Drukpa Buddhist Restore Historic Sacred Site in China

[Ensapa]

Hmm...so why is CTA saying that China is suppressing their freedom when it is possible for the Drukpa Kagyus to restore their holy site in China? This is another proof that CTA is lying again. But I do rejoice that Dharma is growing in China and Tibet perhaps one day, all the temples in Tibet will be rebuilt again and proclaim the Dharma.

Drukpa Buddhist Restore Historic Sacred Site in China
Indian heritage’the Ashoka Stupa’ found
Jammu,July 26 (Scoop News) -Drukpa Buddhists, led by the spiritual Head, The Gyalwang Drukpa (HHGD) have completed the mammoth task of restoring the sacred historic Buddhist site at Nangchen, China. Also known as Gomde or the "Abode of meditators", Nangchen has produced generations of Dharma Kings, exemplary scholars and amazingly qualified monks, yogis and practitioners, mostly belonging to the Drukpa Buddhist Order.

The restoration and beautification process had been on for the past 5 years under adverse climatic conditions. His Holiness oversaw this colossal work of restoration, done completely out of the efforts of the masters, disciples and sponsors of the Drukpa Lineage. The restored site was inaugurated by the Gyalwang Drukpa.

The restored site houses the Ashoka Stupa, one of the 84,000 built by Ashoka the Great more than 2000 years ago, but only the 20th such Stupa that is in existence today. The Ashoka Stupas have tremendous historical significance – the Indian Emblem is an adaptation of the lion capital derived from the Ashoka Stupa at Sarnath (India), and the ‘chakra’ in the Indian flag too has been derived from the Ashoka Stupa. Historically, the Stupas are symbolic of the expanse and influence of the empire of King Ashoka, who is credited with the propagation of Buddhism across Asia.

Gyalwang Drukpa also established the Buddha Amitabha Statue at this historical site during this apolitical, purely cultural visit to Nangchen. The statue is world’s largest, and made entirely with a mixture of gold and bronze. The visit to China will help in connecting and bringing the two worlds of India and China closer. He was accompanied by a large delegation comprising Buddhist dignitaries and cultural champions from India and abroad, including Dr. BK Modi, Arjun Pandey and Michelle Yeoh. The visit embodies the spirit of Live to Love: building bridges and working together to create a better world, while carrying the message of "World Peace, Harmony and Prosperity."

Gyalwang Drukpa also took this opportunity to visit the refugees of the earthquake that hit the region in April 2010, providing relief and encouragement.

[bambi]

Yes Ensapa, rejoice! Whatever the CTA says, we know they are always hiding the truth from all of us. But I do love it when China prove them wrong by showing them action and not just words. As what you said, I too pray that Dharma will flourish in China and everywhere.

King Ashoka did a lot to spread the teachings of the Buddha into other countries and built many temples and stupas. One of it contain Buddha Shakyamuni's Holy relic and it still around until today where many go to visit.

A brief history of King Ashoka.



Ashoka was the third Emperor of the Maurya dynasty of ancient India. His name Ashoka means “without sorrow” in Sanskrit. His grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, was the founder of the dynasty.

In 273 BCE, when Ashoka’s father, Bindusara, passed away, the prince and princesses went into brutal civil wars in a fight for the throne, the most intense of which was the ones between Ashoka and his older brothers. In the process, Ashoka killed 99 of his own siblings before ascending the throne; four years after, he was officially enthroned as the Emperor of Maurya dynasty.

Ever since he took the throne, Ashoka had been aggressively expanding the boundaries of his dynasty and conquering many neighboring countries. After concluding the wars, Ashoka received many teachings from the respected Buddhist abbot, Upagupta, and he became a devout Buddhist not long after. The brutality of his conquest led him to adopt Buddhism. He later used his position to propagate the relatively new religion to new heights.

Under the reign of Ashoka, the law was based on the Buddhist ethics, emphasizing the practice of benevolent and pious thoughts. In his opinion, the importance of Buddhism lies in the ability to put the phiosophy into practice, he believed that: Whether a person is able to carry out good deeds does not depend on how many times he participates in the Buddhist rituals, but rather on whether his activities are performed in accordance with the Dharma.

He made Buddhism the state religion of India and ordered this royal decree be inscribed on rocks and pillars to be placed everywhere in the palaces and all over India. He also gathered a great number of revered Buddhist monks to restore and edit the Buddhist Canon, as well as building innumerable monasteries, temples and pagodas.

In the effort to spread the teachings of Buddha, Ashoka dispatched a number of missionaries, including qualified monks and his own children to different regions within India and the neighboring countries. When his daughter, Princess Sanghamitra, established Buddhism in Ceylon (or Sri Lanka), she brought with her not only many monks and scriptures, but also a branch of the holy Bodhi tree, which she personally planted there. Until today, this Bodhi tree remains to be an object of veneration. After a series of propangada and friendly exchanges within different regions of India and with the neighboring countries, Buddhism became a wide-spread belief not only at home, but also in Egypt, Syria, Myammar, China and many corners of the world.

During Ashoka’s 40 years reigning the Maurya Dynasty, he was highly respected in India and abroad. He is known as “Ashoka The Great” in the history of India and of many other countries. In this way, under the leadership of Ashoka, the Maurya Dynasty became the first unified empire in the history of India. Even in Ningbo, China, the fact that there was a temple named after Ashoka tells that he was also a very influential figure in historical China.

While Buddhism was founded by Buddha Shakyamuni, its wide spreading dissemination was attributed to Ashoka The Great.

[Klein]

The following is some information of the people involved in supporting the building of the Buddha Amitabha Statue.

In 1997, His Holiness’s Singaporean sponsor, Mr. Felix Lim Ah Yeong (the son-in-law of the legendary Mr. Aw Boon Haw, founder of the famous “Tiger Balm” oilment, Haw Par Village and newspapers Sin Chew Daily), offered to sponsor for His Holiness a gigantic bronze Buddha statue of 35meter, made in Nanjing. His Holiness and his parents donated their life savings to purchase gold for mixing with the bronze material used for making the statue. They had also engaged the royal sculptor of Bhutan to ensure the statue would be made according to the Sutra, because these days most of the statues are not made according to the holy texts. This is ensure the statue of Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light, will grant enormous blessing at sight.

The statue was initially intended to be installed at Druk Amitabha Mountain in Kathmandu, Nepal. However, because of strong objection from the aviation authority, permission was not granted. The completed gigantic statue was stored in Nanjing since 2002, as if waiting for the perfect karmic conditions to ripen.


Taken at the scene of Ashoka Mountain, huge crowds waiting for the arrival of His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This is great news. Rejoice the people of Nangchen and the surrounding areas will have a beautiful and sacred historic Buddhist site accessible to them. Really, it shows that the government of China is not suppressing the Tibetans or their beliefs. After all, who was the one that put the ban on Dorje Shugden? It is so good to know that dharma is growing in China and from there to every part of the world. What is the point of having a independant Tibet if a Tibetan is not free to practice a religion of his choice?

[rossoneri]

It is great to know that the Chinese Government realizing the importance of historic and religious value today. I hope the Dharma will continue to flourish in China just like it used to be before the Chinese Cultural Revolution which was basically ruining the richness of culture in Chinese society for more than 5,000 years. Below are some information regarding the restoration of this holy site:

Ashoka stupa restored in Tibet

Nangchen (China), Aug 3 (IANS) Nestled in eastern Tibet and surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty, Nangchen is once again in the spotlight with the restoration of a 2,000-year-old stupa constructed by Indian emperor Ashoka and the installation of a 35-metre statue of the Buddha worth $6 million. It spells a ray of hope for locals who see in it a new beginning and economic growth.
The seeds of the restoration project were sown a decade ago, Singapore-based businessman Felix Lim Ah Yeong, son-in-law of Aw Boon Haw, the founder of Tiger Balm, told IANS.
'My wife and I met his holiness (Gyalwang Drupka, who leads the Drupka Buddhists) 10 years ago in Bali. He mentioned that one of his ambitions was to rebuild the Amitabha stupa. My wife and me said 'Ok' - and thus started the project,' Felix said.
Asked how much money has been pumped into the project, he said: 'The Buddha statue alone is worth $6 million.' As for how much the entire project cost, he said this could be gauged from how much the statue had cost - and left it at that.
'It took a long time to make the statue. A Bhutanese sculptor made the model and it took him 10 years to do it. After he completed the model, he died. We took the model to a factory in Nanjing that specialises in making Budhha statues,' he said, adding it was fabricated out of the same alloys used for making spaceships.
Were there any restrictions from the Chinese government? Felix said: 'The Chinese government does not encourage and does not discourage if it is a part of the region's culture. Buddhism started in China 2,500 years ago and it's a part of the region's culture.'
Located in China's Qinghai province 4,000 metres above sea level, Nangchen was abuzz with activity at the inauguration of the restored stupa, which is 95 percent complete, late last month. Thousands of people flocked to the place to witness Gyalwang Drukpa conduct the inauguration ceremony.
The crowd was so huge that it led to a traffic jam around the stupa as cars and other vehicles came to a standstill.
Away from modern society, the Nangchen region has an old world charm, with its vast open spaces, pastures dotted with yak and sheep, mountain peaks that seem to touch the sky and a river flowing through it. Its inhabitants, who wear ancient Tibetan costumes and headgear, depend on animals like sheep, yak and cows and on farming for a livelihood.
At the same time, they aspire for a better life. 'The people want to move out in search of a better life but at the same time they want to retain their culture,' said Nawang Chirum, a teacher.
Primary education is a must for everyone in the region, which has a population of about 90,000. One major step the people have taken towards their upliftment 'is that they are also growing a special herb available in high altitudes and which is quite popular among Tibetans', Chirum said.
As for the stupa, he said it would promote not only spiritual happiness but also economic growth.
'There are many benefits of the stupa. First, the place has become more prominent and tourism will be boosted. This would result in the growth of service industry and create job opportunities for the people who want to have a better life,' Chirum said.
So, how did the stupa get there in the first place?
Quoting Buddhist scriptures, a posting on www.nangchen.org said: 'With the wish of spreading the teachings of the Buddha, King Ashoka of India divided the relics of Lord Buddha and constructed 84,000 stupas to enshrine these precious objects of devotion.'
'In China, 19 of such stupas were constructed. However, most of them have collapsed due to natural wear and tear as well as human negligence. Some have been moved to other locations. In the process of restoring some of these stupas, many relics of Lord Buddha and a huge amount of precious offering items were discovered. The stupa in Nangchen was one of these 19 archaic and precious structures of devotion.
'In history, Nangchen was an important centre of politics and trades in Eastern Tibet, and therefore it was also a very active centre for missionary activities. This explains why Ashoka chose Nangchen as one of the locations to build the reliquary stupa. In the later history, Nangchen too proved to be an extraordinary place for spreading Buddhism. With the support of the once-glorious Nangchen dynasty, this Buddhist kingdom had produced generations of Dharma kings, exemplary scholars and amazingly qualified monks, yogis and practitioners.
'Therefore Nangchen is also fondly known by great masters as Gomde or the 'abode of meditators' '.
(Getting there: From Chinese captial Beijing one has to take a flight to Xinning and then to Yushu. From there, it takes about six hours to reach the place by road. There is some accommodation with basic facilities. Despite the language barrier, the warmth of the people makes a connect with visitors).

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/ashoka-stupa-restored-tibet-062537622.html

[Midakpa]

Since the 1980s, the Chinese government has been restoring or allowed the restoration of damaged Tibetan monasteries and monuments not only for the tourist dollar but also to present to the world the impression that China is protecting the culture of its ethnic minorities. They want to portray Tibet not only as a Shangri-la but also as a modern and pleasant place to live in. They want to encourage tourism among the Chinese population as well as foreigners as well as present to the world that Tibet is enjoying special preferential policies and a certain amount of autonomy provided by the central government.

The situation is not ideal but at least some of the monasteries, stupas and important artifacts are being restored or rebuilt. Ultimately it will benefit many people.

[dondrup]

It is commendable for the Chinese Government to allow the restoration of the Drukpa Buddhist Historic Sacred Site.  This and other similar efforts by the Chinese government help to preserve the sacred holy sites for the benefit of the present as well as the future generations.  The Chinese Government may have other motivation for allowing restorations but their action is beneficial.  CTA will not be able to accomplish these restorations in China at all!  Shouldn’t CTA do more to benefit Tibetan Buddhism by lifiting the ban on Dorje Shugden?

[pgdharma]

The CTA is wrong in saying that the Chinese Government is suppressing their freedom.  In fact, the Chinese Government is putting in the effort to restore this holy site which will benefit the people of Nangchen as it will attract pilgrims and tourists. This is something that the CTA will not be able to accomplish. Now that the Chinese Government realized the importance of restoration of sacred holy sites may more temples be restored in the near future and may the dharma flourish in China.

[vajrastorm]

It is great news indeed that the Chinese Government has allowed the restoration of this sacred historical site where Akshoba, the great Indian King, had built a stupa in his gigantic effort to spread Buddhism to far- flung places like China, over 2000 years ago. So the site  has been restored and a 35 meter statue of Amitabha Buddha has been built on this site.

This is going to attract both tourists and pilgrims in large numbers to Nangchen. So it looks like China is endorsing the spread of Dharma in this manner. Furthermore, this will strengthen Indo-China relationships and ties.

A curious point to note here is that a strong connection with Dorje Shugden had been forged by the third incarnation of  the founder of the Drukpa Dreuley Lineage, Drubwang Drukpa Kunley - Drubwang Tenzin Zangpo  -  via his composing works on Shugden.  I wonder whether the current Gyalwang Drukpa of the Drukpa Kagyu Lineage( who completed this mammoth restoration of a sacred historical site in Nanchen) is a Shugden practitioner.

[Dondrup Shugden]

Rejoice that China is permiting restoration of the monasteries in China and not repressing the growth of Dharma and Buddhism.

Reading this makes me realise that if someone even having done so much killing like King Ashoka can turn around and be a devout Buddhist and propagated Buddhism near and far.  This is a good chance that with sincerity and real repentance, negativities can be purified.  As Buddha had said we can all be enlightened, it is how hard we wish to work with transformation of our mind.