FREE ONLINE TRAINING ON PRECEPTS AND TRADE-21
The way of home life – Ethics
People should show
filial obedience to their parents. If one does not show filial obedience, how
can one be a human being? In addition to frequently emphasizing and explaining filial
piety – “The kindness of a loving father is as great as a mountain; the
kindness of a merciful mother is as deep as the sea – the Buddhist Suttas go a
step further in wanting us to “ see all people as Buddhas, and think of all
sentient beings as parents”. The idea that “Every man is like my father; every
woman, like my mother “ expands the scope of the family to include all sentient
beings.
Ordinary people such
as ourselves are not able to see all sentient beings as our father, our mother,
or even as Buddhas. On household relationships such as between parents and
children, husband and wife, relatives, employers and employees, and even
between master and disciple the Long Discourses of the Buddha states.
MEDIA
SOKA GAKKAI INTERNATIONAL-USA Beliefs and Practices
Nichiren Buddhism, as taught by Soka Gakkai International-USA, puts
profound 2,500-year-old teachings into a simple practice for modern
American men and women. The goal of this practice is human revolution,
a process of inner transformation that leads its adherents to develop
their character, to cultivate compassion, courage and wisdom and to act
for the betterment of society.
Nichiren was a Buddhist teacher who lived in 13th century Japan.
He studied the works of Shakyamuni, the historical founder of Buddhism,
and came to believe that the Lotus Sutra was the greatest of them,
containing the truth to which Shakyamuni had been awakened.
Unlike other branches of Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism asserts that
every person inherently possesses supreme enlightenment and can
manifest that life state in this existence. It is possible to channel
one’s desires in a positive direction and connect to life’s innate
purity and strength, transforming the sufferings of birth and death
into a life of joy and fulfillment.
Soka Gakkai practitioners believe the Lotus Sutra’s title
encapsulates the universal truth to which Shakyamuni was enlightened.
Because this Mystic Law encompasses all laws and teachings within
itself, through meditative chanting of “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” a person
gains the benefit of all virtuous practices.By chanting and exerting
themselves in both faith and practice, people can perceive and manifest
the Buddha nature in their own lives.
Along with chanting twice daily, Soka Gakkai practice involves
members coming together for Buddhist prayer, study, sharing experiences
and discussing ways Buddhism can be applied to the challenges of daily
living. Meetings may be for women’s or men’s groups, for young people
or for the whole community in monthly World Peace Prayer meetings.
Meetings typically are held in individual homes and Soka Gakkai
community centers or cultural centers.
Soka Gakkai International-USA stresses that a person’s greatest
satisfaction comes from working for the happiness of others. The
Charter of Soka Gakkai International states: “We believe that Nichiren
Daishonin’s Buddhism, a humanistic philosophy of infinite respect for
the sanctity of life and all-encompassing compassion, enables
individuals to cultivate and bring forth their inherent wisdom and,
nurturing the creativity of the human spirit, to surmount the
difficulties and crises facing humankind and realize a society of
peaceful and prosperous coexistence.”
Soka Gakkai International-USA members are striving to manifest those
qualities. Their everyday practice of Buddhism helps them achieve
maximum happiness and peacefulness while being fully engaged with the
world and all its challenges.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,6784,0,0,1,0
Buddhism online: A global spiritual force
“The Internet gives us many
opportunities to promote Buddhist values, understandings and insights
on a global scale” - Ven. Pannyavaro
Colombo, Sri Lanka — When the Information
Superhighway i.e. Internet, was launched in the mid 1990s Buddhist
communities worldwide vigorously took up the challenge. With Buddhism
becoming one of the fastest growing religions in the West, they
converted Buddhist literature into the electronic format with a great
deal of enthusiasm.
Today
Buddhist websites are proliferating covering almost every known school
of Buddhism ranging from Theravada to Mahayana to Tantric.
Making known the contribution that Buddhist mental culture can offer
to fill the spiritual vacuum that has come with modernization and
consumerism is a vital need today. Meditation techniques, for example,
can be clearly explained and illustrated on the Net, with an online
teacher guiding the student. A core Buddhist understanding is
interconnectivity and global interdependence both of which are
characteristics of the Internet.
The appreciation of this universal truth leads us to empathize with all suffering life.
Although Buddhism does not seek to win over or convert
non-Buddhists, it certainly has a sense of its own mission in spreading
the message of the Dhamma. In the past the Buddha’s Teachings spread
slowly, not only due to the limitations of ancient communications, but
because it needed to make a local adaptation to each new culture it
encountered - to accommodate itself to the indigenous religions and
philosophies.
Buddha’s teachings does not depend on whether it can accommodate itself
to a particular culture or religion but the appeal of its core
insights. In fact the cultural accretion has to be differentiated from
the fundamental understandings before it can be seen to resonate with
universal truths.
Ven. Pannyavaro and Buddha Net (www.buddhanet.net)
Realising the Internet’s potential in disseminating the Dhamma
worldwide, the German Dharmaduta Society, Colombo, invited the
Australian Buddhist monk Ven. Pannyavaro, Founder and Web Master of the
Sydney-based Buddha Net (www.buddhanet.net)
- a non-sectarian Buddhist information network, to visit Sri Lanka in
year 2001 and deliver a public lecture and conduct a workshop on the
theme ‘ Buddhism on the Internet’. The main purpose of the exercise was
to impart skills to Sri Lankans to establish websites on Buddhism
related themes, and make Buddhist literature particularly the writings
of eminent Buddhist scholars of international renown such as Professor
G. P. Malalasekera, Dr. K.N. Jayatilaka, Ven. Walpola Rahula, Ven.
Narada, Dr. A. P. De Soysa, and Dr. Ananda Guruge accessible to the
foreign public via the internet.
The Buddha Net website includes an on-line Buddhist magazine –
BuddhaZine, - an on-line instructional meditation section: ‘Insight
Meditation On-line’ and a section on Buddhist studies. This website
attracts the highest number of ‘page hits’ for a Buddhist website (over
400,000) per day.
Addressing the GDS-sponsored meeting at the Mahaweli Centre
Auditorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 7th of July 2001 to commemorate
the second death anniversary of the Society’s Founder Asoka Weeraratna
(later Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thero), Ven. Pannyavaro said,
“The challenge that Buddhism faces today is not with the Dharma itself,
the Buddha’s teaching - as the timeless message embedded in the Four
Noble Truths maintains its validity - but how to present this ancient
teaching as a meaningful alternative to people who have been shaped by
the values of the consumer society.”
He was speaking on the topic ‘E-Learning Buddhism on the Internet.’
Ven. Pannyavaro further observed:
“Because a teaching is ancient that doesn’t mean that it cannot
sit comfortably with the new technology. If the Buddha were alive
today, he would surely be at ease in the digital world. There is a new
generation growing up with the Internet’s technologies, who regard it
as the natural place to find information, for online learning and for
spiritual and emotional support. Can we hope that it will be a place
that one goes to have a meaningful experience of the Buddha’s Dharma as
well - it’s the future! “
The Venerable monk also noted the difficulties some groups in
society face in even getting access to computers and the Internet.
“This especially applies to the economically disadvantaged Buddhist
countries in the Theravada tradition, Cambodia, Myanmar and here in Sri
Lanka. Online technology is unequally distributed because access to and
use of computers and the Internet mirror the socio - economic divide
between rich and poor individuals and nations. Another factor is that
the English language dominates cyberspace so students and others with
little or no understanding of English are often denied access to online
learning. Although this is changing as the Net is becoming more
multi-lingual.”
Ven. Pannyavaro also conducted a workshop sponsored by the GDS and
the University of Colombo focused on the theme ‘ Promoting Buddhism via
the Internet’, at the University’s Computer Centre in July 2001. Thirty
young invitees selected on the basis of their computer literacy
participated in the workshop to learn how to create Buddhist websites.
The then head of the Centre, the well known late Professor V.K.
Samaranayake and S.T, Nandasara ( Lecturer ) were among those who
participated at the workshop.
Among the other participants were Ven. Mettavihari, Olcott
Gunasekera, and Yukie Sirimanne, a Sri Lankan pioneer in this area. She
is the Web Administrator of the Theravada Buddhist website - Beyond the
Net. (The well-known Singaporean firm, B.P. De Silva Holdings Company -
founded by Sri Lankan-born B.P. De Silva in 1872 – sponsored ‘Beyond
the Net’ for seven years before the Damrivi Foundation, based in Kotte,
Sri Lanka took over its management).
Buddhist Channel (www.buddhistchannel.tv )
Today, the most popular website covering Buddhist news, events and personalities is the Buddhist Channel (www.buddhistchannel.tv
) which was officially launched on October 25, 2004. It is based in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The BC is actually a “re-branding” exercise
which commenced from the demise of the old “Buddhist News Network”
(BNN), which began operations in May 8, 2001. Using the latest web
technologies on content publication, the BC remains the world’s
foremost dedicated Buddhist news website, providing daily updates and
in-depth coverage.
To augment the BC’s premier position as a Buddhist news site, five
prominent Buddhist individuals were appointed as members of its
“International Advisory Panel (IAP)”. Each of the panelists - coming
from several countries and with expertise in various disciplines -
played a critical role in establishing the Buddhist Channel as a truly
global, web based media platform
The five appointed BC advisers are Anurut Vongvanij (Thailand),
Benny Liow (Malaysia), Gary Gach (United States), Oon Yeoh (Malaysia)
and Senaka Weeraratna (Sri Lanka). Their appointments were made in
their individual capacity, but the selection was based upon their vast
contribution to Buddhist development in their own areas of expertise.
The IAP goes back to the time (May 2001) when the old Buddhist News
Network (BNN) first originated. This happened when the Taliban first
threatened to blow up the 2000-year-old Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan.
According to Buddhist Channel’s founder, Lim Kooi Fong he was immensely
frustrated of not having a platform to disseminate that important piece
of news, as traditional media tend to downplay such items. He had
turned to many organizations, pleading them to take action when he
first received the shocking news.
“Yet they (media) had just shrugged it off and even asked me if
the news were legitimate, as it was not yet reported on mainstream
newspapers.”
Lim says that if a Buddhist media and a corresponding IAP had
existed then, it would have been possible to engage an expert panel of
archaeologists to lobby governments and their respective associations
to take concrete steps. Nevertheless, the destruction of the ancient
monoliths gave birth to new millennium icons, such as the BNN and now
the BC. Lim firmly believes that with these facilities in place,
Buddhists will be better prepared to face any danger or confront any
eventualities, as he says in his own words. “Buddhism fits very nicely
into the gloves of globalization”.
Lim Kooi Fong is a well known Dharma preacher in Malaysia and has
been involved in Buddhist related activities since 1985. Apart from
giving talks, he also conducts Sutta Study lessons and has published
children story books based on the Jataka tales.
He currently manages an Internet Development company based in
Petaling Jaya, a suburb located near the Malaysian capital, Kuala
Lumpur. He has a team that helps him to develop web based technologies
which sustain the Buddhist Channel and to also edit and moderate
articles before they are published. All efforts to sustain the site are
made voluntarily, and the Buddhist Channel remains very much a not for
profit endeavour.
The Buddhist Channel is now virtually a household name among
computer literate Buddhists with an interest in the rapid growth of
Buddhism world wide.
Buddhist News and Comment (BNC - Buddhist-News@yahoogroups.com)
Senaka Weeraratna who is the Honorary Secretary of the German
Dharmaduta Society was instrumental in founding the Yahoo E-mail
discussion group, ‘Buddhist News and Comment’ popularly known as BNC (Buddhist-News@yahoogroups.com)
on March 20, 2002. In setting up the BNC, he was assisted by a young
computer savy student Kaveenga Wijesekera who founded the Dhamma and
Young Adults (DAYA) Group, which also functions as a Yahoo Email
discussion group. Wijesekera is now based in Australia.
The BNC provided for the first time an internet based forum to a
large number of Sri Lankan born-Buddhists - both in Sri Lanka and
abroad – to discuss subjects of mutual interest ranging from Buddhist
philosophy, Sri Lanka’s history and national and cultural issues, and
threats to the Buddhist community from non-Buddhist proselytizers.
The BNC forum attracted among others Daya Hewapathirana (Canada),
Dr. Chandrasiri Wijewickrema also known as Chand Wije( Texas, USA),
Professor Sunil Wimalawansa (USA), Dr. Victor Gunasekera, Ranjith
Soysa, H.L.D. Mahindapala (former Editor, Observer) ( Australia),
Ajantha Premaratne ( Dubai), Wimal Ediriweera (UK), Anura
Senevratne(UK), Bodhi Dhanapala, Channa Lokuliyana (UK), Ananda
Wijesinghe (Canada), Ananda Jayasinghe, Anoma Akmeemana (USA), Mahinda
Gunasekera (Canada), Asoka Weerasinghe (Canada), Mohn Senaratne (
Canada),Mohan Samaranayake, Kamal Rajapaksa (UK) Douglas Wickremaratne
(UK), L. Jayasooriya and Ramani Wickremaratne. Several foreign-born
Buddhists too were drawn to the discussions in this forum.
The following are some of the other leading Buddhist Websites:
Dhamma Journal (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/dhamajnl.htm)
‘The Dhamma Journal’ published by the Burmese Buddhists and most likely
sponsored by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Myanmar. The main
attraction of this Journal is that the content comprises a select
collection of articles written over the last 70 years by leading
Burmese and western scholars on a variety of topics as seen from a
Theravada perspective. The contributors include U Nu (former Prime
Minister of Burma), the internationally renowned monk U Thittala, Ven.
Dr. Revata Dharma, Mahasi Sayadaw and Francis Story (also known as
Anagarika Sugathananda).
Buddhapia (http://www.buddhapia.com/eng/index.html)
This
is one of the largest websites on Buddhism in Korea. It provides
detailed information on Korean Buddhism, Temples, Dharma Talks of
Korean Meditation Masters, Research and Books, Buddhist Holidays.
Vietnamese Buddhism (http://giacngo.vn/chude/vesak2008/)
The
Vietnamese Official Buddhist Website (in Vietnamese) provides colourful
pictures of this years Vesak celebration throughout Vietnam including
the holding of the UN Day of Vesak in Hanoi.
Himalayan Art: Features over 1500 artworks from
Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Mongolia. Firstly, the Website
exhibits images of art from museum, university and private collections
around the world. Secondly, the Website catalogs all Himalayan art
objects that are known through past or present collections or
publications.
Women Active in Buddhism: The Web’s first
comprehensive collection of links and resources on contemporary
Buddhist women. Female teachers, activists, scholars, nuns, and yoginis
(practitioners) may be found on these pages, as well as teachings and
special events, projects, organisations, bibliographic and contact
information.
Access to Insight is another popular Theravada
Buddhist website providing access to a huge collection of translated
texts from the Tripitaka as well as contemporary materials published by
the Buddhist Publication Society and many teachers from the Thai Forest
Tradition.
With the internet’s potential to reach millions, it is likely that
computer technology will be a driving force behind one of the world’s
oldest religions for generations to come. Buddhism on the Internet will
become a powerful communication tool. If Sri Lanka wishes to re-assert
its claims as a source of Buddhist scholarship on the rapidly expanding
Internet, then the writings of Sri Lankan Buddhist scholars must be
published on the Internet.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/07/17/fea12.asp
Buddhism online:
A global spiritual force
“The Internet gives us many opportunities to promote Buddhist
values, understandings and insights on a global scale”
- Ven. Pannyavaro.
When the Information Superhighway i.e. Internet, was launched in the
mid 1990s Buddhist communities worldwide vigorously took up the
challenge. With Buddhism becoming one of the fastest growing religions
in the West, they converted Buddhist literature into the electronic
format with a great deal of enthusiasm.
Buddhist websites
Today Buddhist websites are proliferating covering almost every known
school of Buddhism ranging from Theravada to Mahayana to Tantric.
Making known the contribution that Buddhist mental culture can offer
to fill the spiritual vacuum that has come with modernisation and
consumerism is a vital need today.
Meditation techniques, for example, can be clearly explained and
illustrated on the Net, with an online teacher guiding the student. A
core Buddhist understanding is interconnectivity and global
interdependence both of which are characteristics of the Internet.
The appreciation of this universal truth leads us to empathise with
all suffering life.
Although Buddhism does not seek to win over or convert non-Buddhists,
it certainly has a sense of its own mission in spreading the message of
the Dhamma. In the past the Buddha’s Teachings spread slowly, not only
due to the limitations of ancient communications, but because it needed
to make a local adaptation to each new culture it encountered - to
accommodate itself to the indigenous religions and philosophies.
The difference between then and now is that the acceptance of the
Buddha’s teachings does not depend on whether it can accommodate itself
to a particular culture or religion but the appeal of its core insights.
In fact the cultural accretion has to be differentiated from the
fundamental understandings before it can be seen to resonate with
universal truths.
Buddha Net
Ven. Pannyavaro and Buddha Net (www.buddhanet.net) Realising the
Internet’s potential in disseminating the Dhamma worldwide, the German
Dharmaduta Society, Colombo, invited the Australian Buddhist monk Ven.
Pannyavaro, Founder and Web Master of the Sydney-based Buddha Net (www.buddhanet.net)
- a non-sectarian Buddhist information network, to visit Sri Lanka in
year 2001 and deliver a public lecture and conduct a workshop on the
theme ‘ Buddhism on the Internet’.
The main purpose of the exercise was to impart skills to Sri Lankans
to establish websites on Buddhism related themes, and make Buddhist
literature particularly the writings of eminent Buddhist scholars of
international renown such as Professor G. P. Malalasekera, Dr. K.N.
Jayatilaka, Ven. Walpola Rahula, Ven. Narada, Dr. A. P. De Soysa, and
Dr. Ananda Guruge accessible to the foreign public via the internet.
Insight Meditation On-line
The Buddha Net website includes an on-line Buddhist magazine -
BuddhaZine, - an on-line instructional meditation section: ‘Insight
Meditation On-line’ and a section on Buddhist studies. This website
attracts the highest number of ‘page hits’ for a Buddhist website (over
400,000) per day.
Addressing the GDS-sponsored meeting at the Mahaweli Centre
Auditorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 7th of July 2001 to commemorate
the second death anniversary of the Society’s Founder Asoka Weeraratna
(later Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thero), Ven. Pannyavaro said, “The
challenge that Buddhism faces today is not with the Dharma itself, the
Buddha’s teaching - as the timeless message embedded in the Four Noble
Truths maintains its validity - but how to present this ancient teaching
as a meaningful alternative to people who have been shaped by the values
of the consumer society.”
He was speaking on the topic ‘E-Learning Buddhism on the Internet.’
Ven. Pannyavaro further observed:
“Because a teaching is ancient that doesn’t mean that it cannot sit
comfortably with the new technology. If the Buddha were alive today, he
would surely be at ease in the digital world.
There is a new generation growing up with the Internet’s
technologies, who regard it as the natural place to find information,
for online learning and for spiritual and emotional support. Can we hope
that it will be a place that one goes to have a meaningful experience of
the Buddha’s Dharma as well - it’s the future! “
Difficulties
The Venerable monk also noted the difficulties some groups in society
face in even getting access to computers and the Internet.
“This especially applies to the economically disadvantaged Buddhist
countries in the Theravada tradition, Cambodia, Myanmar and here in Sri
Lanka. Online technology is unequally distributed because access to and
use of computers and the Internet mirror the socio - economic divide
between rich and poor individuals and nations.
Another factor is that the English language dominates cyberspace so
students and others with little or no understanding of English are often
denied access to online learning. Although this is changing as the Net
is becoming more multi-lingual.”
Ven. Pannyavaro also conducted a workshop sponsored by the GDS and
the University of Colombo focused on the theme ‘ Promoting Buddhism via
the Internet’, at the University’s Computer Centre in July 2001.
Thirty young invitees selected on the basis of their computer
literacy participated in the workshop to learn how to create Buddhist
websites. The then head of the Centre, the well known late Professor V.K.
Samaranayake and S.T, Nandasara (Lecturer) were among those who
participated at the workshop.
Web Administration
Among the other participants were Ven. Mettavihari, Olcott Gunasekera,
and Yukie Sirimanne, a Sri Lankan pioneer in this area. She is the Web
Administrator of the Theravada Buddhist website - Beyond the Net. (The
well-known Singaporean firm, B.P. De Silva Holdings Company - founded by
Sri Lankan-born B.P. De Silva in 1872 - sponsored ‘Beyond the Net’ for
seven years before the Damrivi Foundation, based in Kotte, Sri Lanka
took over its management).
Buddhist Channel
Today, the most popular website covering Buddhist news, events and
personalities is the Buddhist Channel(www.buddhistchannel.tv ) which was
officially launched on October 25, 2004. It is based in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
The BC is actually a “re-branding” exercise which commenced from the
demise of the old “Buddhist News Network” (BNN), which began operations
in May 8, 2001. Using the latest web technologies on content
publication, the BC remains the world’s foremost dedicated Buddhist news
website, providing daily updates and in-depth coverage.
To augment the BC’s premier position as a Buddhist news site, five
prominent Buddhist individuals were appointed as members of its
“International Advisory Panel (IAP)”.
Each of the panelists - coming from several countries and with
expertise in various disciplines - played a critical role in
establishing the Buddhist Channel as a truly global, web based media
platform.
The five appointed BC advisers are Anurut Vongvanij (Thailand), Benny
Liow (Malaysia), Gary Gach (United States), Oon Yeoh (Malaysia) and
Senaka Weeraratna (Sri Lanka). Their appointments were made in their
individual capacity, but the selection was based upon their vast
contribution to Buddhist development in their own areas of expertise.
The IAP goes back to the time (May 2001) when the old Buddhist News
Network
(BNN) first originated. This happened when the Taliban first
threatened to blow up the 2000-year-old Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan.
According to Buddhist Channel’s founder, Lim Kooi Fong he was
immensely frustrated of not having a platform to disseminate that
important piece of news, as traditional media tend to downplay such
items. He had turned to many organisations, pleading them to take action
when he first received the shocking news.
“Yet they (media) had just shrugged it off and even asked me if the
news were legitimate, as it was not yet reported on mainstream
newspapers.”
Lim says that if a Buddhist media and a corresponding IAP had existed
then, it would have been possible to engage an expert panel of
archaeologists to lobby governments and their respective associations to
take concrete steps.
To be continued
Please Visit:http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/96063/96092/6625448.html
Participants hailed the importance of dialogues in the development of
the Buddhism as the Second World Buddhist Forum wrapped up its first
part on Sunday in Wuxi City of east China’s Jiangsu Province.
The jointly-held forum, which will continue in Taipei on Tuesday, is
installed with eight sub-forums in Wuxi where more than 1,700
participants from nearly 50 countries and regions can have dialogues on
a series of topics, such as Buddhism and Education, Buddhism and
Science and Buddhism and International Exchanges.
“In today’s
world, having dialogues is crucial to the development of Buddhism,”
said Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Taiwan-based Fo Guang Shan
Monastery, who is present at the forum with a theme of “a harmonious
world, a synergy of conditions.”
Chinese government has
clarified that building a harmonious world requires an active role
played by various civilizations and religions.
“Such an
attitude of the government has provided room for dialogues and
development of the religions,” said Professor Wang Yukai with China’s
National School of Administration.
“An effective dialogue is
not necessarily about seeking consensus amid differences,” said Lou
Yulie, head of the Institution for Religion Studies of Beijing
University and also a renowned Buddhism expert. “It is about finding
out differences while maintaining the distinctiveness and showing
respects to each other.”
The Buddhism, imported to the
country 2,000 years ago, is no stranger to dialogues with the
home-grown Taoism and Confucianism.
“The dialogues among the
three religions in China have been carried out with the guidance of
principles such as ‘agree to disagree’ and ‘examine oneself before
accusing others’,” said Professor Dong Qun, a Buddhism expert with the
South East University in the eastern Jiangsu Province.
At the
Second World Buddhism Forum, many Buddhists and experts have reached
consensus that only through dialogues can the Buddhism find its own
position in today’s world and play its due role.
“Differences
may exist between the Buddhism in the west and the Buddhism in the
east, ” said Frank Ulm, a German Buddhist. “But that’s why we are here
for– to find out the difference and have dialogues.”
Ulm said
he felt that the Chinese Buddhists at the forum are always ready to
listen and are pleased to find out differences.
“Only by finding out differences and then thinking about them can we better develop our own sect of Buddhism,” he added.
“The Buddhism is inclusive, rather than exclusive,” said Master Omaple
Sobhita Thero, a Sri Lanka monk at the forum “The inclusiveness, which
enables dialogues, is the very advantage of the Buddhism.”
More Westerners have become interested in the Buddhism which was born
in the Orient, said Master Hui Feng, born in New Zealand and now a monk
in Hong Kong. “The Chinese Buddhists should be ready to have more
dialogues.”
The
model of a pagoda being built in the Famen Temple is shown at a press
conference in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on March 29, 2009.
The Famen Temple in China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province will finish
building a pagoda in May to house a special relic, a fragment of
Buddha’s finger bone, and a grand ceremony would be held in May to mark
the enshrinement of the sarira, or remains, according to the press
conference.(Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
The
performance of “Song of Auspiciousness” is staged at the Buddhist
Palace in Lingshan Mountain in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on
March 29, 2009, marking the end of the first phase of the Second World
Buddhist Forum (WBF). The second phase of the forum will take place in
Taipei from March 31 to April 1. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
The
performance of “Song of Auspiciousness” is staged at the Buddhist
Palace in Lingshan Mountain in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on
March 29, 2009, marking the end of the first phase of the Second World
Buddhist Forum (WBF). The second phase of the forum will take place in
Taipei from March 31 to April 1. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
The
performance of “Song of Auspiciousness” is staged at the Buddhist
Palace in Lingshan Mountain in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on
March 29, 2009, marking the end of the first phase of the Second World
Buddhist Forum (WBF). The second phase of the forum will take place in
Taipei from March 31 to April 1. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
A
delegate looks at a porcelain exhibition on Chinese Buddhism during the
Second World Buddhist Forum (WBF) in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu
Province, on March 29, 2009. The Second World Buddhist Forum opened at
Lingshan Mountain Saturday with more than 1,700 Buddhist monks and
scholars from about 50 countries and regions gathering to discuss how
Buddhism can contribute to building a harmonious world. (Xinhua/Wu
Xiaoling)
Source:Xinhua
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