Dalai Lama inaugurates Asia’s biggest monastery in Orissa

A new monastery, described as south Asia’s biggest, was inaugurated by the Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama at a Tibetan settlement at Chandragiri in Orissa’s Gajapati district Tuesday.

The spiritual leader, on a four-day visit to the state, conducted the consecration ceremony before unveiling the monastery, built at a cost of Rs eight crore, in the presence of around 300 Buddhist Lamas.

The Dalai Lama, on his ninth visit here, prostrated before the 21-foot high Buddha idol installed in the shrine and offered prayers before addressing the devotees in Tibetan language.

About 2,500 guests from across the world witnessed the opening of the monastery spread over an area of 10 acres and constructed in the Atanpuri style of architecture of Nalanda.