Inaugural session of 12th Religious Conference of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon tradition[/caption]The 12th Religious Conference of the Four Major Schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition began today at Hotel Surya in Mcleod Ganj. The conference was organised by the Department of Religion and Culture, Central Tibetan Administration.
The three-day conference is attended by the heads and important figures of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion including H.E Gaden Tripa Rizong Rinpoche, H.E Sakya Trizin, H.E Karmapa Rinpoche, H.E Menri Trizin, Shabdrung Rinpoche, H.E Drukchen Rinpoche’s Representative Khenpo Tenzin and H.E Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche’s representative Kathok Gezey Rinpoche.
Dignitaries from the Central Tibetan Administration include Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Religion and Culture Kalon Pema Chhinjor, Finance Kalon Tsering Dhondup, Education Kalon Ngodup Tsering and Security Kalon Ngodup Drongchung.
Addressing the inaugural session of the conference, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people, spoke about the great tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion in Tibet for the past hundreds of years.
He expressed his admiration for the peaceful co-existence of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion within the Tibetan community. “The fact that the heads of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion can meet regularly for dialogue and development is a reflection of the Tibetan people’s inherent inclination towards peace and respect for diverse traditions,” he said.
He also recalled the meeting of diverse religious traditions led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama that was held in New Delhi last year. “Such a meeting would not have been possible without the respect and affection that other religious leaders have towards His Holiness and the values of love and kindness that he espouses,” Sikyong remarked.
At the same time, Sikyong lamented the growing incidents of intolerance and unfortunate bloodshed that have arisen as a result of religious conflicts in the world. He cited the examples of the rising sectarian violence in the Middle East, the catholic/ protestant conflict in Northern Ireland, the Burmese/Ronhingya conflict in Myanmar, among others.
Sikyong Dr. Sangay also spoke about the growth of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture in the world, which he attributed as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Tibetan lamas and religious scholars. He further noted the various Buddhist conferences organised and attended by world leaders as a reflection of the growth of Buddhism as a major world religion. He cited examples of the Buddhist conference, which was organised at the White House where over 130 Buddhists from across the world attended. He also spoke about the recent International Buddh Purnima Divas celebrated in New Delhi, which was organised by the government of India and graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sikyong also spoke about the isolated incidents of extremism within the Tibetan Buddhist community. He urged the need to abstain from religious extremism such as the one propagated by Dolgyal followers, and condemned the views and practices of the cult group, who are increasingly being manipulated by the Chinese government to serve their own political motives.
Sikyong highlighted His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s great contribution towards the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture, and more importantly towards world peace and harmony. “His Holiness is ranked among the most admired leaders in the world. A recent US survey revealed that among 16 world leaders, only Pope Francis and His Holiness the Dalai Lama garner good opinion from the majority of Americans,” Sikyong explained.
Concluding his inaugural remarks, Sikyong expressed his heartiest wishes for a fruitful dialogue and said he would welcome all the recommendations and suggestions of the conference to foster greater interaction among the different schools and for the development of Tibetan community as a whole.
Kalon for Religion and Culture, Mr Pema Chhinjor, in his opening remarks, said that Buddhism is the only thing that Tibetans can proudly portray to the world and the sole reason why Tibetans are loved by the world. “Monasteries and nunneries have magnificently contributed in restoring and preservation of the rich culture and tradition of Buddhism. Today, the monasteries have reached such a status, where they can flourish without much assistance from the CTA,” he said with pride.
Speaking on the religious conference, he said, “ The religious conference was first initiated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1963 to facilitate inter-school dialogue. Often we tend to forget our refugee status in the seemingly beautiful world, and such conference is a reminder that we do not belong here. We belong to a country Tibet that is under constant threat of losing its culture and tradition,” Kalon said.
Regarding the decreasing number of monks and nuns joining monasteries and nunneries in recent times, Kalon said that the department of religion and culture exerts maximum efforts in solving this problem. At the same time, he added that the focus of the monasteries should be on quality rather than the quantity of the monks as per the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Kalon also appealed the representatives and abbots of the various Tibetan Buddhist schools to study the texts to get to the essence of Buddhism, urging them to become 21st century Buddhists.
The last religious conference of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Tradition was held in 2011.