Fri 27-February-2004 - - - -> Thai <- - - -

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On Sunday 7 March, B.E. 2547 (2004) from 12.00 – 13.30 hrs, Khun
Anchalee Thaiyanond will give the Dhamma Talk on the topic "Toward
the Source of Thought"; held by WBU. See more details in the section of
Upcoming Buddhist Forum. Following the Dhamma Talk, from 14.00 –
18.00 hrs. All are invited to attend Buddhist Insight Mediation by a well-
known meditation master, Phra Ajahn Medhino, a Dutch monk, from
Wat Pa Nanachat; held by WFB. Free of charge. On Sunday 21 March,
B.E. 2547 (2004), Dr. Daniel Henning will present the topic "Buddhism
and Deep Ecology"; from 12:oo-14:00 at WBU conference room. Free of
charge.


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Important Speech

Ananda W.P. Guruge

Ananda W.P. Guruge, Chairman of the World Buddhist University, gave a
speech on the topic "The World Buddhist University: A Challenge of
Today and Tomorrow", at Inauguration of the World Buddhist University,
Twenty-First General Conference, Bangkok , Thailand.

WBU Recent Events & Items of Interest




On January 27, B.E. 2547/2004, Dr. Nantasarn Seesalab, Acting Rector
of the World Buddhist University, with his staff, cordially welcoming
students from Michingan State University and the Asian Institute of
Technology AIS







Bhikkhu Abhaya Putra





Bhikkhu Abhaya Putra is an Indian monk. He came to Thailand for the
purpose of learning Buddhism in Thailand, and he visited the World
Buddhist University. It was a good opportunity to interview him
concerning Buddhism in India because India is the motherland of
Buddhism. Today, people think that Buddhism in India is only historical.
Once it bloomed in the past.

How about Buddhism in India?
India is the motherland of Buddhism. Buddhism was born and survived
in India for about five centuries. This history is well known to the world.=

In the last fifty years, Buddhism emerged to a greater extent and a
growing number of Buddhists can be found in India. In the Eastern part
of India, there was migration from Bangladesh and the H.H. Dalai Lama
took refuge with his community in this past of India bringing with them
their living traditions and cultural life. In the census, they (Bangladeshi=

and Tibetan) are below one percent of Indian population.

In the year 1956 on 14th October Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who is
called "Babasaheb Ambedkar" meaning "Father Ambedkar", embraced
Buddhism along with his half million followers who represented millions
of Indians. Today they are about 20% of Indias is whole population. Dr.
Ambedkar was born into a lower cast called "Sudras". If we look deeply
into the history of the Sudras, we find that they are decendants of
Buddhists who were living according to the teaching of the Buddha.
Those are `Sakyas' in the Northeast and Nagas in the center of India.
(See: Who Were The Sudras Long Ago). Even though they are 20% of
Indias whole population as mentioned above, the government, being
Hindu, refers to them in its gazette as Hindus and not as Buddhists.
These followers of Dr. Ambedkar are everywhere in India, almost in
every state. They are continuously struggling to spread Buddhism and to
use it in their daily lives. There are very few monks in India and they
mostly lack proper training because there are no monk training centers
(few monks, trained in Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka go overseas to work
with Indian Buddhists). The ones that do survive on invitations. Todays it =

is very difficult to find any monk going for `Alms Round'; this tradition i=
s
no longer practiced in India.

Some of the young monks who are university students have created a
training center for which they have their own organization apart from
their Order. The President of the Young Monks Organization requested
that we organize one, when he met me in Bangkok in October 2003. He
wanted us to organize one, short time Training Camp. In almost every
state, there are many local organizations arranging talks by eminent
speakers from time to time who share the knowledge of Buddhism with
the masses. This is the most important task of these organizations. In
Maharastra State, people come to Vihara and chant regularly in the
morning and in the evening with monks or without monks. In the Varsa,
they enjoy listening for three months to discourses of monks or lay
speakers. In the last four decades, some foreign monasteries have been
founded in important Buddhist places like Buddhagaya, Sarnath,
Kushinagar, and Srawatthi. They are mainly the host for their guests
who come on pilgrimage tours, and they do not share themselves with
Indian Buddhists.



Anagarika Dhammapala of Sri Lanka is known to the world for his
struggle for liberation of Mahabothi Mahaviahar, Buddhagaya; he
started that movement but could not achieve complete success. Indian
Buddhists have carrying on the same movement since 1992 under the
leadership of Ven. Bhadant Arya Nagarjun Surai Sasai, who is `an Indian
born in Japan'. The purpose of this movement is to protect the most
sacred Mahabodhi Mahaviahara and the holiness of the place where
Siddhartha Goutama attained supreme enlightenment. It has a relation
to the 17th Bihar Government Act of 1949, which includes a majority of
Hindus in the management of Buddhagaya Mahabodhi Mahavihara. The
movement wants only Buddhists in the management and not Hindus. As
the result of this movement, Ven. Bhikkhu Prajasheela was nominated
as secretary in the management, stopping all types of corrupt activities
and achieving lots of progress in management. He developed the
surroundings and the office building in his period.


What type of Buddhist Meditation is used in India ?

Vipassana Meditation is the most used and only popular meditation
practice in India as instructed by S. N. Goenka. It is wide spread in India=

and abroad. There are more than 700 centers of Vipassana Meditation
at home and abroad. It is also spreading in all communities in Indian
society causing people to thinking about Buddhism.

Bureaucrats are officially advised to attend at least 10 days of a
Vipassana Meditation Course and they are easily given leaves of
absence and other assistance to attend the course. Vipassana is also
working for reformation of prisoners in India. It can be found almost in
every prison, especially in Tihad Jail, Delhi. One ward has been declared
as a Vipassana Ward where courses are constantly being conducted. It
has changed the lives and attitudes of thousands of prisoners even
hardened criminals. Tibetan Meditation has not impressed Indians so far.

What do you think about the future of Buddhism in India ?

In the future, Buddhism will develop rapidly in India because of
Vipassana and education. Today, suffering and worried human beings
want peace and harmony in their lives and want a way of life which will
give them satisfaction. The teachings of the Buddha is based on science
and because it is clean and clear the people are choosing Buddhism as
a way of life through their own understanding.

Indian Buddhists want cultural education in a proper way, which will
hopefully be provided in the near future. We need to create more
trained monks to spread Buddhism to the common people. While I am
here, traveling in Thailand, I met some Thai monks who are ready to
work for the Motherland. The first missionary will be welcomed in India
from Northeast Thailand in about next month.



In my vision, I give more importance to monks training now in India,
because Commoners surrender themselves to monks very easily.
One who wants to spread Buddhism in India needs to have strong
determination because while people want to embrace Buddhism the
government, being Hindu does not like it. Recently in some states the
government passed a law against Buddhist conversion.The surprising
thing is that the Indian constitution provides for a choice of faith and
religious belief as a fundamental right. These types of problems must
be faced in India today. We must be totality aware of the situation and
act to change it.



Source :

Interview
Bhikkhu Abhaya Putra
Ms.Pennie White (right) and Dr.Somboon Duangsamosorn (left)
Interview by TV Channel 3


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