China and India use Buddha for regional karma

[WisdomBeing]

This is an interesting article about the politics of religion. China and India appear to be using Buddhism as a political tool to control Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. What is of note is that "China now accepts Buddhism along with other religions, and is promoting its civilisational traditions abroad. "But it has a long way to go to match India," he said, while conceding Beijing also "has far greater financial resources to deploy"", which is a good sign and in line with this story: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/all-articles/news/the-first-lama-that-china-sent-abroad/. While the motivation may be political, if the results is the growth of Dharma, it is okay by me!


China and India use Buddha for regional karma
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/2013171148400871.html

The two would-be superpowers are using their Buddhist prestige to exert influence in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Subir Bhaumik Last Modified: 11 Jan 2013 16:18



India donated a five-metre statue of the Buddha to the glittering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar [Reuters]


As part of their growing competition for influence in Asia, China and India are using the Buddha as weapon: sponsoring conferences, financing religious sites, and displaying relics in countries where the religion is widely adhered to.

In December, India and Myanmar co-sponsored a three-day conference of Buddhist scholars at the Sitagu International Buddhist Academy in Yangon. India's Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid joined Myanmar's vice-president U Sai Mauk to inaugurate the conference, which brought together people from across southeast Asia.

"As the international community watches Myanmar with renewed interest, it is only apt that this important meeting of scholars - designed to provide us with a better understanding of the depth and global spread of Buddhist influences - is being organised in this golden land, Suvarnabhumi," Khurshid said in his speech.

Khurshid also attended a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a five-metre statue of the Buddha in Yangon's glittering Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most revered Buddhist shrine. The statue had been donated by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Myanmar in May.

Myanmar melee

"Buddhism in Asia is one of our greatest assets, a definite element in our soft power."

- Krishnan Srinivasan, former Indian foreign secretary

Using the Buddha to culturally engage Myanmar makes sense, as nearly 90 percent of its people practice the religion. But India's actions are also seen as a response to recent, similar Chinese moves.

In November 2011, China sent a Buddha tooth relic on a mobile display to several cities in Myanmar, including former capital Yangon and present capital Naypyidaw. This relic had been preserved in Beijing's Lingguang Si Temple and it drew huge crowds of prayerful worshippers. The event was widely reported in Chinese media, and was followed by an agreement between the Lingguang Si Temple and Shwedagon Pagoda to promote religious ties between the two nations.

Myanmar is a growing focus of China-India competition. New Delhi is seeking to build roads, modernise ports and build dams to counter China's already impressive array of infrastructure projects in the country.

India is trying to improve access to its remote northeastern region by modernising the Sittwe port in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state and dredging the Kaladan River that forms part of the border between Myanmar and India. Meanwhile, China is constructing a deep port at Kyaukpyu, also in Myanmar's Rakhine state. It is also building an oil-gas pipeline from near the new port to China's Yunnan Province to transport fuel from the Middle East, while avoiding the Malacca Straits between Malaysia and Indonesia, which Chinese strategists see as a choke point. 

Diplomats say India can use its soft power in this jockeying for influence. "Buddhism in Asia is one of our greatest assets, a definite element in our soft power. And being home to the Dalai Lama, who is the acknowledged leader of a large section of the Buddhist community, gives us a major advantage," said former Indian foreign secretary Krishnan Srinivasan.

Srinivasan said China now accepts Buddhism along with other religions, and is promoting its civilisational traditions abroad. "But it has a long way to go to match India," he said, while conceding Beijing also "has far greater financial resources to deploy". 

China has projected its culture through the ever-increasing number of "Confucius centres" worldwide, but has lately turned to using Buddhism.

"This is not just a defensive move by Beijing to counter global criticisms of its policy in Tibet, where more and monks are self-immolating in protest against persecution," international relations expert Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chaudhuri told Al Jazeera.

"It is also to play on religious and cultural feelings to connect to countries which are largely Buddhist. This is diplomatic pragmatism unexpected of a communist country but not unexpected of today's China."

Renovating Buddha's birthplace

In Nepal, China is financing a $3bn project to develop Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, with a new airport, a connecting highway, hotels, convention centres, temples and a Buddhist university. In 2011, the Beijing-based Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to develop the project.

A few months after the China-financed Lumbini project was announced, India promptly organised a Global Buddhist Congregation through the Delhi-based Ashoka Mission. The congregation brought together top monks and nuns from across the world, and ended up endorsing the Dalai Lama, Beijing's bete noire, as Buddhists' global leader - emphasising India's central role in preserving Buddhism's ancient heritage.

"Beijing wants to be the sole authority on the selection of [the] Dalai Lama in the future."

- Binoda Mishra, China expert

The International Buddhist Confederation that emerged from this congregation, which envisaged a central role for the Dalai Lama, could act as a lever for India to counter China's moves in the Buddhist world.

In fact, Beijing raised objections to the Dalai Lama's participation in the Global Buddhist Congregation and was upset when Delhi refused to stop him from addressing its valedictory session. It angered Chinese officials enough that they delayed a round of border negotiations. The dialogue to settle the Sino-Indian border later resumed, but Beijing had made clear its displeasure.

Some see a long-term vision in the inception of the International Buddhist Confederation.

"This has been set up with much more strategic foresight than just a reaction to China's action on Lumbini," said China-watcher Binoda Mishra, head of the Calcutta-based Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development.

"It aims at nullifying Chinese future plans of securing the right to interfere in the selection of future Dalai Lamas, because Beijing wants to be the sole authority on the selection of [the] Dalai Lama in the future."

Nepal is an important buffer between India and China, and New Delhi is as uncomfortable with Beijing's growing influence there as in Myanmar.

'Strategic encirclement'

In August, India took the "Kapilavastu Relics" to Sri Lanka, which had been preserved in the National Museum in New Delhi. The relics were taken around the island nation, drawing large number of Buddhists who prayed before them.

Growing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka is also worrying India.

Indian planners worry about a "strategic encirclement" by China, which has steadily improved relations with almost all of India's neighbours: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar, a set some have called the Chinese "string of pearls".

For its part, China is worried by India's growing ties with countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Australia and others. Its strategists are concerned that the US is seeking to bring India together with these countries in order to contain China.

Beijing has asked New Delhi to back off from hydrocarbon exploration in the hotly disputed South China Sea.

With no end to the tension in site, Buddhism could well continue to be an important element of soft power that both India and China are likely to use in the years ahead to win hearts and minds across the vast continent.

But some wish the two Asian giants would work together rather than compete. "It would be good to see India and China act co-operatively to protect Asian religious heritage," said former foreign secretary Srinivasan. "But that is still some way ahead for the future."

[beggar]

While it might be easy to look upon this manoeuvering of religion with a great of skepticism, the bottom line of it all is that Buddhism is still being promoted and still being encouraged to grow. Whatever the motivation will be, it will mean that still, somewhere down the line, at a level of people who may not be interested at all in the politics and the global scene, will still have more access to the Buddha, to prayer and to making offerings.

It is said that even creating a negative connection with the Buddha is better than not creating any connection at all. Some lamas have explained that, for example, that a true Buddhist wouldn't really feel sad about the people who blew up the Baminyan Buddhas in Afghanistan because it indirectly means that they have forged a connection with the three jewels that can open up at a later time.

So if an act, as atrocious as this, can still lead to something beneficial, then the politicking of Buddha statues by China and India could very well turn out to be a good thing in the long run (well, it is a perceived politicking... perhaps we are being too cynical. Perhaps, as Buddhism is very much already 'in the blood' of Indian and Chinese histories and cultures, there may just be one or two politicians within the rank who sincerely do still have some faith in the religion.) In any case, just to re-emphasise...  whatever may start out with a bad intention still implants imprints in the do-er's mind. Through the course of whatever they are doing, they may inadvertently also make offerings to the very statues and stupas they are (politically) trying to promote, they may also connect with great lamas, sangha and practitioners - all this creates powerful imprints that can eventually lead to a real sincere practice. For for this, in spite of whatever cynicism we may have for the politics of the situation, we should still rejoice a little!

[WisdomBeing]

I so agree with you Beggar. I know that in Buddhism, motivation is everything, but i also think that the results of an action also makes a difference. In this case, regardless of the motivation of India or China, they are competing to propagate Buddhism more which will result in more people having access to the Dharma, so it will benefit all those people.

Even in regard to Dorje Shugden issue, the ban is creating publicity for Dorje Shugden - which other Dharma protector has been on Time magazine or the New Statesman! Or on BBC TV and Swiss TV! However outwardly negative effects of the ban, there is also some good and perhaps if we focus on the positive and to capitalise on it to bring more Dharma to others the best way we can, it is still beneficial.

[Ensapa]

Buddhism continues to grow in China and in India at a very fast pace as they are regaining their foothold and embracing Buddhism as part of their heritage. Many may complain that the improvements and progress in Buddhism are only on a very superficial level and that it is only for tourism but we have to remember that Buddhist imprints would be implanted. Them re-discovering their Buddhist heritage will allow them to have more peace in general and more satisfied and peaceful residents. Perhaps this is the dawn of a new Buddhist era.

[vajratruth]

What is sad is that the Tibetan "government" in exile (the CTA) have been in possession of the most treasured assets i.e. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a pure Tibetan Buddhist tradition for so long and yet did not learn to use this soft power to engage with China. It was foolish of CTA to think that the Western powers would risk good relations with China and take up the Tibetan cause on the CTA's behalf. For most Western countries, it was a cheap affair to pay lip service to the cause but not actually do anything about it. And it was reckless of the CTA to keep pursuing an ineffective strategy after decades of failed attempts and today the CTA is finding that they are low in religious currency.

Whether India and China had pure intentions to promote Buddhism or not is one thing but the fact remains that they still gain good merits by virtue of the object they promote which is the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The CTA on the other hand did their own people no favors by creating such divisions within their Buddhist community. Imagine the collective negative karma the CTA would have inflicted on the Tibetans in exile by creating schisms within the sangha, causing monks to disrobe and also banning the practice of a Buddha.

[Ensapa]

What is sad is that the Tibetan "government" in exile (the CTA) have been in possession of the most treasured assets i.e. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a pure Tibetan Buddhist tradition for so long and yet did not learn to use this soft power to engage with China. It was foolish of CTA to think that the Western powers would risk good relations with China and take up the Tibetan cause on the CTA's behalf. For most Western countries, it was a cheap affair to pay lip service to the cause but not actually do anything about it. And it was reckless of the CTA to keep pursuing an ineffective strategy after decades of failed attempts and today the CTA is finding that they are low in religious currency.

Whether India and China had pure intentions to promote Buddhism or not is one thing but the fact remains that they still gain good merits by virtue of the object they promote which is the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The CTA on the other hand did their own people no favors by creating such divisions within their Buddhist community. Imagine the collective negative karma the CTA would have inflicted on the Tibetans in exile by creating schisms within the sangha, causing monks to disrobe and also banning the practice of a Buddha.

The CTA has done very little for Buddhism and even for people who are currently residing in Dharamsala as we speak. There arent much things that have really came out from their own pockets when it comes to contributing to the growth of Buddhism. Most of the works are done by the Lamas themselves as opposed to the CTA assisting them. Does the CTA give every monk an allowance like China does? Does the CTA hold cultural festivals to promote their own culture like how China and India are doing for Buddhism? I dont seem to notice. If they were really serving the Dalai Lama, they would have automatically did those things already. The fact that they did not shows us their true intentions.