China and India Square off in Fight Over Buddhism

Buddhist Channel reports China and India fighting over the orgins of Buddhism. Originating in India around the 5th century BC, Buddhism declined in the land after many centuries. Buddhism started spreading to countries as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Mongolia, and China. It seems Asia might have a right to the origins of Buddhism. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was actually born in Nepal. It is this shared Buddhist heritage between India and Asia that makes Delhi emphasize its engagement with East and Southeast Asia.

"China has sought to keep India out of regional arrangements in Southeast Asia by portraying India as an outsider. By underlining the multi-millennia-old bond of Buddhism that it shares with these regions, India is quietly clarifying that it is not a gate crasher," said an official in India's Ministry of External Affairs in Asian Times. Although, Buddha was born in Nepal most of his life was lived in India. The Buddha's enlightenment, his first sermon, and many other epic events happened in India. Many important sites to Buddhists are located in India.

A revival of Nalanda University is in effect in India. The university primarily a center of Buddhist studies before the 12th century AD has been out of commission until now. Besides Buddhism, training in fine arts, astronomy, politics and languages was also studied at Nalanda University. Several countries, including India, Japan, Singapore and China, are part of this effort to rebuild the giant, multinational university. China has already contributed funds for the Xuan Zang Memorial Hall to be featured in the university. "It (China) is making sure that its links with Buddhism are noted," said the Indian official in Asian Times.

A Chinese Buddhist scholar of the 7th century AD, Xuan Zang, spent two years at Nalanda and contributed many works to Buddhism. Xang Zang translated Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese. Translation of Chinese copies that scholars recovered from India that had been lost in subsequent years are due to Xang.

Not only has China had a long history with Buddhism it's also home to 100 million Buddhist. China is home to the largest number of Buddhists in the world. Monasteries and temples destroyed during the Cultural Revolution are currently being rebuilt."Having destroyed Tibetan Buddhism and put in its place a state-sanctioned version of Buddhism, Beijing is making grand gestures to shore up its Buddhist credentials. It wants to soften its image for East and Southeast Asia but, more importantly, Tibet," said the official in Asian Times, "Hence Beijing's bonding with Buddhism."

China not being on good terms with Tibet gives India a slight lead in the race to own the origins of Buddhism. As the Dalai Lama and millions of Tibetan Buddhist refugees remain in India, China's claims over Buddhism are weak. China's Buddhist credentials are questionable thanks to its blood-soaked record in dealing with Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhists, who fled to India in 1959 in the wake of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, was not invited to the 1995 gathering in Beijing which showcased the the Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who is the 2nd in command in Tibetan Buddhism.

India is home to millions of Tibetan Buddhists fleeing from Chinese oppression. Indrani Bagchi writes in The Times of India: "In the past five years, India has fought back, to reclaim what the government believes is India's by right - that it is India which is at the heart of the Asian civilization, that in many ways, India has been the cultural trend setter."

The dispute between India and China over territory, military, and economic supremacy is all to familiar. The outcome of these contests will determine who will dominate Asia in the coming years. Their fight over the ownership of Buddhism is just one of many disputes to come.

Sources: Sudha Ramachandran,"India has its own 'soft power' - Buddhism," Buddhist Channelhttp://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=42,4418,0,0,1,0 and Asian Timeshttp://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IG04Df02.html Indrani Bagchi, Times of India