Bhudda Slept Here

LUMBINI, NEPAL: Beneath the Maya Devi temple to Buddha's mother in this southwestern Nepal town lies a recently uncovered complex of rooms that may transform this remote hamlet into a sort of mecca for the world's 340 million Bhuddists. After carefully studying the chambers discovered 9 months ago, a multinational team of archaeologists has announced that the rooms prove that ancient inscriptions claiming the site is Buddha's birthplace are true. The inscriptions were found on a pillar at the ancient Maya Devi temple erected by Ashoka, an Indian king who converted to Buddhism and spread the religion to East Asian nations more than two thousand years ago. Japanese Bhuddists have already announced plans for a new temple in Lumbini, and Nepal plans to turn the town into an international tourist attraction.