World Buddhist Forum in China


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/17/content_4433738.htm

HANGZHOU, April 16 (Xinhua) - The World Buddhist Forum, the first of
its kind on the Chinese mainland, ended Sunday in the island city of
Zhoushan in east China and adopted a declaration calling for world
peace.

At the closing ceremony, 108 Buddhist masters hosted a grand ritual
to pray for world peace and paid respect to Buddhist relics given by
Taiwanese monks.

Thousands of followers chanted mantras at the foot of a
33-meter-tall Goddess of Mercy statue.

Over 1,000 monks and experts from 37 countries and regions attended
the April 13-16 forum, giving speeches or participating in discussions
under the theme of "A harmonious world begins in the mind".

The concluding Putuoshan Declaration underscored that peace is
humanity's eternal hope and harmony is a desirable state.

"Everyone is responsible for world harmony, which begins in the
mind," it said.

During the forum, the first in 2,000 years of Buddhism in China,
the 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, a high-ranking living
Buddha of China's Tibetan branch of Buddhism, said, "Defending the
nation and working for the people is a solemn commitment Buddhism has
made to the nation and society."

Eight disciples from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan proposed
the World Buddhist Forum in China in 2004, a suggestion that won
support from Buddhist circles in countries like Japan and the Republic
of Korea.

Eighty-year-old Master Hsing Yun was one of the movers, leading
more than 100 monks from Taiwan. Enduring the pain of broken ribs after
he slipped in Taiwan, he insisted on attending and called on Buddhists
to facilitate cross-Strait communication.

"Every time I meet the mainland people, I feel I am meeting my own
family," he said.

The forum, said participants, served as a platform for equal, open
and diversified high-level exchanges for adherents.

It was also significant in enhancing understanding across the
Taiwan Straits and promoting China's peaceful reunification.

"Buddhism helps people to overcome pain. The deepest pain that
Chinese people feel now is the pain of separation from loved ones, one
of the eight pains in Buddhism," said Ye Xiaowen, president of China's
Religious Culture Communication Association.

"The successful convention of the forum will be recorded in the
history of Chinese and world Buddhism," said Jiamuyang Luosangjiumei
Tudanquejinima, vice-president of China's Buddhist Association.

Many participants will fly to Shanghai Monday to attend China's
first symphony concert of Buddhist music. Enditem

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