Why in News?

• The President of India recently said that the application of Buddhist values and principles in addressing issues of global concern will help in healing the world and making it a better place, while addressing the annual Asadha Poornima – Dharma Chakra Day.
• The Prime Minister said Lord Buddha’s teachings have become all the more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic and that India had shown how it could face adversities by following his path.

What the PM said?

• Lord Buddha is all the more relevant in today’s times of corona pandemic. 
• India has shown how we can face even the most difficult challenges by following the path of the Buddha. 
• Today all the countries are moving in solidarity and becoming each other’s strength by following the teachings of the Buddha.

Ashadha Purnima

• The auspicious day of Ashadha Purnima which falls on the first full moon day of the month of Ashadha as per Indian sun calendar is also known as Esala Poya in Sri Lanka and Asanha Bucha in Thailand. The day is also observed as Guru Poornima by both Buddhists and Hindus as a day to mark reverence to their Gurus.
• It is the second most sacred day for Buddhists after the Buddha Poornima or Vesak.
• The day marks Buddha’s first teaching after attaining Enlightenment to the first five ascetic disciples (pañcavargika) on the full-moon day of Asadha at ‘Deer Park’, Ṛiṣipatana in the current day Sarnath, near Varanasi, India. 
• This teaching of Dhamma Cakka- PavattanaSutta (Pali) or Dharma chakra Pravartana Sutra (Sanskrit) is also known as the First Turning of Wheels of Dharma and comprised of the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.

How Buddha’s teachings are relevant today

• The term “Buddha” refers to someone who has gained enlightenment and experienced a sense of awakening in order to create a peaceful, harmonious, and just society. Buddha’s guarantee that suffering would cease; his emphasis on universal compassion and nonviolence; and his exhortation to strive for morality and moderation in all parts of life. Buddhism’s worldwide appeal stems from its logical, reasonable, and straightforward solutions to the fundamental challenges that humans encounter
• The ongoing COVID pandemic demonstrates that the modern world’s complexities bring with them greater uncertainties and crises.
• Bioterrorism, climate change, global warming, radicalism, extremism, and other challenges are unsettling humanity’s conscience. In these troubled times, the Buddha’s approach of introspection and awakening shows the way.
• Buddha’s “Atma Dipo Bhava” instruction – that each man can be a light unto himself, a rescuer of himself via his efforts — is likely to change the individualist mindset.
• The Buddhist principles of moral behaviour, wisdom, compassion, and the decrease of trishna (greed) provide a foundation for a new world order. Violence and conflict are reduced on this planet, and progress occurs without depleting natural resources.
• Adopting Buddha’s “middle way” of avoiding extreme opinions leads to the avoidance of conflict, the reconciliation of differing viewpoints, and the achievement of consensus.
• His eight-fold path has influenced not only the spiritual landscape but also ethical and sustainable social, political, and commercial behaviours around the world.
• His ideas are reflected in the widely accepted Gandhian ethos, and India is at the forefront of the global fight against the corona pandemic.
  • India has established itself as the world’s pharmacy, providing medical assistance to countries in need.
• Because peace and development are intertwined, the Buddha’s prism can serve as a guiding light for all stakeholders, from local institutions to global leaders, to work together to promote dialogue, harmony, and justice based on compassion and wisdom.
• Buddha’s teachings deepen the modern relevance of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam by reinforcing our commitment to take decisive action to end disputes and bloodshed.

Refrence:

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/buddhas-teachings-have-served-us-well-says-pm/article35518227.ece