST FESTIVAL IN INDIA Aims To Create A World Record

Chants for world peace will reverberate the skies in Vijaywada, India as the city gears up for the largest Buddhist festival in India.

The first-of-its-kind festival of Buddhist heritage being held in Vijayawada by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, titled Global Shanti - Amaravati Buddhist Heritage Festival, will be spread across three days from February 3-5.

The festival will revolve around the universal message of peace and brotherhood. It will bring out the essence of Buddhism through a blend of chanting, meditation, exhibition and food, along with spiritual discourses by scholars and cultural performances by world-renowned artists.

Over 1,000 monks and artists will participate in the festival and a greater number of participants from different countries will join the global online chant for world peace. The event will bring together the world community to simultaneously chant at a common time from their respective locations by digitally connecting with the event. Those wishing to participate can log in to https://globalshanti.in/ for live stream at 6.30pm IST (1pm GMT) on February 4, 2018.

Participants at the festival include Ven. Bhikkuni Kusuma, a Buddhist nun who pioneered the re-establishment of the Theravada Female Buddhist Order in Sri Lanka; Siri Rama (Singapore), Co-founder, Director, Kanaka Sabha Performing Arts Center; Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya (USA), priest of one of the Vajrayana Buddhist lineages of Nepal and a ritual master both of the Charya Nritya dance tradition; Rajesh Dhabre (Mumbai), a leading composer of modern music dedicated to Lord Buddha; Maitreya Children's Choir (Bodh Gaya) who will recite the Heart Sutras and The Lion and Yak Dance from the famous Tawang Monastery.

Padmashri Shovana Narayan, one of India's most celebrated Kathak Gurus, will also be performing at the festival. Narayan's 'Shunyata', first performed in Delhi with The Monks of Palpung Sherabling Monastic Seat, is a dance ballet essaying the philosophy of Lord Buddha.