NEW DELHI: Underlining that the 21st century shall belong to Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Buddha's message of love and compassion would help Asia inspire the world as it deals with all-round strife and bloody conflicts .

"The world is discussing that the 21st century would be Asia's century ... (though) there may be differences over which Asian country would the 21st century belong to ... but an aspect possibly overlooked by those having this vision is that without Buddha, 21st century can never become Asia's century," Modi told delegates at the International Buddha Poornima Diwas Celebrations 2015.

Poornima Diwas organised here by the International Buddhist Confederation with the support of Union ministries of home affairs and culture.

"Buddha is the one who will make Asia a source of inspiration for the world that is dealing with various problems. People are killing each other ... a large part of the globe is witnessing bloody strife ... in such a scenario, it is Buddha's message of compassion and non-violence that will show the way to the world," said Modi.

Making a special reference to Nepal, the land of Buddha's birth, the Prime Minister said the country was dealing with a huge challenge post the earthquake. "Buddha's message of compassion should inspire us to share Nepal's sorrow and grief," he said while praying to Buddha to "give Nepal the strength to deal with the unprecedented crisis".

Terming Buddha's teachings as futuristic, Modi noted that he had talked of empowerment of weaker sections such as Dalits, besides women and working classes centuries ahead of the times. He read out verses wherein Buddha spoke of power to the working classes well before May Day was even conceptualised. Also, Modi read out teachings where Buddha spoke of empowerment of sections facing discrimination and desired that all women be reborn as men. He also cited Buddha's call for working as a community rather than as individual entities, underlining how Dr BR Ambedkar too was a keen follower of this "unity and consensus" principle.

"Buddha's three-word message — 'Be your own light' — said Modi, carried more weight than all management journals, lectures and books put together. "We should be inspire by his teachings on compassion, working with consensus, welfare of others and sacrifice," he said. Underlining that Buddha had prescribed an eight-fold path to salvation — right view, right thought, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right consciousness and right concentration — Modi recalled how UN too had embraced yoga, which takes one away from worldly pursuits and disease and leads to the path of spirituality, by adopting the resolution on Yoga Diwas.

On the personal front, the prime minister recalled how during his visits abroad, most host countries took care to incorporate a visit to a Buddhist temple into his programme. Recalling Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang's visit to his native village Vadnagar in Gujarat, he said archaeological excavation had found holy remains of Lord Buddha there. "I hope a big Buddhist temple will someday come up at the site," he said.