The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Monks urged to do more to spread Buddhism

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Friday, Mar 06, 2009
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Monks urged to do more to spread Buddhism

Special Correspondent

Buddhist teachings growing in relevance in an era of violence, says envoy

— Photo: V. Ganesan

PONDERING OVER BUDDHIST TEACHINGS: Kazuo Minagawa, Consul-General of Japan (second from right), with Suphot Yanthukij, Thai Consul-General in Chennai; R. Gopalakrishnan, head of the Department of Philosophy, University of Madras; and Kalpakam. Sankaranarayanan, director, K. J. Somaiya Centre for Buddhist Studies, at a seminar in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: Monks and monasteries should intensify efforts to disseminate Buddhism’s core messages at a time when the world is facing several challenges, including terrorism, according to participants at a meet on the philosophy of the Middle Path that began here on Thursday.

Inaugurating the two-day meet on ‘South Indian Contribution to Buddhism,’ hosted by the Department of Philosophy of the University of Madras, Kazuo Minagawa, Consul-General of Japan, said the essence of Buddhist teachings was growing in relevance in an era of conflict and violence.

The Buddha had propagated temperance, equality of mankind and universal peace, he said. Pointing out that 80 per cent of the Japanese population subscribed to Buddhist tenets, he said many Japanese aspired to visit heritage sites linked to the Buddha legend. Buddhism was one of the areas of bilateral cooperation firmed up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mr. Minagawa said.

Plan for renovation

Besides raising awareness of Buddhist teachings, the bilateral charter envisaged a plan to renovate Nalanda and restore it as a learning hub it was in ancient times. It was proposed to establish an international university at Nalanda, he said.

Mr. Minagawa hailed the contributions of south Indian scholars to propagating the message of Buddha.

In his presidential address, Suphot Yanthukij, Consul-General of the Royal Thai Consulate in Chennai, said it was ironic that while Buddhist teachings were gaining acceptance throughout the world, it was being largely forgotten in the land of its origins——the southern part of the sub continent. The Buddhist way of life could provide solutions to many crises that modern society faced.

Kalpakam Sankaranarayanan, director, K. J. Somaiya Centre for Buddhist Studies, Mumbai, said southern India played a vital role in spreading Buddhism and had opened sea routes to other south Asian nations. Kanchi, Nagapattinam and Mahabalipuram were among the sites in Tamil Nadu where Buddhism flourished.

R. Gopalakrishnan, Head of the Department of Philosophy, read out a message from scholar Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, in which he attributed the inspiration to set up a university devoted to Buddhist philosophy to a 2007 visit to the University of Madras to stage an exhibition on Lotus Sutra.

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