• TOURISM & CULTURE
  • ADVERTISEMENT

Latest News

  • Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’
  • Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit
  • Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days
  • Nepal King reaches Haridwar to participate in Kumbh festival
  • Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex to remain shut till 20 April
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
  • BUDDHIST HISTORY
    • BUDDHISM MESSAGES
    • Message by PM Narendra Modi
  • BUDDHIST CIRCUIT
  • BUDDHIST MONKS
  • MONASTRIES
  • BODH GAYA
  • MCLEOD GANJ

Buddhist Delegation From Sri Lanka Visits Pakistan to Cement Cultural Ties

Apr 25, 2016 Shyamal Sinha, New Delhi TOP NEWS Comments Off on Buddhist Delegation From Sri Lanka Visits Pakistan to Cement Cultural Ties


By Shyamal Sinha,New Delhi
A delegation of 40 senior Buddhist monks and scholars from Sri Lanka is in Pakistan from 18–25 April. From paksianhc.lk

A delegation of 40 senior Buddhist monks and scholars from Sri Lanka is in Pakistan from 18–25 April.

Buddhist has rich cultural heritage not only in India but also in our neighbouring country.A delegation of 40 senior Buddhist monks and scholars from Sri Lanka has arrived in Pakistan for a week-long visit that is part of an initiative aimed at introducing the people of Sri Lanka to Pakistan’s rich Buddhist history and reviving the heritage of Pakistan’s “Gandhara Trail,” the cultural and commercial hub of which was located at the present day town of Taxila, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Gandhara Trail was part of the ancient Silk Road network of trade routes that linked the civilizations of East Asia and extended as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, enabling cultural and religious exchange between civilizations and peoples as well as commerce.

Buddhism first took root in Pakistan some 2,300 years ago under the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (r. c. 268–c. 232 BCE), who ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent and propagated Buddhism across the region. The Gandharan civilization flourished in northwestern Pakistan from the 6th century BCE to the 5th Century CE. Gandhara was the name given to the old kingdom of Peshawar, which encompasses the Swat Valley, Taxila, Buner, and Bajaur regions of Pakistan, as well as the Jalalabad District of present-day Afghanistan.

The visiting party, which includes senior representatives of all Buddhist chapters in Sri Lanka and is led by the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, is scheduled to visit various sites of Buddhist significance in Pakistan, including Mardan, Takht-i-Bahi, and Swat, as well as museums in Lahore, Taxila, and Peshawar housing rare Buddhist relics and antiquities. The delegates will also hold meetings with high-level Pakistani officials, including President Mamnoon Hussain, senate chairman Raza Rabbani, and Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf.

Gandhara is understood to have been predominantly Mahayana Buddhist, but also included a strong community of Vajrayana Buddhists. According to some accounts, the 8th century Buddhist teacher Padmasambhava, who introduced Buddhism to Tibet and is popularly known as Guru Rinpoche, was born in a village near the present-day town of Chakdara, which was then a part of Oddiyana and is often cited as being located in the Swat Valley.

The visiting party, which includes senior representatives of all Buddhist chapters in Sri Lanka, will also hold meetings with high-level Pakistani officials. From dawn.com

The visiting party, which includes senior representatives of all Buddhist chapters in Sri Lanka, will also hold meetings with high-level Pakistani officials. 

Gandharan art may have been the first to depict images of the Buddha, most of them enshrined in monasteries and stupas. Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism existed side by side in the region, which was known for its Graeco-Indian artistic and cultural identity, a legacy of Alexander the Great. The Macedonian king conquered the region in the 4th century BCE and was succeeded by a number of Graeco-Indian kings. Over the centuries it became an entrepôt of trade, both overland and via the sea.

According to estimates for 2010 from the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center, 96.4 per cent of Pakistan’s population identify as Muslim, with Buddhists making up less than 1 per cent. Despite being a predominantly Muslim country, Pakistan has meticulously preserved much of its rich Buddhist heritage, including sites and artifacts of historical significance.Buddhist monks trying to connect all the remains of  old cultural sites intact.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

  • tweet
PM Modi Uses Buddhist Monks to Woo Dalit Voters in Uttar Pradesh 12th century Buddhist inscription found

Related articles
  • Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’
    Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge...

    Apr 20, 2021 Comments Off on Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’

  • Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit
    Little Guru: India launches first of...

    Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit

  • Penpa Tsering to lead Tibetans as new Sikyong
    Penpa Tsering to lead Tibetans as new...

    Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Penpa Tsering to lead Tibetans as new Sikyong

  • Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days
    Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus...

    Apr 15, 2021 Comments Off on Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days

More in this category
  • Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’
    Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge...

    Apr 20, 2021 Comments Off on Cambodia accused of using Covid to edge towards ‘totalitarian dictatorship’

  • Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit
    Little Guru: India launches first of...

    Apr 17, 2021 Comments Off on Little Guru: India launches first of its kind app that teaches Sanskrit

  • Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days
    Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus...

    Apr 15, 2021 Comments Off on Ladakh Records Over 800 Coronavirus Cases in 10 Days

  • Nepal King reaches Haridwar to participate in Kumbh festival
    Nepal King reaches Haridwar to...

    Apr 12, 2021 Comments Off on Nepal King reaches Haridwar to participate in Kumbh festival


Copyright budhisttimes.news 2019-20 | All Rights Reserved
Developed & Maintained By Shyamal Sinha Web Design Delhi Web Design Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Services in India Best Website Portfolio Creative Website Desinging Agency in Delhi Web Desinging Comapny India Custom Web Application Development Comapny Wordpress Website Designing Logo Desinging in Delhi Internet Marketing Company Mobile Application Development
  • TECH & SCIENCE
  • BUDDHIST ART/MUSIC
  • UPCOMING PROGRAM