Buddhism was born in this country, which makes me a son of India, born to Tibetian parents' is how the Dalai Lama described himself as he inaugurated the three-day International Seminar on Buddhist Heritage here on Friday.

On the occasion, Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced to start a centre for religion studies at M S University.
He also announced to construct a Buddhist temple in the state. 'This will not just be a place of worship or a revenue generation exercise to attract tourists, but also be developed as a centre of research on Buddhist philosophy,' he said.

Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama paid a visit to Lord Buddha body relics found during an excavation at Devnimori conducted by the Department of Archaeology.

The Dalai Lama said, 'Amid the growing technology in the 21st Century, there is also growth in the desire for peace. In such a situation, religion in its different forms teaches the universal moral principles. Religion is a medicine and every medicine is judged for its effectiveness according to the illness of the patient.' He added, 'Most foreign universities have centres to study Buddhist concepts and India being the home of Buddhism, an academic centre in the country is necessary.'

The event was attended by several dignitaries, including Swami Dyaynand Saraswati, Yeshey Zimba, Minister from the Royal Government of Bhutan, Ruby Dhalla, Member of Parliament from Canada and other delegates and Buddhist scholars from Japan, Sri Lanka and other countries.

While the Canadian MP extended an invitation to Chief Minister Narendra Modi to visit the Gujarati population in Canada for growth of business between the two countries, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka invited scholars from Gujarat to his country for the festival of Vaishakhi Purnima.