The idea seems to have been accepted. "The whole world looks to India because of Buddhism. If someone from India takes initiative, India can take leadership of the Buddhist world," says Banagala Uptatissa , chief of Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka . Well, not exactly the whole world. On November 26, one day before the Congregation began, China kicked up a diplomatic storm by putting off border talks with India after New Delhi refused to give in to its demand of not allowing the Buddhist meet. Earlier, 35 Chinese monks invited for the meet didn't turn up, making it clear that Beijing was not happy with the congregation. "This conference had a very clear agenda to remind the scattered Buddhist communities that India is the home of Buddhism," says Gabriel Lefitte, Australian academic and environmental activist who attended the meeting. "China has been quite vigorous in making sure that anybody with a Buddhist background feels connection with China but India has been a bit slow by comparison to restore the 'Buddhist parivar' ."
It's not that the officially atheist China has suddenly fallen in love with Buddhism . China is worried about the growing stature of the Dalai Lama as a global Buddhist leader; it's also trying to build credibility among the Buddhists so that Beijing can pick the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama without any problem. "The current Chinese leadership is haunted by the Tibetan issue as there have been many cases of self-immolation by the Tibetan monks in mainland China. There is a feeling of urgency regarding the decision of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama," says Binod Singh, who teaches at the India Study Centre of Peking University.
