"In the present times, there is an urgent need for peace and this could be achieved only by following the ideology and path shown by Gautam Buddha," he said at the concluding ceremony of '2550th Mahaparinirvan Jayanti' function of Lord Buddha in Kushinagar.

He said violence, theft and use of liquor always led to bad results in the form of loss of money, health and prestige.

Today, several countries were adopting the principles of Buddhism and people were being attracted towards the values and ideals preached by him, Kalam said.

Earlier, Kalam had darshan of the Ramabhar stupa, inaugurated a Thai polyclinic and released a postal stamp on Lord Buddha. He planted a sapling at the Thai temple and took blessings of Buddhist monks.

The President mingled with the children who sang the national anthem and signed autographs for them.

Image : President Kalam participates in the ceremonies

Text: PTI
Photographs: Rashtrapati Bhavan

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