GUWAHATI, April 7 - Ngarik Gatsal Ling, meaning Joyous Garden of the Five Sciences, in Tibetan, was opened here on Saturday as a dharma and meditation centre.
Having been blessed and named by the 14th Dalai Lama, the centre�s primary long-term objective is to promote the five sciences of ancient Nalanda University � Buddhism, logic, arts, languages and medicine � through various activities and support programmes.
The original texts and knowledge encapsulated by Nalanda University were destroyed when the institution was ravaged by Turkic invaders in the 12th century. Fortunately, most of these texts were translated into the Tibetan language, during the period when Buddhism was being transmitted from India to Inner Asia.
These texts now form the corpus of Mahayana Buddhism, which spread across the world since the self-imposed exile of the Tibetan community post 1959.
The objectives of the NGL Centre include promotion of a harmonious society through secular teachings of the Buddha, imparting training in meditation and mindfulness, and sparking academic debates on synergies between modern sciences and ancient philosophy to create a truly progressive human race.
The consecration and inaugural teachings were led today at the centre by Ven Geshe Dorji Damdul, Director of Tibet House Delhi, who also gave a powerful talk on the meaning of life.
Additional DGP of Assam Harmeet Singh spoke a few words as chief guest of the event. The objectives of the centre, which is open for membership, were stated by Bhaskar Dutta Baruah, president of the Society located at Tarun Nagar. The inaugural talk will be continued tomorrow from 10.30 am to 1 pm, said a press release.
