Vadodara: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced the setting up of a temple and centre for Buddhist studies and higher research in the state. Terming the idea "laudable", Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said it needed to be fleshed out and taken forward.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the three-day international seminar on Buddhist heritage organised by the Maharaja Sayajirao University in concert with the Gujarat government here, Modi said he had mooted the idea to the Dalai Lama.

"I envisioned the Buddhist temple, perhaps one of the best, not just as a place of worship but as a centre for research on Buddhist philosophy, psychology and on comparative studies between the east and the west. There is need to bring back into sharp focus the extraordinary contribution of India down the ages in this regard," he added.

The Dalai Lama, who inaugurated the seminar, appreciated the idea but said that it would need to be deliberated upon so that the focus areas are clearly identified and the centre for higher Buddhist learning fulfils its objective.

Terming India as the cradle of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama likened it to a guru with him and his people as the "chelas" (disciples). "We got it from Nalanda a thousand years back and have faithfully preserved it. Now we would like to return it to India, and through Gujarat if you chose to set up the centre in the state," he added.

The Dalai Lama, who termed himself Tibetan by birth but an Indian by spirit, said that the time has come for India to take the leadership at a time when the world was gripped by a crisis of moral ethics.

"Copenhagens don't deliver the desired results because national interests override global ones. Essentially, humanity is facing man-made problems and while we need to go back to basics, there is an urgent need for religious leaders to make the ancient thought of India relevant to present times with a view to attract the young to it," he added.

The three-day seminar is part of Gujarat's efforts to package itself as a key destination of the Buddhist tourist circuit. State Tourism Minister Jayanarayan Vyas said the state deserved a place on the map of the Buddhist world.

"Devni Mori on the banks of Meshwo river, discovered by a team from the Maharaja Sayajirao University, is a large site consisting of a stupa, chaitya and vihara. The relics consist of a stone casket having the original remains of Gautama Buddha with a detailed inscription. This is besides the numerous other key Buddhist sites discovered in the state," he said.

Among the four areas that the international seminar is focusing on is developing Buddhist tourism in Gujarat, promoting documentation and research on Buddhist materials and places in the state, appreciating the state's Buddhist past and highlighting its contribution to the culture, philosophy and society of Gujarat. IANS