China holds World Buddhist Forum

By K J M Varma
    Beijing, Oct 30 (PTI) China has held its fifth World Buddhist Forum as it seeks to reinforce links with countries where Buddhism, which originated in India, has strong influence.
    The forum, being held in the Chinese city of Putian attracted over 1,000 participants from 55 countries and regions, state-run China Daily reported on Tuesday.
    Buddhism came to China in 68 AD when the first Buddhist temple called White Horse Temple was built in Luoyang by Chinese Monk Xuanzang after a 17-year-long voyage to India.
    After that, Chinese Buddhist scholars Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled from China to Nalanda in Bihar, the seat of Buddhism, to collect the great Buddhist works.
    Buddhism is also well entrenched in Tibet. According to official data, China has 33,500 Buddhist temples of different schools, and 9,000 Taoist temples.
    There are around 222,000 Buddhist clerical personnel and over 40,000 Taoist clerical personnel, an official white paper released this year said.
    Addressing the forum, Wang Yang, a member of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China said Chinese Buddhism should enhance ties with international Buddhists and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
    Themed 'Exchange with mutual learning: Middle way for perfect harmony', the two-day event is being held in Putian, in Fujian province.
    Wang said the Chinese government supports Chinese Buddhism in having friendly exchanges with Buddhists in other countries, and promotes non-governmental exchanges. PTI KJV KUN
KUN