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| Sunday, 25 August 2002 |
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Princess Royal visits London vihare The Princess Royal visited the London Buddhist Vihare recently. The visit was organised as part of a series of royal visits to all the major faith communities in the United Kingdom to mark the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The London Buddhist Vihare was greatly honoured to be selected as the most suitable venue to host this important event on behalf of the entire Buddhist community in the UK. Working in close co-operation with the Network of Buddhist Organisations, invitations were extended to monks and lay people from all Buddhist traditions together with prominent members of the Inter Faith Network. A large gathering attended. Video screens were erected to relay pictures of the events to all parts of the Vihare. In his speech of welcome, the Most Ven. Dr. M. Vajiragnana, the Head of the Vihare and Sangha Nayake of Great Britain paid tribute to the benign and stabilising influence of Her Majesty the Queen during her long reign of 50 years. He emphasised the commitment of Buddhist to serve the whole community in matters of visiting schools, hospitals and social service in general. In her reply, the Princess Royal said in her travels all over the world she had always been made very welcome in Buddhist countries, and she had a high opinion of the monastic community and the contribution it makes to the well-being of society. Buddhist priests from the Theravada, Chinese and Tibetan traditions performed chanting to invoke blessings, long life and happiness on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. A Buddha rupa, portraying the 'no fear' pose, was presented to the Princess Royal by Ven. Dr. Vajiragnana. Later the guests were entertained by cultural dances from Sri Lanka, China and Nepal. The Princess Royal then unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the building extension to the Vihare. After that, she spent about half an hour walking around the Vihare, speaking to many of the monks, supporters of the Vihare and InterFaith representatives. |
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