"Buddha was born in Nepal." This chant must be familiar to you guys.
I would like to present a position that in fact Buddha was born in both Nepal and India.
Of course the child siddhartha was born in Lumbini, which is currently in Nepal. But when you say buddha "the enlightened one," he became so, in other words "reborn" in India, bodhgaya.
I think buddha trancends this puny political boundary we have created.
Imagine what buddha would have said when he saw us Nepali, who instead of finding inner self and understanding true nature of reality are occupied with this whirlwhind of nonsense protest about letting the world know buddha was born in Nepal.
Buddha is bigger than us all. His ideas trancends our culture, place, and country.
In fact the correct statement is not that buddha was born in Nepal but
"Siddhartha Gautam was born in Nepal and he became Buddha in India"

Peace

I got enlightened in the US. Shall I start saying I was born in the US?

Siddhartha gautam was born in nepal buddha was born in india.

Its like you became a doctor in US. Then you can say MlnNpl was born in nepal but Doctor MlnNpl was born in india.

If you receive your doctorate in the US, then you can say “I became a doctor in the US.” Saying “Dr. funtush was born in the US” would be incorrect and laughable. Can Dr. funtush, not funtush, run for president of the US? No, because Dr. funtush was born in Nepal.

Where Buddha received enlightenment/education/epiphany does not change where he was born. Siddhartha Gautam was born in Nepal. Buddha was born in Nepal.

2500 years ago. There was neither Nepal or nepali. Gautam buddha didnt speak nepali nor did he eat dal bhat. All we can say, the place he was born is located in PRESENT day Nepal which nepali seems to take a lot of pride. He didnt try to get popular or represent nepal at all.. All he cared about was human suffering and left us a path to follow that might help us live peacefully and in harmony. I think its useless trying to claim buddha was born in nepal, he is a nepali and represents nepali pride. Theres more to focus on. Also, buddhist already know the site buddha is born and go to lumbini to pay homage. For others not interested in religious practices, its just a topic to fight about i guess. A moot point

@Oh_Gaathe.
You have a point, but I know I’m speaking for many Nepalis when I say this. I don’t initiate a conversation saying “Hey, you know, Buddha was born in Nepal” or the like. I don’t particularly take deep pride in what Buddha did either. But Buddha is considered a jewel (who obviously Indians consider worth stealing). So, if someone says Buddha was born in India, my sense of patriotism kicks in and I argue with that person and I’ll keep doing so.

Buddha is not a person it's a title. The title of buddha for siddhartha gautam was gained in India so his title of buddha was born in India. If you become Doctor in US your title of Doctor is born in US. You were not born a doctor.

I know many of us don't like how Nepali people take pride in Buddha being born in Nepal but why go through all these mental gymnastics to claim he was born in India? People like these wanna be hip/different just for the sake of it.

I agree with kunthaun. And I'd like to add that when Indians claim that Buddha was born in India, they are not using the "enlightenment" logic like the OP or the "title Buddha" definition like funtush. One Indian guy once told me this: "Buddha was born in India because Nepal is just like a state of India".

What is a jewel worth if you don't understand its value. Its just a shimmering stone and a temptation which you are attracted towards without knowledge. Let the indian claim buddha was born in India. People will hear it and say oh really. But think about those people who really are interested in buddhism and about buddha. They will look deeper and will eventually find out. When they have to go to lumbini, they will be getting a visa of nepal. Its like the nepal ukhaan- Kaag le kaan lagyo bhanera kaag ko pachaadi kude aafnai icchhya ho. Haina, paila kaan chaamnu paryo bhane ni aafnai icchya ho. Testo karaaune ta hazaaar bhetinchan. aba sabai lai teso na bhan bhanera basnu chai samaya ko barbaadi matrai ho. aba Lumbini UNESCO heritage ma haalekai cha. Tini haru le buddha teha janmeko ra lumbini nepal ma raheko spastikaran chadai cha. Aba tyo bhanda besi aru k garne. thau thau ma buddha was born in nepal and not in india ko board taase matra ho... befwaak ko kura matrai ho.

aba Nepal is just like a state of india bhanne haru chai American le sabai latin lai mexican bhane jastai ho.. Aba tyo latin ko bejat ho ki American ko... aafai bichar garne...

Oh_Gaathe: "Its like the nepal ukhaan- Kaag le kaan lagyo bhanera kaag ko pachaadi kude aafnai icchhya ho."

I like the saying you used. But I find the following saying more befitting for our discussion:

मौनम स्वीकृति लक्षनम meaning "silence is consent".

Yes buddha was born in Nepal but if he would have been living today he would never wished to born in Nepal.

we dont have to give any consent. If people are interested, they can easily find out the root. Lumbini being Nepal. India le prachar garlan Buddha india ma janme ko. Concerned people will be like show me where. Ani pugi haalcha ni Lumbini mai. So, no worries on my part. Aba lumbini nai India le kumlyaayo bhane chai arko kura ho.

Also, My quote was you know,, kaan chamnu ko artha diggin out a little where buddha actually was born which will eventually lead to Nepal. Kag ko pacchaadi bhagnu ko artha acccepting anything dhoti media produce...

Oh_Gaathe, I don't know what else to type to explain my point to you

India le hepera nepal lai sakhaap paarna laagi sakyo. koi nepali bhanauda haru laai chai Buddha was born in india bhanera prove garna khub jod chali raachha. dhatt

@khalisisi aka @underwear here is a trivia for u.
Ur father n mother was born in india. Then they came to Nepal. U were born while ur parents were still indian. Then GPK became PM and ur parents got nepali citizenship. U became a nepali citizen. Using the same nepali citizenship u came to US .

So who r u now ? An indian, a nepali or an americana ?
Just curious.
Nothing personal.

To be honest i dont give a damn where buddha was born.