Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets a Buddhist monk during the inauguration of the first Global Buddhist Summit organized by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation, in New Delhi. , Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
I I am a Shakya from Nepal, a supposed descendant of Siddhartha Shakya, who later became known as the Buddha. Every Sakya today is walking on different paths, yet it is bound by one incident. But it is rare for individuals, or tribes, or even Nepal to attend a congregation of Buddhists such as the Global Buddhist Summit in New Delhi in April. Such realization belies a closer look at how the rising superpowers, India and China, are defining their own versions of the future of Buddhism and using it as a tool of soft power.
The Shakyas, who ruled Kapilavastu after the Buddha’s parinirvana, did not have an army, and many were massacred at Sagarhava. Eventually, the remaining Sakyas fled to various parts of Greater Magadha and to distant places such as Gandhara (modern Afghanistan) and Burma (Myanmar). Many also went to the Kathmandu Valley and were given a status comparable to that of Vajracharya priests, but were not allowed to practice priesthood outside their families. Therefore, the Sakyas in the Hiranyavarna Mahavihara (Golden Temple) alternately act as temple keeper and conduct all the rituals. Apart from the Kumari temples, it is one of the few temples in the Kathmandu Valley where a 1,000-year-old tradition continues. When Nepal accepted a grant from the Indian government to restore parts of the Golden Temple complex, it created controversy. Many locals believe that India was only interested in the project because, after Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, it is the temple complex most frequently visited by Chinese tourists, indicating vested interests and strategies. gives.
Buddhism of India
For India, Buddhism provided a hallmark of peace and tranquility during the formation of the republic, a time of intense violence and division between the country’s two major religions, Hinduism and Islam. Professor Naman Ahuja, curator of the Lumbini Museum, discusses the use of Buddhist symbolism as a means to survive difficult times, be it the Ashoka pillar or the wheel in the flag. In addition, inscriptions on the edifice erected by King Ashoka provided evidence of the life and teachings of the Buddha.
Because of such usage and evidence, India prefers to claim Buddhism as its own. It organized a Global Buddhist Summit in April mainly to provoke China by promoting Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama. No representative of Nepal was present. The summit was hosted by the International Buddhist Confederation, a Buddhist organization based in India that has neither a patron nor a member of the Supreme Dhamma Council from Nepal. There was also no one present from the Buddhist nation of Bhutan. Therefore, the geopolitical tool for India seems to be the promotion of Tibetan Buddhism, which has more western appeal.
India International Center for Buddhist Culture and Heritage is coming to Lumbini, Nepal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone in May 2022. A year later, there has been little progress on the construction of this centre. This can be seen as an attempt to counter the inauguration of the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Nepal, which in India’s eyes is a Chinese project. It was constructed as part of a project funded by the Asian Development Bank and carried out by a Chinese contractor.
India’s Buddhism in Nepal started when ‘Buddha was born in Nepal’ became a populist slogan of sovereignty in Nepal, which Mr. Modi had to accept in his speech to the Constituent Assembly in Nepal in 2014. India’s claim on Buddhism will only serve the purpose of teasing China by barring discussion with the keepers of the tradition and the larger Buddhist community.
buddhism of china
There are approximately 245 million Buddhists in China, 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples and 240,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. This makes Buddhism an important soft power for China. The state religious order has become increasingly involved in Xi Jinping’s efforts to support China’s growing political and economic power abroad, adding religious overtones to China’s existing portfolio of cultural and linguistic diplomacy. Beijing takes a multifaceted and flexible approach to promoting Chinese Buddhism abroad, with its specific modalities depending on whether the target country is Buddhist-majority, Western, or one of China’s Asian competitors. As the source of Buddhism, the Chinese look to Nepal rather than India, as popular temples in Beijing have links with Nepal, whether through the use of New Ranjana scripts on pillars or the association of these temples with the Nepalese artist Arniko. Through is revered in China. China used Buddhist narratives to accompany infrastructure investments in Sri Lanka, just as Cambodia, Laos, and other Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia do. With large numbers thronging Buddhist temples, China cannot ignore the undercurrents and hence, would prefer to use its version of Buddhism not only for national integration but also as a tool of soft power.
In Nepal, a popular rumor is that China will send five million Buddhist pilgrims and set up hotels and other businesses through its investment branches as a major soft power push. It is also rumored that India will invest more money in Lumbini. I hope the geopolitical tussle over my ancestors doesn’t turn Nepal into a Buddhist Disneyland.
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