Mumbai, Jan 14 (IANS) Vipassana meditation purifies the mind and its practice leads to increased concentration, resulting in beneficial effects on the body and mind, and in turn to the entire society, President Ram Nath Kovind said here on Sunday.
He said Vipassana comprises three simple precepts -- morality, concentration and self-realisation -- through awareness and insight, and is a non-sectarian meditation technique that applies equally to all human beings irrespective of caste, religion, language, gender or age.
The Vipassana meditation technique, taught by Lord Buddha, has attracted people in large numbers not only from Maharashtra but all over India and the world, the President said after laying the foundation stone of the second Dhammalaya meditation centre at the Vipassana Global Pagoda in Gorai, north-west Mumbai.
Present on the occasion were Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, and other dignitaries.
Global Vipassana Foundation's first Dhammalaya is functioning in Kolhapur in Maharashtra since October 1995, according to GVF Chairman Nayan Shah.
The Global Vipassana Foundation's pagoda, construction of which was completed in 2009, comprises of a main dome and three sub-domes.
At the centre is the world's largest stone dome built without any supporting pillars, 29 metres tall, while the total height of the building is 96.12 metres, or twice the height of the previously largest hollow stone monument in the world, the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur.
This pagoda dome enshrines the bone relics of Lord Buddha, sourced from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, and donated to the GVF by the Mahabodhi Society of India and the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.
Earlier on Sunday morning, President Kovind inaugurated the 'Economic Democracy Conclave' in Thane, organised by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, which intends to create a platform for young entrepreneurs and self-employed persons, mentor and motivate them and help them in networking.
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