As a symbol of shared Buddhist heritage, President Pranab Mukherjee will take a sapling from the sacred tree at the Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya as a gift to Vietnam during his state visit to that country later this month.
"We have sent a sapling of the sacred Bodhi tree to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) yesterday which will be taken by the President Pranab Mukherjee with him to Vietnam as gift for the hosts during his state visit," Member Secretary, Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), N Dorjee said today.
A ritual was performed at the world heritage Mahabodhi Temple for the sapling before it was taken to Delhi for delivery to the MEA officials, he said.
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Dorjee said that a request for the sapling was made by the MEA through a letter to the Government of Bihar recently.
He said the BTMC acted gladly on the state government's instruction and arranged for a sapling and got it delivered to the MEA officials in New Delhi today.
Dorjee said that it was not for the first time that 'Bodhi tree' sapling would come in handy in strenthening India's bilateral relation with another country as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had taken a similar sapling to South Korea earlier this year.
Another such sapling was also taken by a visiting dignitory to Malaysia in recent past, the BTMC member secretary said.
The Bodhi tree, under which Lord Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment is worshipped by the Buddhists across the world.
