By Shyamal Sinha

Buddhism first came to China in the Han Dynasty when the Buddhist monks (missionaries) from India made their way across the overland routes of Silk Road into China. Since Buddhism was introduced to China, Buddhist ideas and practices have shaped Chinese culture in many different ways, such as art, politics, literature, philosophy and even medicine.

When Buddhism was first introduced to China, China had a lot of small kingdoms, and there was not any organized opposition to the new religion.

The religion gained the interest of the Emperor Ming of Han, and he established the White Horse Temple (Baima Si, the first Buddhist temple in China) in 68 AD.

During the early Tang Dynasty, in the 600s AD, the monk Xuanzang journey to India and visited over one hundred kingdoms, and wrote extensive and detailed reports of his findings. Xuanzang also returned with relics, statues, and Buddhist paraphernalia. With the emperor’s support, he set up a large translation bureau in Chang An (present-day Xi An). Also, there were a number of schools that taught and promoted Buddhism.

China is seeking ways to halt the increased commercialization and financial exploitation of Buddhist places of worship throughout the country, a senior official noted during a meeting of the Buddhist Association of China last week in Changsha, Hunan Province. The meeting was attended by delegates from 14 municipalities and provinces.

Buddhism is big business in China. Since the 1980s, when the Communist Party of China began to ease restrictions on religion and on the construction and renovation temples, there has been renewed interest in religion in general and in Buddhism in particular. With the more recent boom in domestic tourism, many temples, regional officials, and businesspeople have recognized the accompanying opportunities to make a profit. In recent years, many new Buddhist sites targeting domestic tourists have sprung up throughout the country, and plans are afoot for dozens more. Examples include the 128-meter-high Spring Temple Buddha statue in Henan Province, the statue of Guan Yin of the South Sea of Sanya in the island province of Hainan, and plans in Gansu Province to connect the historic Mogao Caves in Dunhuang with the sand dunes of another nearby tourist attraction.

Many temples and religious sites are also choosing to commercialize some of their services to fund maintenance of the buildings and sites, since government support for religion has diminished and income from donations is often insufficient. Visitors to temples and holy sites can expect to pay entrance fees and sometimes hundreds of yuan for incense sticks and other offerings..During the Zhou dynasty, Chinese believed that smoke resulting from burning wood act as a bridge between the human world and the spirits When Buddhism reached China, this wood evolved into sandalwood incense which were originally burned by Indian Buddhists so they could concentrate better.

It can be seen that incense burning as we know today is a merger between Chinese culture and Buddhist culture.

In 2012, there were even plans to list some of China’s most sacred Buddhist mountains—Mount Jiuhua in Anhui Province, Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, and Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province—on the Shanghai stock exchange to finance expansion plans for holy sites. These plans were met with widespread criticism from Buddhists in China, who lamented that the mountains, once revered as the earthly homes of bodhisattvas, were becoming symbols of the country’s unrestrained culture of materialism and commercialization. The government subsequently banned temples and holy sites from pursuing stock market listings.

All these issues were addressed during the meeting of the Buddhist Association of China, where Jiang Jianyong, deputy head of China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs, stressed that such violations of religious rights and interests called for a renewed agenda to promote and protect Buddhism and the religious right of Buddhists in China.

Delegates at the meeting related further examples of individuals and corporations exploiting Buddhism for commercial gain, often under the guise of building Buddhist cultural (theme) parks. In addition, temples are regularly rented out for commercial use by religious figures, and there have been instances in which people have collected donations to back non-existent UNESCO World Heritage Site applications.

Huai Hui, secretary-general of the provincial Buddhist association recounted how a monk in the city of Hengyang, in Hunan Province, had authorized the acquisition of 18 pine trees from Japan for the formidable sum of 5 million yuan (US$735,000). He added that another monk in Loudi, also in Hunan, had fraudulently collected 8 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in funding for the construction of a temple, which he used for personal gain.

“Some ancient temples have been surrounded by so-called cultural parks, with non-religious buildings constructed for commercial use,” said BAC deputy director Sheng Hui.  In addition, “fake Buddhists” have been luring followers, extorting money, and performing illegal religious activities, giving Buddhism a bad name. (China Daily)

Some of the initiatives of the Chinese Buddhist Society and the State Administration for Religious Affairs include mandating information disclosure and lawmaking. Last year, a living-Buddha authentication database was introduced to register and confirm the identities of purported living Buddhas, an inheritance structure unique to Vajrayana Buddhism.

“To protect religious rights and uphold dignity, Buddhist associations across China have been asked to tighten their management of personnel and strictly prohibit any commercial activities,” said Sheng Hui. (China Daily)

Today, there are over 365 million people practicing Buddhism worldwide, and China has over 100 million practicing Buddhism, which is the number one country for Buddhism.

One of the most popular figures in Chinese Buddhism in the Bodhisattva Guanyin (she is the one who perceives the laments of the world-Guanshiyin).

. Over its long history, Buddhism has different forms, ranging from an emphasis of religious rituals and the worship of deities, to a complete opposition of both rituals and deities in favor of merely meditation. Yet, all forms of Buddhism share respect for the teachings of the Buddha (the enlightened one).

By Shyamal Sinha

Nālandā (Hindi/Sanskrit/Pali: नालंदा) is the name of an ancient center of higher learning inBihar, India. The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from 427 to 1197 CE. It has been called “one of the first great universities in recorded history. Some buildings were constructed by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great (i.e. Raja Asoka: 273–232 BCE) which is an indication of an early establishment of the Buddhist learning center Nalanda. TheGupta Empire also patronized some monasteries. According to historians, Nalanda flourished between the reign of the Gupta king Śakrāditya (also known as Kumāragupta, reigned 415-55) and 1197 CE, supported by patronage from Buddhist emperors like Harsha as well as later emperors from the Pala Empire. The complex was built with red bricks and its ruins occupy an area of 14 hectares. At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as China, Greece, and Persia. Nalanda was sacked by Turkic Muslim invaders underBakhtiyar Khalji in 1193, a milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. The great library of Nalanda University was so vast that it is reported to have burned for three months after the Mughals set fire to it, sacked and destroyed the monasteries, and drove the monks from the site. In 2006, Singapore, India, Japan, China and other nations, announced a proposed plan to restore and revive the ancient site as Nalanda International University.
China has quietly launched its own Nalanda University, dubbed Nanhai Buddhism Academy, in Hainan Province. Plans for the university were kept secret until last month, when the Ministry of Education announced that prospective students could enroll for programs scheduled to commence in September 2017.

The launch of the university is a prime example of China’s renewed interest Buddhism as a tool for “soft” international diplomacy. The institute bypasses Nalanda University in Bihar, India, which has been slow to find its feet are a high-profile launch. Plans to revive Nalanda University in India, near the site of the original ancient Buddhist university, began almost a decade ago. Construction, however, has yet to start. Laden with controversy, the university opened its doors in 2014 with just 14 students and 11 faculty members. China has used this opportunity to fill the void of Buddhist education by founding Nanhai Buddhism Academy, which is scheduled to open its doors in September with 220 students.

The campus of Nanhai Buddhism Academy was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Yao Renxi, spanning 250 hectares, and encompassing lecture halls, libraries, sports facilities, international exchange centers, hospitals, and other amenities, as well as various monastic and temple structures. The academy is located in the Nanshan Mountains, close to the city of Sanya and a new 108-meter statue of Avalokiteshwara. The coastal area surrounding the university has been designated “Brahma Pure Land,” a concept from Mahayana Buddhism and India’s ancient Yoga Vashistha text.

Nanhai Buddhism Academy is officially authorized to host a four-year undergraduate program by government  authorities, including the State Administration of Religious Affairs, Hainan Provincial People’s Committee, and Hainan Provincial Buddhist Association.

The academy will offer various programs on Buddhist Studies, divided into six departments, such as: Chinese Buddhism, Temple Administration and Management, Buddhism and Life Sciences, Social Work and Charity Management, Meditation and Tea, Buddhist Art, and Buddhist Architectural Design and Preservation. In addition, students can follow courses in three languages: Chinese, Pali, and Tibetan. The academy is circumventing Sanskrit—the language which is usually taught in Buddhist studies programs—and replacing it with Chinese.

In order to lay a scholarly and managerial foundation for the academy, renowned scholars, professors, and senior teachers from the Buddhist community have been invited to join the academic staff. Reverend Yin Shun, the abbot of Zhong Hua Buddhist temple in Lumbini,  president of Hainan Provincial Buddhist Association, and vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, has been appointed as dean of the university.

Sources have noted that China intends to connect Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal, which China is promoting as a pilgrimage site to rival India’s main pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, with Hainan, the site of the reinvented Nalanda University, and Wuxi, the headquarters of the World Buddhist Forum, through Yin Shun and the government’s One Belt, One Road initiative.

An ardent supporter of the One Belt, One Road initiative, Yin Shun has worked with Thailand and Nepal to create a Buddhist interpretation, and he has noted that the academy is also intended to strengthen relations with nations in the South China Sea and to promote Buddhist cultural exchange. The academy has already won the backing of Buddhist centers in Cambobdia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries.

Although construction of the academy is scheduled to continue until December 2018, the lecture halls, dormitory, and main building are expected to be completed in July, allowing the first class of prospective students to commence their studies in September. Student registration is open until 31 July 2017.

By Shyamal Sinha

The highly venerated 8th Khangser Rinpoche (which means yellow house), Tenzin Tsultrim Palden, was born in Kathmandu, Nepal in May 1975. At the age of 5, he was recognized as the reincarnation of 7th Khangser Rinpoche who was one of the three high lamas (Keutsang Rinpoche, Khangser Rinpoche, Phurchok Rinpoche) responsible for searching the 14th reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Khangser Rinpoche started basic study of buddhist philosophy in the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala. Thereafter, he completed advanced buddhist studies on sutra and tantra in Sera Jey Monastery, Karnataka and Gyuto Tantric Monastic University in India, where he obtained Geshe Lharampa (equivalent to a Ph.D) and a Doctorate Degree in tantra both with highest honor among the top division.

During his recent tour of the United States, Buddhist monk Tenzin Tsultrim Palden visited Forest Hills Elementary School in Oregon, where he spoke to the students, parents, and teachers about meditation and controlling one’s emotions. According to the school’s principal, Amy Blakey, “Most of the kids and the adults have not had an interaction with a Buddhist monk,” so the school invited Tenzin Tsultrim Palden as a guest speaker to “share his story and unique cultural background.” (Pamplin Media Group)

“His message aligns with all of the work we have done on empathy-building, as well as our Peace Pole rededication ceremony,” Blakey observed. The Peace Pole, erected in 2015, is part of effort by Lake Oswego Rotary Club to inspire community unity and is inscribed with the text “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” (Pamplin Media Group)

One fifth-grade student, Connor Olshey, expressed his enjoyment at learning firsthand about a different culture, noting that the students also received a lesson on breathing, mindfulness, meditation, and concentrating on the mind and body. Tenzin Tsultrim Palden also taught them how to unite people through peace. “I feel like it’s true how peace can bring people together,” Conner remarked. (Pamplin Media Group)

This is exactly the message principal Blakey wants to share with the students. In this intense and fast-paced world with easy social media access, people are often unable to empathize or view situations from the perspective of others. “We live in a very stressful society, and that’s probably one of the No.1 factors in terms of the challenges we see, much more so than when we [the generation of the parents and the teachers] were growing up,” she emphasized. (Pamplin Media Group Khangser Rinpoche presently serves as a spiritual teacher at Sera Jey Monastic University, one of the three great Monastic Universities affiliated with the Gelugpa tradition which follows the rich culture and knowledge of the ancient Nalanda University, established in Tibet in 15th century. He teaches Buddhist philosophy to several hundred fully ordained monks and novices of the monastic university. He also teaches Buddhism according to Nyingma and Kagyu traditions at several Nyingma and Kagyu monasteries in Dharamsala, India and Nepal. In addition, Khangser Rinpoche delivers public teachings on Tibetan Buddhism to diverse audiences from India, Nepal, Vietnam, China, Korea, Tibet and the West.

Another student, Henry Mygrant, said he had learned a lot from the meditation exercise and mentioned that he appreciated the monk’s message of peace and the teachings about anger. “I don’t think I get angry that much, but when I do, it’s not pleasant, like most kids,” Henry said. He added that he had learned from Tenzin Tsultrim Palden that slamming doors does not help when one is angry—instead it only feeds the anger. Such emotions, however, can be controlled and reined in with meditation. “If you control your emotions, you can become a better person,” Henry said. “Anger is one of the bad emotions, and if you conceal it, you might become a better person, in a way.” (Pamplin Media Group)