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The actual Fourth World Buddhist Conference to be held this November
Tokyo - The Fourth World Buddhist Conference – World Buddhist Summit, which was scheduled to be held in Myanmar in December 2004, but was cancelled following the house arrest of the former Prime Minister, Khin Nyunt, is rescheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in November this year.
The Government of Myanmar held an international conference in December, which they called the "4th World Buddhist Conference", despite their undertaking to the Japanese organisers that they would not use that name. The military junta did this to avoid losing face and present themselves as devout Buddhists despite their oppressive regime.
The Headquarters of the Global Buddhist Summit, in Kyoto, Japan, has announced that the Fourth World Buddhist Conference will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from the 1st to the 3rd of November to honour the 60th Anniversary of the Reign of H. M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest reigning monarch in the world.
This Conference will bring together leading Buddhists from many countries, representing the three major traditions of Buddhism, namely Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana, in a spirit of mutual cooperation to promote harmony and a peaceful world. The Patron of the Conference is His Holiness Somdej Phra Nyanasamvara, Sangha Raja of Thailand.
Many senior Sangha and Heads of State from Buddhist countries are expected to attend. [DHAMMA TIMES]
Sikkim's Buddhist community holds prayer for world peace
Gangtok, India - Sikkim's predominant Buddhist community held an auspicious ceremony prayer for world peace in a newly build monastery in Gangtok over the weekend.
The prayer was led by Tulku sangngag Rinpoche who is recognized as the Dzogchen master and a master of Buddhist ritual art as well. This includes stupa construction, divination, geomancy and Tibetan medicine.
"This prayer is being held for long life of humanity. This is not isolated to our society but it is for all the human beings. For the well being of today's era of violence and unpleasant environment, we are holding this prayer," said Karma Namgyal (Vice President) of Sikkim Buddhist Association.
Buddhism in Sikkim has strong links to the Buddhism practiced by Tibetans, which is divided into the "Red" and "Yellow" sects. The Red sect comprises of the Nyingma, Kargyu and Sakya lineages and the Yellow sect consists of the Gelugapa lineage.
The sects and lineages are differentiated from each other by the rituals and prayers performed, the monastic discipline promoted and who is the founder of a particular sect or lineage. However, the differences tend to blur with rituals of one lineage do overlap with the other.
Monastries and many buildings in Sikkim are richly decorated with symbols and icons. These symbols are painted or embossed on the walls or on Tankas. These paintings may depict the life of Buddha or some Tibetan saint, the Wheel of of Life or a diety surrounded by lesser deities.
The original inhabitants of Sikkim are said to be Lepchas. They existed much before the Bhutias and Nepalese migrated to the state. Before adopting Buddhism or Christianity as their religion, the earliest Lepcha settlers were believers in the bone faith or mune faith. This faith was basically based on spirits, good and bad. [ANI VIA NEW KERALA]
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