In 1874, Henry Steel Olcotts life took a dramatic turn. Until then, he had been a journalist, an agricultural expert, insurance lawyer, soldier and an exposer of hoaxes and frauds. But that year, he renewed his interest in spiritualism a hazy mix of mysticism, belief in a pristine past, and a search for communion with spirits and the paranormal, including the divine kind.

The catalyst for this change was a chance encounter with Helena Blavatsky, a Russian migr with a past as varied as his own. In September, Olcott was investigating a series of spirit appearances on a Vermont farm when he met the woman whose seances and mystical conversations with otherworldly figures had caught the attention of the press and the public alike.

The two hit it off immediately and it is not hard to see why. Both were bound to a spiritual search. Both believed in the unity of all religions. And both had faith in individual salvation. Within a year of their first meeting, the two turned their shared outlook into a collaboration by setting up the Theosophical Society in a New York apartment in the presence of 16 others.

From the outset, the Theosophical Society had an eclectic bunch of members, who varyingly believed in spirits, divination, the otherworldly and mysticism. Its ranks grew within years, turning a modest society into a movement. Its biggest impact was in Sri Lanka and more so in India, where Olcott and Blavatsky in their search for ancient wisdom moved in early 1879.

From their base in Adyar, Chennai, Blavatsky delved deeper into eastern religions, claiming to converse with Mahatmas, or Adept Masters, who ostensibly passed on their divine knowledge to her. Meanwhile, Olcott, always more practical, set about reforming systems and religions that he believed had corrupted over time. His greatest success was the role he played in the revival of Sinhalese Buddhism in Sri Lanka a process that came to have nationalist overtones.

Born in 1832 in a devout Presbyterian family in Orange, New Jersey, Olcott had to abandon his studies at New York University because of his familys financial straits. This proved to be a pivotal moment in his life. Leaving New Jersey, a 16-year-old Olcott worked on a relatives farm in Ohio, where he developed a precocious interest in agriculture and attended seances and spirit-calling sessions. By the time he returned to his home state in the early 1850s, his interest in novel farming methods and tools had become deeply ingrained.

Soon, Olcott became the secretary at the Westchester Farm School in New York, a position of considerable authority. His first few books were published in 1857-1858. His Yale lectures on agriculture, compiled into a book, were well-received, as was his next publication, Sorgho and Imphee, which focused on two varieties of sugarcane from China and southern Africa. Olcott believed that the cultivation of these varieties and their byproducts in northern US states could reduce the Norths dependency on the South. The book had contributions from Leonard Wray, a sugar planter of British origin who had cultivated both varieties in places as far apart as Jamaica, India, South Africa and, later, the Malay States.

The next decade, a seminal one in American history, gave Olcott a ringside view of events. In 1859, as a correspondent for the New York Tribune, he reported on the capture and subsequent execution of noted abolitionist John Brown in the southern state of Virginia. By this time, the North and South were bitterly divided over slavery and the virulence was bubbling over. One time, his colleagues at the Tribune were forced to backtrack on their reportage when a hostile crowd gathered around and staged a protest.

This didnt deter Olcott, though. When Brown was being escorted from jail, Olcott pretended to be a part of the corps and later wrote a copiously detailed, and somewhat self-congratulatory, report that dwelled on his own experiences. In this article even today a reader can see his ponderous and pontificating style that reappeared in all his later writings in diaries, pamphlets and books.

In 1860, Olcott married Mary Eplee Morgan. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy. The daughter of an Episcopal minister, Marys conservatism didnt sit well with his wide-ranging radical interests, which led them to separate 14 years later.

Olcotts passions dictated everything he did. Although a journalist, he fought as a soldier in the Civil War until he was discharged early. He served on several important government committees, including the one that investigated corruption in military supplies and, later, the committee that looked into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His enduring interest in spiritualism took him in 1870 to London, where he organised exhibitions on behalf of the medium Henry Slade (who was soon denounced as fake). After meeting Blavatsky, he vouched for the appearances of Mahatmas, and, like her, was drawn to the implausible story of Ching Ling Foo (who claimed to be a Buddhist monk hounded by China but turned out to be a travelling magician and medium).

For all their shared beliefs, Olcott and Blavatskys lives didnt follow the same path in India. Blavatsky gathered around herself a devout band of supporters and drew attention with her letters from Mahatmas, who she said were spirits residing in the Himalayas. As for Olcott, he became his old self, working on various reforms and travelling widely.

Among the first few organisations he set up in the country was the Aryan Temperance Society, says Stephen Prothero, a US scholar of religion. Dedicated to the subject of temperance, the society organised lectures and published pamphlets, but didnt last long. What did endure, however, was Olcotts association with Buddhism.

His interest in Buddhism grew after Edwin Arnolds book-length poem on the Buddha called The Light of Asia, appeared in 1879. As Jairam Ramesh writes in his The Light of Asia: The Poem That Defined the Buddha (2021), Arnolds book was generously reviewed in The Theosophist magazines first issue and Olcotts espousal of it added to the books popularity.

In 1880, Olcott and Blavatsky made their first visit to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This was a time of churn in the nation, when Buddhism led by monks such as Mohottivatte Gunananda was growing increasingly assertive. At Galle, Olcott and Blavatsky knelt before Buddhas image and took the pansil, reciting in their broken Pali the sacred precepts of Theravada Buddhism.

For Olcott, this was the beginning of an abiding relationship with the island nation. His help in reviving Buddhism earned him the enduring gratitude of the country, which still marks his death anniversary on February 17 with prayers. In 1967, the Lankan government honoured Olcott, fondly called the White Buddhist, with a commemorative stamp.

On his first visit in 1880, Olcott had helped institute the Buddhist Theosophical Society and seven schools. The next year, he toured the country in a bullock cart he built himself. Prothero writes that his oratorical skills were as great as his organisational skills. The schools and associations he modelled on Protestant systems survive to this day, and his Buddhist Catechism (1881), which lays down principles for an ethical life, remains in print. What bolstered his popularity was that in 1882 he gave up his mesmeric healing sessions and instead began to focus on more earthly matters.

In 1884, while Blavatsky departed for England after an expos of her practices, Olcott travelled to London as part of a committee to present a set of demands. The committee wanted Vesak, the day of Buddhas enlightenment, to be declared a holiday and for government registrars to recognise Buddhist marriage. Meanwhile, in India and Sri Lanka, there were other demands being raised.

Don David Hewavitharana, a Theosophist who later called himself Anagarika Dharmapala, insisted on the restoration of old Buddhist sites, especially the shrine at Bodh Gaya that was being managed by a Shaivite sect. Dharmapala and Olcott were different in their approaches. While Dharmapala was distinctly assertive, Olcott believed in amicable negotiations. Not surprisingly, they went their separate ways in 1896.

Olcott was keen to unite the three Theravada sects, and as his travels to Chittagong, Burma and Japan show, he wanted to bring different Buddhist sects under one ecumenical platform. He never saw any differences between Theosophy and Buddhism or for that matter other religions. He believed in the unity of all faiths and always maintained that Theosophy sought a syncretism of all faiths an outlook that made the religion attractive to young, educated Indians, many of whom dedicated themselves to politically opposing British rule.

The veneration Olcott received in the East contrasted with the derision he got from the American press. A review in the Atlanta Constitution dismissed the first volume of his Old Diary Leaves as proof of his infatuation with Madame Blavatsky and her complete control over him.

In 1906, he sustained serious injuries as he sailed back to India. For a while, he recuperated in Genoa, but insisted on returning to Adyar, where he died next year on February 17.

In his lifetime, Olcott remained loyal to Blavatsky, travelling to London when she died in 1891 and scattering her ashes in the US and India. Yet, he consistently upheld reason as the ultimate arbiter. In 1906, in one of his last speeches as founder-president of Theosophy, he said: Believe nothing.... merely because it is written in a book, or taught by a Sage, or handed down by tradition, or inspired by a Deva, etc., but believe only when the thing written or spoken commends itself to your reason and your experience; then believe and act accordingly.

This article is part of a series on notable Americans who visited India before mid-20th century. Read the rest of the series here.

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How an American helped revive Buddhism in Sri Lanka after moving to India - Scroll.in

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka, a series of historic paintings were unveiled by the Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi. The paintings were presented by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Milinda Moragoda, and depicted the arrival of King Ashokas son, Mahendra, and his daughter, Sangamitra, to Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner was accompanied by a group of senior monks from Sri Lanka, led by the Most Venerable Waskaduwe Mahindawansa Mahanayake Thero. Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) was also present on the occasion.

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During the event, Minister Lekhi highlighted the close historical, cultural, and traditional relationship between India and Sri Lanka, particularly in the context of the Buddhist connection. She emphasised the importance of strengthening this relationship further for future generations over centuries. Minister Lekhi said that the "paintings have been presented by monks who have travelled all the way from Sri Lanka. They brought twopaintings which are replicas of two original paintings available in a temple near Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo."

The Sri Lankan delegation was in Delhi to take part in the global Buddhist Summit 2023, organised by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) and the Ministry of Culture. The delegation expressed elation over the Minister's decision to do something more concrete on the Buddhist network between Sri Lanka and India in the coming months and years.

The presence of the Sri Lankan Buddhist monks was significant, given the deep historical and cultural connections between Buddhism and both India and Sri Lanka. The paintings presented by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner served as a poignant reminder of the longstanding ties between the two nations, cemented over the years through shared culture and history.

The two murals, which were painted by the eminent Sri Lankan painter Solias Mendis in the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara, depict the commencement of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. The murals depict the arrival of Arahat Bhikkhu Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka, delivering the message of the Buddha to King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka upon arriving on the island. The second mural depicts the arrival of Theri Bhikkhuni Sanghamitta, the daughter of the emperor, bearing the sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhi tree under which Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment.

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India, Sri Lanka strengthen cultural ties with gift of historic paintings depicting Buddhist heritage - WION

At a public teaching in Dharamsala, India, on March 8 this year, the Dalai Lama mentioned, almost in passing, the presence of the boy reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba Khutughtua Mongolian high lama like the Dalai Lama himself. Mongolia and Tibet share a Buddhist tradition, usually known as Tibetan Buddhism, in which lineages of reincarnated lamas play an important role. The Jebtsundamba Khutughtu line has traditionally led Buddhists in Mongolia, just as the Dalai and Panchen Lamas have in Tibet.

Bizarrely, for an atheist communist party-state, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) claims that only it can decide on reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist lamasa privilege the PRC says it inherited from the Manchu rulers of the Qing Empire, which included both Mongolia and Tibet. But the PRC controls only a portion of historical Mongolia, a Chinese region known as Inner Mongolia, while Mongolia itself, once protected from Chinese ambitions by its status as a Soviet satellite, is now an independent country. The history of the Dalai Lama and the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, and the decisions their predecessors made, have shaped the map of Tibet, China, and Mongolia today.

On a visit to Mongolia in 2016, the Dalai Lama announced that this 10th reincarnation had been born. (His predecessor had died in 2012.) The Peoples Republic of China then sanctioned Mongolia over the Dalai Lamas visit. In 2007, the PRC State Administration for Religious Affairs had issued Order Number Five, a decree that living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism can only be reincarnated within the PRC in accordance with officially stipulated procedures, and shall not be interfered with or be under the dominion of any foreign organization or individual. But the new Jebtsundamba was neither born, recognized, nor bureaucratically approved in China.

In fact, news accounts note that the Mongolian boy recognized as the 10th Jebtsundamba was born in the United States. Some suggest he could play a role in identifying the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, though the current Dalai Lama has said that he may not reincarnate at all. But the March meeting of the Dalai Lama and the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu before an audience of a few hundred monks, nuns, and Mongolian visitors, is more significant than these news items have portrayed. Thats because the 87-year-old Dalai Lama and 8-year-old Jebtsundamba Khutughtu already have a history togetherone that started in the 17th century.

Tibetan Buddhism seems mysterious, and Jebtsundamba Khutughtu is admittedly a mouthful. But theyre both important. Among other things, they help explain why the PRC today includes Xinjiang, Tibet, and some traditional Mongol landsand why it has trouble reconciling these territorial possessions with its increasingly narrow nationalism and policies to assimilate non-Han peoples.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims authority over Tibetan Buddhism. In 2018, to tighten its grip, the CCP transferred the State Administration for Religious Affairs, formerly a government bureau, into the United Front Work Department, thus putting the party directly in charge of religion.

The PRC controls Tibet, but Tibetan Buddhism is no more exclusively Tibetan than Roman Catholicism is Roman. Both are world religions with followers around the globe. Reincarnating lamas, or more precisely, Buddhist masters who can control their own reembodiment, such as the Dalai Lama and Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, are known as tulku in Tibetan and somewhat inaccurately as huofo (living Buddha) in Chinese. Tulku lineages have been identified in Europe and North America as well as in Tibetan cultural regions in Mongolia, China, India, and other parts of Asia. Beijing has not yet commented on the recent appearance of the current Jebtsundamba, but for CCP authorities to attempt to manage the recognition of a Mongolian tulku would be akin to Beijing wanting a say in the Vaticans selection of cardinals in Mexico or Nigeria.

Tibetan Buddhism, especially the Gelugpa school led by the Dalai Lama, has been intertwined with the Mongols from the beginning. In the aftermath of the Mongol Empire, the Gelugpa rose in parallel with other imperial contenders across the Eurasian continent, including Mongol tribes, the Manchus who established the Qing Empire, and even Muscovite Russia.

These rivals drew on two main sources of legitimacy. First, every ruler wanted to be a khan, but to do so convincingly required Chinggisid lineagethat is, descent from Genghis Khan. Second, patronage of, and backing from, transnational religions was key. In western parts of the former Mongol Empire, Islam served this function. In the east, it was Tibetan Buddhism, and khans studied with lamas and got themselves and their children recognized as tulkus or other important reincarnations.

It was a Chinggisid Mongol khan in the 16th century who first coined the title Dalai Lama, combining the Tibetan word for priest with a Mongolian word meaning oceanic wisdom, and bestowed it on a lama in the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Gelugpa school, one of four major traditions in Tibet, expanded its temporal and religious power in Tibet and beyond through strategic alliances with Mongol leaders and other powers, including the young Qing state, ruled by Manchus who had conquered north China in 1644 but werent done yet.

The Fifth Dalai Lama (in office 1642-1682) and his officials were adept at this high-stakes diplomatic game: The Fifth visited Beijing as a youth in the early 1650s, and there declared the Qing emperor to be an incarnation of a bodhisattva named Manjushri. But the Gelugpa kept their options open, and two decades later cemented relations with the Qings nemesis to the northwest, the Junghar Mongols, by granting the title Khan by Divine Grace to Galdan, a Junghar prince who had studied in Tibet.

For Galdan to be a khan departed from tradition, since he was not a Chinggisidbut by then, the Gelugpa school enjoyed so much clout that the Dalai Lamas could play khan-maker. More than that, on the Dalai Lamas invitation, Galdans Junghars seized southern Xinjiang, with its oasis farms and silk routes to Central Asia. In their own labor transfer scheme, the Junghars moved Uyghurs from southern Xinjiang north to farm the Ili Valley and help build their capital in Jungharia, now northern Xinjiang.

By this time, then-Qing Emperor Kangxi had only just emerged from the shadow of his own regents; after a prolonged struggle with Han generals left over from the Ming Empire, hed conquered southern China and annexed Taiwan; hed also driven the Russians out of the Manchu homeland and signed a mutually advantageous treaty with them.

But the Junghars posed the greatest challenge of all, threatening to forge a Tibetan Buddhist-Mongol axis from Tibet through Xinjiang to Mongolia, commanding the loyalty of powerful nomads across the entire western and northern frontier of the Qing. The Junghars had convened a pan-Mongol Buddhist congress, attended by representatives from Tibet, Qinghai, Mongolia, and even as far as the Volga River. And now Galdans forces were riding eastward to threaten the Khalkha Mongolsthe main people in the territory that is modern-day Mongolia. Kangxi was worried. But at this moment, the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu made a decision that would shape the map of the modern world.

The first Jebtsundamba was himself the son of a Chinggisid khan, a Khalkha whose pastures spanned outer Mongolia. As the principal Gelugpa lama among the Khalkha Mongols, it fell to the Jebtsundamba to decide what the Khalkhas should do in the face of Junghar pressure. Which way should they jump? Should they seek aid with the Russians? Or submit to the Qing?

The Jebtsundamba chose the Qing, because they were patrons of the Gelugpa church. He led tens of thousands of Khalkhas south, where in a ceremony at Dolon Nor in 1691, they became Qing subjects. Several far-reaching developments flowed from this decision: Since there were no longer any independent Chinggisid descendants of the former Mongol emperors of China, the Qing were able to convincingly assume the Chinggisid mantle, enhancing their credibility among Mongols everywhere. With the help of the new infusion of Khalkha cavalry power, Kangxi and subsequent Qing emperors not only defeated Galdan, but over subsequent decades smashed the Junghar confederation, conquered outer Mongolia, Jungharia, and southern Xinjiang, and replaced the Junghars as the Gelugpas military patrons, thus establishing a Qing protectorate over Tibet.

The Qing managed its new empire in Inner Asia with remarkable success for a century, in large part because it enjoyed Chinggisid and Tibetan Buddhist legitimacy, and did not interfere with, let alone attempt to Sinicize, the culture of its Mongol, Tibetan, or Muslim subjects in Inner Asia. To the contrary, the Qing endeavored to keep Han Chinese out of Inner Asia, or at least limit their settlement, even rooting up illegal Han settlers in Mongolia until the mid-19th century.

But as the Qing wobbled in its last decades, weakened by the Taiping Rebellion and exactions from Western imperialists, the court took the advice of Han scholar-officials and began promoting Chinese settler colonization of Manchuria, Mongolia, and Xinjiang to extract resources and stave off Russian encroachment. Tibet was too far and too high for Chinese settlers, but the Qing dispatched an army to put Tibet under direct rule in 1910on the eve of its own demiseforcing the then-Dalai Lama, the predecessor of todays incarnation, to flee to India.

Under these circumstances, the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, at that time the eighth incarnation, was charged with another momentous decision. Concerned about Chinese colonization, when the Qing crumbled in late 1911, the Jebtsundamba along with Khalkha princes declared Mongolias independence from the Qingjust as revolutionaries in China declared China independent. As soon as the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa in early 1913, he followed suit. The eighth Jebtsundamba, under the title Bogd Khan (Sacred Khan), became head of state in Mongolia, and the 13th Dalai Lama the head of state in Tibet.

The diplomatic history thereafter is messy, since Britain, Russia, and the Chinese republics all, for their own self-interested reasons, contested Tibetan and Mongolian independence. Khalkha Mongolia would remain independent of China, but Mongol Tibetan Buddhists suffered under Soviet control. Still, at that moment in 1912, three states emerged clearly from the rubble of the Qing: an unstable Republic of China that militarists and revolutionaries vied to control; and Mongolia and Tibet, each under Tibetan Buddhist lamas as heads of state.

It was another Qing emperor, Qianlong, who introduced the golden urn system through which todays CCP hopes to manage the discovery of high Tibetan Buddhist lamas. Impatient with the nepotistic pipeline funneling Mongol nobility into the tulku ranks, in the late 18th century, Qianlong required that tulku candidates be chosen in a supervised ceremony by drawing the name a from a golden urn. This did enhance Qing control of Tibetan Buddhism to some degree, but as Max Oidtmann has shown in a recent book, to the extent that the golden urn was used, it was accepted because Tibetan Buddhists, too, understood the dangers of corruption and embraced an effort by a Qing khan, himself a devout Buddhist and embodiment of the bodhisattva Manjushri, to depoliticize the process of tulku selection.

By putting the CCPs Organization Department in charge of religious matters, Chinese President Xi Jinping has done the opposite: He has further politicized the selection of tulkus. Mongolia is a small democracy, sandwiched between increasingly authoritarian China and Russia, and economically dependent on maintaining good trilateral relations. But Mongolias independent political status challenges the CCP historical narrative that everything once part of the Qing Empire is now part of the PRCthe very argument underpinning Beijings assertions about Taiwan.

By the same neocolonialist historical logic by which it claims Taiwan, Beijing should also claim Mongolia, as the Republic of China under the Kuomintang did before the 1990s. But because Mongolia became independent thanks to intervention by the fellow-communist Soviet Union, the CCP broke with Republic of China precedent and recognized Mongolia in 1949. How Beijing reacts to the new Jebtsundambaa high lama in a religion it claims to controlthus implicates Beijings theory of the case regarding Taiwan, as well. If Beijing says there can be no Mongolian high lama without its say-so, that reveals the ludicrous overreach of its policy toward Tibetan Buddhism. But if it says nothing while a Qing-era lineage of tulku-leaders continues autonomously in Mongolia, that reminds us that the PRC is not the full-blown reincarnation of the Qing that it says it is.

The first Jebtsundamba led his people into the Qing Empire, and the eighth led them away from China. In so doing, each assessed which path he thought best served the faith. This is a heavy legacy to lay on the shoulders of an 8-year-old boy, and it is reasonable to question a religious institution that channels small children into a life of celibate study and political pressure. Still, the CCPs Order Number Five doesnt lessen that burden, nor is it likely to bring the khans and lamas together again.

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China's Reincarnation Monopoly Has a Mongolia Problem - Foreign Policy

In a speech Friday at the Global Buddhist Summit, the Dalai Lama spoke about the importance of compassion and wisdom, and stressed the importance of Buddhist philosophy and values.

I can also share with you that by engaging in this kind of inner development and particularly focusing on wisdom and compassion, it can really help increase our courage as well, the 87-year-old Tibetan Buddhism spiritual leader said through an interpreter.

Dozens of monks in yellow, orange and saffron robes turned out for the two-day conference in New Delhi, India, which drew 500 participants from nearly 30 countries and regions, including Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar. It was hosted by Indias Ministry of Culture and the International Buddhist Confederation

It was the Dalai Lamas first public appearance since a video of him kissing a boy on the mouth and asking him to suck his tongue at a student event in northern India on Feb. 28 went viral on social media.

The incident disgusted many viewers. However, sticking out ones tongue is a greeting or a sign of respect or agreement in Tibetan culture, and supporters of the Dalai Lama held demonstrations this week protesting the medias coverage of the event.

Nevertheless, the Dalai Lama later apologized to the boy and his family for any misunderstanding.

The summit was a good example for the world of people coming from different traditions, cultural backgrounds all meeting together in harmony, said Jetsun Tenzin Palmo, president of International Buddhist Confederation.

And though the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in Dharamsala, India, did not discuss the recent controversy surrounding the video, he did broach the topic of Tibets struggle with China.

For example: In the case of my dealing with the current struggle and situation of Tibet, if you think just only about it from a narrow angle, you can lose your hope, he said. But if you look at this crisis and look at this current situation from the broader perspective of the courage that cultivation and compassion give you, then you can have a much more resilient mind.

So, even in your daily life, there might be problems which may seem enormous and unbearable, the Dalai Lama said. Still, if you have the courage, you will be in a much stronger position to turn adversities into opportunities.

The Dalai Lama has long advocated a Middle Way approach to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet and to bring about stability and co-existence based on equality and mutual cooperation with China and without discrimination based on one nationality being superior or better than the other.

Beijing views any sign of Tibetan disobedience, including peaceful protests and self-immolations, as acts of separatism, threatening Chinas national security.

There have been no formal talks between the Dalai Lama and Beijing since 2010, and Chinese officials have made unreasonable demands of the Dalai Lama as a condition for further dialogue.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

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Dalai Lama stresses Buddhism basics and the power of compassion at religious summit - Radio Free Asia

By Diana Sahu| Express News Service |Published: 23rd April 2023 05:00 AMRock-cut caves; view of the stupa

Atop the hillock of Parabhadi, scattered stone blocks of a large stupa, which dates back to the seventh-eighth century, serve as a reminder of Odishas glorious Buddhist legacy. Nestled in the Birupa-Chitrotpala valley and divided between the districts of Jajpur and Cuttack, the hill is part of the Diamond Triangle,a collection of three Buddhist sites of Ratnagiri, Udaygiri and Lalitgiri. Recently, an archaeological dig, mounted by the Puri Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), uncovered the hills historical significance.

Ruins of a gigantic stupa, broken sculptures of Buddha (Dhyani Buddha, Buddha on Padmasana), terracotta antiquities and more were discovered.

The dilapidated stupa stands 4.5 m high and is 18 m wide, resting on a 10.8 sqm platform on the top of the hill. The masonry is unique too. Iron clamps were used to join the 18 layers of stone arrangement of the stupa and a special mud mortar mixed with stone chips and potsherds used to fill the gaps between the stones, says ASI Odisha chief Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak, who headed the excavation.

Buddhism had a strong presence in Odisha and the Diamond Triangle stands testimony to this. What makes the Parabhadi hill significant is its proximity to Lalitgiri, considered the oldest and most sacred among the triad. Archaeologists say the three monalistic settlements along with Parabhadi were a part of one Buddhist complex.

Excavation of Lalitgiri and Nanda hill in 1985 by the ASI laid bare a huge complex of Buddhist establishment, which is considered one of the largest sites in India. The exploration that continued till 1991 revealed the rich Buddhist cultural wealth of the region. Archaeologist and secretary of Odisha Institute of Maritime & South East Asian Studies, Sunil Kumar Patnaik, says, Among the many discoveries here, noteworthy was the majestic second-century stupa in Lalitgiri. Within this stupa, a small gold casket was discovered that was encapsulated bya silver casket, which was in turn set in a Khondalite casket. All three were shaped in the form ofa votive stupa. Inside the gold casket, bone and tooth relics covered in gold wires and leaf were found. It was, however, not clear if the relics belonged to Buddha or any Buddhist luminaries as the caskets did not have any inscriptions, says Kumar, whose book Buddhist Heritage of Odisha talks of Parabhadi. The noteworthy character of this site is that it presents a running chronology from the Mauryan age to the Gajapati period (3rd to 15th century) up to the advent of Muslim rulers into Odisha, says Kumar.

Former superintending archaeologist of the ASI, Jeevan Patnaik, who wasa part of the excavation at Lalitgiri and Nanda hill in the 80s, says while Lalitigiri witnessed Mahayana, Hinayana and Vajrayana (or Tantric Buddhism) schools, the explorations at Parabhadi points to presence of only one school of BuddhismVajrayanaand it continued till the 12th century BC, the late Buddhist period.

Parabhadi stupa apart, there was a circular Buddhist shrine on the hill which was subsequently damaged due to mining, he says.

Largely off the grid, Parabhadi hill also goes by the name Sukhuapada. Etched on its northern slope are seven minor rock-cut caves locally called Hathikhal dedicated to Buddhist affinity. These rock-cut chambers are scooped out in horse-shoe shape in different sizes adjacent to each other. Garnayak says in the early part of the 20th century, sculptural remains from the site were shifted to Lalitgiri sculpture shed. Prior to this, a few idols removed by anthropologist and archaeologist from Bengal, Rama Prasad Chanda, are now housed in the Indian Museum, Kolkata. Besides, there is a rock-cut image of Buddha (Padmapani) housed in another cave in the southern slope near the present exposed stupa site and currently under worship by the locals as Ghantiasuni Thakurani.

Many of the important and giant Buddhist sculptures which are in the Lalitgiri museum now were found in Parabhadi hill, says Jeevan. As much as 70 percent of the hill is already lost to stone mining. In fact, Parabhadi has been important for both private miners and the Odisha government because of its rich reserve of Khandolite stones that were widely used to construct some of the finest temples in the state. The ASI now plans to document and reconstruct the stupa. The dislodged stone blocks will be numbered and rearranged atop the hill to reshape the stupa. It will take some time, but we can be sure that the stupa will be safe now from further deterioration, says Garnayak.

DIAMOND TRIANGLE EXCAVATIONS

Lalitgiri (1985-1991) Massive stupa having two relic caskets keptin a container made of khandolite stone Four monasteries

Ratnagiri (1975-1983) A stupa, monastic complex, shrines, votive stupas, sculptures, architectural fragments and other antiquities Remains of two monasteries

Udaygiri (1985-86 and 1989-90) Huge Buddhist monastic complex protected by a large enclosure wall, a seven-m-high stupa having four dhyani Buddhas in all four cardinal direction of the stupa Images of Buddha, Tara, Manjusri, Avalokitesvara, Jatamukuta Lokesvara and terracotta seals

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A lost world, found: Parabhadi, the newest addition to Odishas Buddhist legacy - The New Indian Express

Japan Art and Munakata Shiko: Son of Aomori (Buddhism and Shinto)

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Japanese artist Munakata Shik (1903-1975) was born in Aomori prefecture. He became known for ssaku hanga (creative prints) and mingei (folk art) art forms.

The British Museum reports, Munakata was born in Aomori in northern Honshu, the sixth of fifteen children of a forger of steel blades. Leaving school at thirteen, he joined the family business, and moved to a lawyers office in the Aomori District Court at seventeen, which gave him time to sketch. In 1921 he first saw reproductions of Van Goghs works, which remained arguably his greatest inspiration throughout his life, and began to teach himself oil-painting.

The prints in this article by Munakata were completed in the late 1930s. Accordingly, the above art piece is an homage to Shaka Nyorai.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art says, Shaka Nyorai, or the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (the sage of the Shakya tribe who attained enlightenment), lived in India from about 563 to 483 B.C.

Munakatas early life witnessed poverty. His father was a blacksmith and brought up 15 children. However, despite Munakata only obtaining a primary elementary school education, he was blessed with great artistic attributes.

The Shingon Buddhist International Institute says, One morning while seated under a large Bodhi Tree, he attained supreme wisdom and understanding and became an awakened being, or Buddha. After his enlightenment experience, he devoted the rest of his life to wandering from place to place, preaching to all who would listen to him. The Buddha died at age eighty.

The Utoh Shinto Shrine was very important to Munakata. This concerns happy memories throughout his childhood when playing in the environs of this Shinto shrine. Also, the wedding ceremony to his beloved was held on the grounds of the Utho Shinto Shrine.

Shintoism was very important to Munakata. Accordingly, despite these images focusing on Buddhism, he vowed to be a successful artist at the Kifune Shinto Shrine.

http://www.shingon.org/deities/jusanbutsu/shaka.html

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Japan Art and Munakata Shiko: Son of Aomori (Buddhism and ... - Modern Tokyo Times

GUWAHATI:

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu stressed that the Buddhist culture which thrives on the peaceful co-existence of every sentient being should not only be preserved but also propagated.

Speaking at the national conference on the theme of Nalanda Buddhism retracing the source in footsteps of Acharyas: From Nalanda to the Himalayas and beyond at the holy Gorsam Stupa, Khandu said that Arunachal Pradesh has a big chunk of Buddhist population and fortunately they have kept their culture and traditions safe with religious fervour.

The main pillar on which Nalanda Buddhism stands is the principle of reasoning and analysis. This means we can even bring the teachings of Lord Buddha under the ambit of reasoning and analysis. This logic is based on science and perhaps Buddhism is the only religion that gives its followers this liberty, Khandu said.

Welcoming the delegates from all the Himalayan states of the countrys northern border, Khandu reminded them that Arunachal Pradesh is a mix of religious followers.

Arunachal Pradesh is not home only to Buddhism but to several religions including those who follow their own indigenous faith. I believe that every religion and faith should flourish and exist peacefully. I am proud that we Arunachalis are doing just that, he said.

He expressed gratitude to the Indian Himalayan Council of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition (IHCNBT) for organizing the national conference at Zemithang in Tawang district, which is one of the holiest places of Buddhism.

Zemithang, as you might all know, is the last Indian border through which His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama entered India in 1959. Therefore, holding this conference here is significant, he said.

Admitting that while Buddhism is expanding globally and witnessing an important resurgence in a few traditional areas, Khandu pushed for the need to make its presence vibrant with roots connected to Nalanda Buddhism.

He insisted upon those attending the conference, especially the youths, to stay put for the three technical sessions as scheduled for the day. He specifically urged all to attend the session on Nalanda Buddhism in 21st century challenges and response, which he said would be of great importance for the young generation of Buddhists.

The one-day conference is being attended by 45 delegates of revered Rinpoches, Geshes, Khenpos and scholars from all the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Ladhak (union territory) Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir (Paddar-Pangi), Sikkim, North Bengal (Darjeeling, Doors, Jaigaon and Kalimpong), Densa South India Monasteries and 35 delegates from various parts of Arunachal Pradesh like Tuting, Mechuka, Taksing and Anini and others.

In total about 600 delegates are attending the conference.

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Buddhist culture not only to be preserved but also propagated: Khandu - The Meghalayan

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LAYTON The Wat Dhammagunaram Layton Temple is holding a Songkran festival on Saturday and Sunday to mark the Thai and Lao new year.

Activities go from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday with Buddhist merit-making ceremonies set for Sunday starting at 10:30 a.m. The Buddhist temple is located at 644 E. 1000 North in Layton and admission is free.

Songkran is a festival marking the new year and its traditionally celebrated in Thailand. Thai food, a beauty pageant, cultural dances and more will be featured at the Layton event.

The holidays main focus is about moving forward in fact, the word Songkran comes from a phrase in the Sanskrit language that means passage of the sun,' according to National Geographic. Water plays a major role in the festival. Symbolically it washes away the previous year so people can get ready for the next one.

According to Voices of Utah, a University of Utah reporting initiative, most of the founders of Wat Dhammagunaram temple are spouses of U.S. airmen stationed at Hill Air Force Base.

Many immigrants who go to this temple are Thai, although there have been members from Laos and Cambodia as well. Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are all predominantly Theravada Buddhist countries, which is why the Wat Dhammagunaram temple practices Theravada Buddhism, according to Voices of Utah.

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Buddhist temple in Layton hosting Songkran festival | News, Sports ... - Standard-Examiner

In the wake of a knee-jerk wave of social media outrage triggered when video footage filmed in Dharamsala in February showing the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama hugging and kissing a young Indian student began circulating online, Buddhist leaders and Tibetan communities around the world have raised their voices to protest against what they describe as the misrepresentation of an innocent interaction.

The incident, which is reported to have taken place during a public event at the Dalai Lamas temple in Dharamsala on 28 February, in the presence of 120 students, family members, and officials, went viral on social media earlier this month. As the video gained traction across media channels, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama issued a brief statement on 10 April to apologize for any offense caused and to clarify the innocent intent of the interaction.*

In a separate video interview following the Dalai Lamas public event in February, the Indian student and his mother both expressed happiness over their audience with the Dalai Lama and receiving his blessings. The student who had asked to hug the the 87-year-old spiritual leader observed: It was amazing meeting His Holiness. I think its a really great experience meeting somebody with such high positive energy. Its a really nice feeling meeting him, and you get a lot of that positive energy.

In a public response to the recent social media backlash, Penpa Tsering, the sikyong or head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), which represents the Tibetan community-in-exile, came out to publicly defend the Dalai Lama, noting that the incident recorded at the public event had merely demonstrated His Holinesss innocent and affectionate nature.

Tsering said in his 13 April message that the Dalai Lama had been unfairly labelled with all kinds of names that really hurt the sentiment of all his followers, and that the 87-year-olds innocent grandfatherly affectionate demeanor had been misinterpreted.

The CTA also issued a written statement, which shared in part:

His Holiness is the epitome of compassion. It is an all too well-known fact that whether you are a youngster, an adult, an elderly person, or whatever your national origin may be, He never belittles whatever questions you put to Him or whatever requests you make to Him. Rather, He makes utmost efforts to satisfy everyone to the best of his ability. On occasions, on an understanding of having developed a fellow feeling, His Holiness interacts in a clearly playful manner with others, such as by pulling their beards or touching His cheek or nose with theirs. And so, His Holiness has adopted numerous different ways to informally interact with people in a wholehearted manner.

Voices of support poured in from across the Buddhist world. The prominent American Buddhist author, educator, and founder of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, B. Alan Wallace, who was ordained as a monk by the Dalai Lama in the 1970s, shared the following public statement on social media:

Dear sangha and friends,

We could not remain silent in the face of the outrageous slander being propagated against His Holiness the Dalai Lama, someone who could not have a more impeccable moral code, ethics, and values. His kindness, care, and love for all of humanity is unsurpassed.

We would like to share some videos that bring to light what actually took place, the cultural context for what happened, as well as the likely reason for this being taken out of context and spread virally in a most despicable manner, especially when journalists are complicit, and dont take the time to report on the facts but prefer to jump on the bandwagon to generate publicity. Lies often generate more viewers than the truth in this time.

It is no coincidence that when this event took place on February 28th, not a word was said about it, there was no outrage, only a joyful young boy who had the courage to ask His Holiness if he could give him a hug. In fact, His Holiness needed his translators to explain to him what the boy was asking.

A month later, after His Holiness announced that an eight-year-old boy had been identified as the reincarnation of the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the spiritual head of the Gelug lineage in Mongolia, the lies and twisted stories began to emerge. Those who are familiar with the policies of the Chinese government, and their desire to control the narrative around Tibetan Buddhism, expected a strong reaction since the CCP will only recognize Buddhist leaders who they approve of, as is the case with the Panchen Lama who has been in custody since 1995, when he had been first recognized at the age of six. China then designated another Panchen Lama with no evidence that this was the actual reincarnation.

These are the facts and the chronology of what has taken place.

Please take the time to watch the videos below to come to your own conclusions, rather than the clickbait stories being circulated in the media and the internet. For those of us who have witnessed His Holiness the Dalai Lama over many years and decades, and have benefited from his wisdom and compassion there is only one perspective, this young boy had the opportunity of a lifetime that most people would rejoice to have.

From all of us at Santa Barbara Institute, this is the only view that is accurate and true.

Meanwhile, the respected American Buddhist academic, author, and founder of Tibet House US in New York City, Prof. Robert A. F. Thurman, also issued a public statement, which was shared on video, in which he described the interaction between the Dalai Lama and the Indian student as a traditional Tibetan expression of affectionnot sexual affection; grandparent to child affection:

As the media frenzy gathered steam, Tibetan communities in India and around the world took to the streets to protest what they describe as a misrepresentation of circumstances and manipulated video footage. Not least of which was the protest conducted in Dharamsala, which is home to the Dalai Lamas official residence and temple.

In the high-altitude region of Ladakh in Indias far north, where a significant portion of the population are Tibetan Buddhists, thousands of people took to the streets of the joint capital cities of Leh and Kargil in solidarity with His Holiness. The protesters, led by the Ladakh Buddhist Association, condemned the recent conspiracies to defame the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and demanded apology from media platforms for their role in defaming the spiritual leader.

Leh and Kargil both observed shutdowns on Monday in protest against the controversial video of the Dalai Lama, describing the Dalai lamas interaction with the Indian student as one of compassionate love and profound kindness toward a devotee.

In the US, Tibetan communities in several states held their own public demonstrations of loyalty. The Tibetan Association of Northern California led a march that culminated with a peace rally in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, in London, British Tibetans appealed to the BBCs news service to provide genuine coverage of the Dalai Lama. Community leaders gathered outside the BBC headquarters, where they read out a joint letter over the British broadcasters coverage of the news, as well as a recent statement issued by Tibetan leaders and activists from around the world. The joint letter stated in part:

As a world-class public-funded media broadcasting house, we were deeply dismayed that the BBC would give so much heed to a few seconds of ill-intentioned doctored viral footage. . . .

We are writing to draw your kind attention that the Tibetan Community has been deeply hurt by the BBCs recent coverage vis-a-vis His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his genuine compassionate greeting and interaction with an Indian student.

We would have expected that in being a respected world class media house, the BBC would have proactively engaged in ensuring a credible, clear-sighted, and serious investigative journalistic piece, rather than running the story in the same manner of a sensationalist wildfire, as the rest of the tabloid media did. . . .

As followers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we firmly believe in our spiritual leader and nobody can create the division they desired and hoped for. The truth will come out in due course. We condemn the perpetrators for their malicious act against our spiritual guru. (ANI)

* Dalai Lama Apologizes for Inappropriate Conduct with Young Boy (BDG)

Statement (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet)It was amazing meeting His Holiness: The boy who asked a hug from The Dalai Lama (YouTube)Tibetan Parliament Issues Statement in Response to Misinterpreted Video of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Central Tibetan Administration)Dalai Lama unfairly labelled over tongue video Tibet govt-in-exile (Reuters)Dalai Lama unfairly labelled over tongue video: Tibet leader (Al Jazeera)Dalai Lama defended over tongue-sucking remark (BBC News)Tibetans urge BBC to provide genuine coverage on the Dalai Lama, hold protest outside Chinese embassy (ANI)Dalai Lama row: Thousands in Ladakh come out in support with the spiritual leader, condemn conspiracies to defame him (The Times of India)Leh, Kargil Hold Massive Protests Against Bid To Defame Dalai Lama (NDTV)Bid to defame Dalai Lama: Protests, shutdown in Leh, Kargil (rediff NEWS)HH Dalai Lama Archetype of Radical Innocence with Robert Thurman (Robert A. F. Thurman Facebook)

Dalai Lama Recognizes US-Born Boy as Highest Ranking Lama in MongoliaDalai Lama Expresses Sadness Over Loss of Life in Trkiye and Syria, Pledges Support for Rescue EffortNew Year Long-Life Prayers for the Dalai Lama Held in Bodh GayaJapanese Buddhist Conference Speaks Out on the Dalai Lamas SuccessionDalai Lama Lays Foundation for Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan and Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodh GayaDalai Lama Returns to Bodh Gaya for the First Time in Three Years

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Buddhist Leaders and Communities Around the World Protest ... - Buddhistdoor Global

Namo Buddhaya!

Members of the Union Cabinet present in the program Shri Kiren Rijiju ji, G. Kishan Reddy ji, Arjun Ram Meghwal ji, Meenakshi Lekhi ji, Secretary General of the International Buddhist Confederation, all the respected monks who came from India and abroad, other Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen!

All of you have come from different parts of the world to attend the inaugural Global Buddhist Summit. The tradition of this land of Buddha is- Atithi Devo Bhava! That is, guests are like gods to us. But, when so many personalities, who have lived through Lord Buddhas ideals, are in front of us, we feel the presence of Buddha around us. Buddha is beyond the individual, it is a perception. Buddha is a thought that transcends the individual. Buddha is a thought that transcends form and Buddha is a consciousness beyond manifestation. This Buddha consciousness is eternal, ceaseless. This thought is eternal. This realization is distinctive.

This is the reason why today people from so many different countries and from so many different geographical and cultural environments are present here. This is the expansion of Lord Buddha, which binds the entire humanity in a single thread. We can imagine this power of crores of followers of Buddha in different countries of the world that when they take a resolution together, how limitless their energy becomes.

When so many people work together with one idea for a better future for the world, the future is bound to be monumental. And therefore, I believe the first Global Buddhist Summit will create an effective platform for the efforts of all our countries in this direction. I heartily congratulate the Ministry of Culture of India and the International Buddhist Confederation for organizing this event.

Friends,

There is another reason for my intimate attachment to this summit. Vadnagar in Gujarat, where I was born, has a deep association with Buddhism. Many archaeological evidences related to Buddhism have been found in Vadnagar. Once, Buddhist traveller Hiuen Tsang also visited Vadnagar. And all the things have been put up in the exhibition in detail. And see the coincidence! I was born in Vadnagar and I am the MP from Kashi, and Sarnath is also situated there.

Friends,

The Global Buddhist Summit is being hosted at a time when India has completed 75 years of its independence and is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of its independence. India also has huge goals for its future as well as new resolutions for global welfare in this Amrit Kaal. Today, India has taken new initiatives on several issues in the world. And our biggest inspiration behind those initiatives is Lord Buddha.

Friends,

You are all familiar that the path of Buddha is Pariyatti, Patipatti and Pativedha. That is, Theory, Practice and Realization. India is moving fast on all these three points in the last nine years. We have continuously propagated the values of Lord Buddha. We have worked with a sense of dedication to take the teachings of Buddha to the masses.

Patipatti is at the forefront whether it is the development of Buddha Circuit in India and Nepal, efforts to rejuvenate pilgrimage centres like Sarnath and Kushinagar, the construction of the Kushinagar International Airport, the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini with the cooperation of India and IBC. It is the legacy of Lord Buddhas teachings that India considers the grief of every human being as its own. Be it peace missions in different countries of the world, or calamity like the earthquake in Turkey, India stands with humanity in times of every crisis by exerting its full potential. Today the world is watching, understanding and accepting this sentiment of Indias 140 crore people. And I believe that this forum of the International Buddhist Confederation is giving a new extension to this feeling. It will give new opportunities to all like-minded and like-hearted countries to spread Buddhism and peace as a family. The discussion on how we handle the current challenges is not only relevant, but also holds a ray of hope for the world.

We have to remember that the journey from problems to solutions is the actual journey of Buddha. Buddha did not leave the palace because he had any problems. Buddha left the palace, gave up the royal luxury, because he felt that he had all the comforts available to him whereas there was misery in the lives of others. If we want to make the world happy, this Buddha mantra of totality is the only way to go beyond the idea of self and narrow mindedness. We have to think about the poverty-stricken people around us. We have to think about the countries dealing with a scarcity of resources. This is the only way to establish a better and stable world, it is necessary. Today, it is the need of the hour that the priority of every individual and every nation should be the interest of the world, the Global World Interest, along with the interest of the country.

Friends,

It is universally accepted that the current time is the most challenging time of this century. Today, on the one hand, two countries are at war for months, while on the other hand, the world is also going through economic instability. Threats like terrorism and religious fanaticism are attacking the soul of humanity. Climate change is looming large over the existence of the entire humanity. Glaciers are melting, ecology is being destroyed and species are becoming extinct. But in the midst of all this, there are millions of people like us who have faith in Buddha, who believe in the welfare of all living beings. This hope, this faith is the biggest strength of this earth. When this hope gets united, the Buddhas Dhamma will become the worlds belief and Buddhas realization will become the belief of humanity.

Friends,

There is no problem in the modern world whose solution we could not find in the teachings of the Buddha hundreds of years ago. The war and unrest that the world is suffering today, the Buddha had given solutions centuries ago. Buddha said:,,,i.e.,Conquest begets enmity; the conquered lie down in distress. The unconscious person lies down in happiness, dismissing victory and defeat alike. Therefore, we can be happy only by discarding defeats, wins, fights and quarrels. Lord Buddha has also told the way to overcome the war. Lord Buddha has said:,,,i.e.enmity does not calm down enmity. Enmity is pacified by affinity. Lord Buddhas words are:,i.e.happiness lies in the unity between the unions. There is happiness in living together with all people.

Friends,

Today we find that imposing ones thoughts, ones faith on others is becoming a big crisis for the world. But, what did Lord Buddha say? Lord Buddha said:,i.e. one should practice good behaviour before preaching to others.In the modern era, we see that whether it is Gandhiji or many other leaders of the world, they got inspiration from this spirit. But we have to remember, Buddha didnt just stop there. He went a step ahead and said: :i.e. be your own light. Today the answer to many questions lies in this sermon of Lord Buddha. Therefore, a few years ago, I proudly said in the United Nations that India has given the world Buddh, not Yudh (war). Where there is Buddhas compassion, there is coordination and not conflict; there is peace and not discord.

Friends,

The path of Buddha is the path of the future, the path of sustainability. Had the world followed the teachings of Buddha, we would not even have faced a crisis like climate change. This crisis developed because some nations stopped caring about others, about the future generations in the last century. For decades, they were of the view that the effect of this tampering with nature would not affect them. Those countries blamed it on others only. But Lord Buddha has clearly said in the Dhammapada that as a water pot is filled with drop by drop, so the repeated mistakes become the cause of destruction. After alerting humanity in this way, Buddha also said that if we correct mistakes and do good deeds continuously, then solutions to problems are also found.-,-,--,-,,i.e.do not ignore the good deeds thinking that the fruit of any work will not come to me. The pot gets filled drop by drop of water. Similarly, a wise man, accumulating little by little, fills himself with virtue.

Friends,

Every person is affecting the earth in one way or the other. Be it our lifestyle, our dresses, eating or travelling habits, everything has an impact, it makes a difference. Everyone can also fight the challenges of climate change. If people become aware and change their lifestyle, then even this big problem can be dealt with and this is the way of Buddha. With this spirit, India has started Mission LiFE. Mission LiFE means Lifestyle for the Environment! This mission is also influenced by the inspirations of Buddha, furthering the thoughts of Buddha.

Friends,

Today, it is very necessary that the world should come out of the definitions of materialism and selfishness and imbibe this feeling of (May all be well). Buddha should not only be made a symbol, but also a reflection, only then the resolution of will be fulfilled. Therefore, we have to remember the words of the Buddha: ,-! i.e. Do not turn back. Move forward! We have to move forward, and keep moving forward. I am sure together we will take our resolutions to success. Once again, I express my gratitude to all of you for coming here on our invitation. With this belief that humanity will get new light, new inspiration, new courage, new power from this two-day discussion, my best wishes to all of you.

Namo Buddhaya!

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PM's Inaugural address at the Global Buddhist Summit, Delhi - PM India