China played ‘important role’ in spreading Buddhism globally: Top Chinese Buddhist monk

Beijing. China has hosted a major gathering of influential Asian Buddhist monks where its top monk said Beijing played an “important role” in promoting Buddhism globally. The conference on Buddhism was part of the ‘Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference’ held in Boao, Hainan province in the last week of March.

At this year’s forum, Chinese Buddhist monks held a dialogue session for the first time with their counterparts from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Korea, according to an official media report here. There was no representation at the conference organized by the Chinese think tank from India, from where Buddhism came to China in 68 AD. In recent decades, the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) allowed the ‘Sinicized’ or Chinese version of Buddhism to be adopted in the country following a crackdown on Buddhist temples during its founding leader Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. The aim of which is to drive out the remnants of capitalism and traditional elements from the society.

Beijing wants to present Buddhism globally as part of its efforts to capitalize on its global influence. “Chinese Buddhists, through large-scale translation of scriptures, interpretation of Buddhist thought, establishment of sects, institutional innovation and cultural unification, have carried out the original intention of the Buddha,” said Yan Jue, president of the Buddhist Association of China, at the meeting in Boao. Embodied, assimilated the essence of inherited Buddhism, increased the compatibility of Buddhism with East Asian cultures, civilizations, societies and people, promoting the spread of Buddhism in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

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