Culture Ministry and International Buddhist Confederation organise First Asian Buddhist Summit
The event was held on 5th -6th November 2024 in New Delhi
Two parallel forums of the summit offered an array of insightful perspectives
Ministry of
Culture and International Buddhist Confederation organised First Asian Buddhist
Summit on 5th -6th November 2024 in New Delhi. One of the remarkable
achievements of the first Asian Buddhist Summit was the successful organisation
of the two parallel forums, each offering an array of insightful perspectives.
The arrangements of these forums allowed for a rich convergence of ideas, with
one focusing on the foundational teachings of the Buddha and their modern-day
applications, while the other explored the ways in which Buddhist principles
can contribute to sustainable development, social harmony, and international
cooperation.
There were
several presentations that offered unique alternatives, perspectives, and some
‘out of the box’ approaches looking at philosophical knowledge as a means for
application and practical usage for the betterment of society. Seminars and
Conferences, hitherto, had been mainly concerned with the religious aspects and
its associated discourse. This Summit threw up many innovative ideas emanating
from the ancient philosophy and science of Dhamma.
The First
Asian Buddhist Summit, was organised by the Ministry of Culture and the
International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), themed ‘Role of Buddha Dhamma in
strengthening Asia’. It saw a participation from 32 countries with over 160
international participants. Members of the Mahasangha, patriarchs of various
monastic traditions, monks, nuns, members of the diplomatic community,
professors of Buddhist studies, experts and scholars, around 700 participants,
engaged enthusiastically with the topic.
Prof. Ceon Ramon from the Dept. of Electrical and
Computer Engineering University of Washington, USA drew a comparison between
the duration of Mental Cognition from Neuroscience and the Buddhist
Perspectives of meditation in their Clinical Applications. Reflecting on the
nature of arousal and cessation of a thought (the Dhyan- moment), measurements
showed that these time frames are what meditators inferred centuries ago
without a clock. This can be useful in the treatment of mental disorders based
on Buddhist practices of paramitas and meditation combined with neurofeedback
and visualisation techniques.
A unique contribution of Buddhist practice was introduced
in Mongolian prisons by Shirendev Dorlig, Director of the Vipassana Research
Center in Mongolia. After some initial hiccups Vipassana meditation courses are
giving very good results even in prisons with hardened criminals.
In his presentation Dorlig stated that he insisted on
certain working conditions from the prison authorities before initiating the
courses. This included training of the prison officials in vipassana
practice, a strictly regimented menu that was in line with the practice and
tradition, and a daily 'group sittings' for the inmates at the end of the day
to get a realistic assessment of the success rate.
Many presentations highlighted the vast areas in Central
Asia, East Turkestan and the Russian Autonomous Republics of Kalmykia, Buryatia
and Tuva that Buddhism had impacted, such as its influence in architecture,
worshiping practices and the philosophical way of life, traces of which were
evident archaeologically as well in ancient texts still available.
Dr. Jagbir Singh from the Department of History, Dyal
Singh Evening College, University of Delhi spoke about the Buddhist Influences
on the Evolution of Chinese Architecture. He traced its development from the
Han Dynasty to the present day.
In the 1st century the Han emperor Ming constructed the
white horse monastery in honour of the first two Indian monks who went from
India to China – Kashyap Matanga and Dharmaratna.
This was the birth of Chinese Buddhist architecture. This
form of architecture subsequently was woven into pure Chinese architecture
resulting in a unique architectural heritage that reflects the spiritual and
aesthetic values of Buddhism.
Prof. Dr. Shobha Rani Dash, Head of the Department of
Buddhist Studies, Otani University, Kyoto, Japan mentioned about the Hindu
deities worshipped in Japanese Buddhism. She explained the pantheon of Hindu
deities who were introduced to Japan with Buddhism as the Devas of the Buddhist
pantheon. But gradually many of them have been assimilated with the Japanese
native cult of Shintoism as well. She made a special mention of goddess
Saraswati who is known as Benzaiten in Japan and revered by the locals.
Dr. Yalcin Kayali, Associate Professor of Eastern
Languages and Literatures at Ankara University, Turkey brought out the less
known fact about the presence of Buddhism in the Uighur Turkish cultural world.
This study focused on the Buddhist text known in Sanskrit as the Suvarṇabhāsa Sūtra,
which was transferred from the Chinese translation of the Dharmakshema to the
Uyghur-Turkish Buddhist heritage area and named AltunYaruq (Golden Light Sūtra).
Dating back to the 4th century, its Chinese translations
and those into Japanese and other European languages are thought to have
contributed to incorporating ancient Buddhist doctrine into the world’s
cultural heritage.
Similarly, Dr. Baatr U. Kitinov, Research Fellow from the
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy mentioned how Buddhism had
spread to eastern Turkestan and the role of the Uyghurs in sustaining Buddhism
for long periods. He mentioned that Buddhism is still being practiced by
certain smaller population groups in east Turkestan, who are expanding in
number.
Ven. Dr. Polgolle Kusaladhamma, HoD, Pali and Buddhist
Studies, SIBA Campus from Sri Lanka explained the role of neurological
researches on Buddhist meditation to identify utility of mindfulness practices
to overcome physical infirmity, and other sufferings, especially negative
forces in emotions that create mental unrest, unhappiness, fear, and
frustration etc.
He explained in detail on how Buddhism studies the nature
of the mind and examines the rational description of the mind, guiding the
followers to develop wholesome mental behaviours healing the mental afflictions.
Ven. Dr. Ugyen Tshering, lecturer at the International
Buddhist Studies College (IBSC) of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in
Bhutan spoke about the famous concept Gross National Happiness (GNH) and how
the Buddhist philosophy and principles underpin the concept of GNH, influencing
Bhutan’s policies and societal values. It was Buddhism that played a
significant role in enabling Bhutan to attain a high degree of GNH and
explained how others can emulate the model.
Ven. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a Vietnamese Ph.D Scholar in the
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka explained the challenges that Buddhism faced
in Vietnam during different periods, such as feudalism, colonialism and modernisation.
However, engaged Buddhism had a profound impact on
Vietnamese society; as the philosophy of liberation (Moksha), peace and
happiness (nirvana) have held Vietnamese society strongly together as the
country went through several conflicts. Introduced in Vietnam in the 2nd
century AD, Buddhism forms the core essence of Vietnamese society.
Ruslan Kazkenov from Kazakhstan mentioned that even
though Kazakhstan was not a Buddhist country there was a strong fondness for
Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy in the country especially since Buddhism has several
similarities or commonalities with Tengrianism. Moreover, Buddhism has
influenced art, architecture and cultural traditions of the region (Central
Asia), including elements of Buddhist art and in historical monuments. He
suggested hosting the next Asian Buddhist Summit in Kazakhstan.
In the same spirit, scholars from Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan mentioned how the people of these countries were becoming
increasingly aware of their Buddhist heritage which was so well accepted by the
locals in the early years of its spread in the region. They emphasized that
there was significant scope for excavation of Buddhist sites that yet remain
unexplored in these two countries. The representatives expressed keenness in
engaging Indian experts on excavation and also academicians who could help
stringing the essence of Buddha’s teachings and their application in this part
of the world.