New York | Lord Buddha's centuries-old teachings connect societies in both India and the US, providing a fundamental underpinning to the bilateral cooperation and partnership, Ambassador of India to the United States Vinay Kwatra said.
"When we talk of India-US partnership, India-US cooperation and engagement, we talk in terms of State-to-State relationship", connects through trade, technology, capital flows and people, Kwatra said Tuesday.
In a special address at a conference organised by the Consulate General of India in New York titled 'India's Timeless Message: Buddhism from the Ancient to the Contemporary Times', Kwatra said exchanges like the conference "define the relationship" at a very fundamental level of how people in both societies connect through Buddha's teachings which are 25 centuries old but still relevant and how the continuing relevance of those actually binds the two societies.
"The spiritual traditions, the intellectual internalisation of Buddha's teaching is genuinely among things which also connects our societies and is a part of our strong relationship," he said.
He noted that the US is a great place of academic understanding and deep penetration into Buddhist thoughts.
The conference explored the historic eastward and contemporary westward transmission of Buddhism from India, highlighting how classical mediums like Sanskrit and regional art, alongside modern innovations like digital networks, AI, and scientific inquiry, have shaped the study and expression of Dharma across different cultures and eras, the Indian Consulate said.
Kwatra said that just undertaking the process of trying to understand Buddha's teaching "is in itself a hugely, hugely uplifting journey for anyone." He added that the relevance of Buddha's teaching - right from the time he found enlightenment till date - is "permanent relevance".
"There's nothing in Buddha's teaching that has changed, (they are) pretty much the same. Interpretations have changed," he said.
Kwatra told the conference, attended by Buddhist monks and practitioners, scholars and academicians, that India is already undertaking deep efforts to revive Nalanda as an international university alongside three other hubs that are being built for Buddhist learning, including Sarnath, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
India has also started building on research and scholarly exchanges with other countries, he said adding that there is also focus on building "Buddhist circuits", which is tourism-related but the idea is to develop the 13 key places related to Buddha's life and teachings and built them into seats of learning and communication, including Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath, Kushinagar and Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh.
Emphasising that there is "considerable opportunity" and space to strengthen the understanding and spread of Buddha's teachings through cooperative ventures, Kwatra flagged the idea of setting up Nalanda chairs in U.S. institutions of higher learning, need for preservation, digitization, and translation of the Buddhist manuscripts and exchanges between scholars and students.
Delivering the keynote address, Master of Buddhist meditation and philosophy under the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche said India's "timeless message" in a "very short way is: Don't worry, be happy'." He said that the real purpose of 'Dharma' or any religion is to "help us become a better person, transform us as a better person. Not to become God...
The teachings or the path must give us the empowerment to transform ourselves into a better person. It doesn't matter if you become a better Buddhist or a better Christian or a better Hindu. That's not the case at all. To make us a better person, that's the core teaching of the Buddha," he said.