Shaolin monks perform for visitors on Oct. 24, 2010. The temple makes millions every year from entrance fees and online sales of Shaolin items
In China today, there’s little that money can’t buy — even when it comes to faith. Many of the country’s most popular Buddhist sites are chock-full of cure-all tonics and overpriced incense. For the most part, people seem happy, or at least willing, to oblige. That changed this summer, though, when it emerged that China’s four most sacred Buddhist mountains were hatching plans to list on the Shanghai stock exchange.
In July, Mount Putuo Tourism Development Co. announced it would attempt to raise 7.5 billion yuan in a 2014 initial public offering. The company operates the tourist facilities at Putuo Shan, located on an island 20 miles (32 km) off Shanghai. Chinese state media quoted representatives of Wutai Shan in Shanxi province and Jiuhua Shan in Anhui province as saying they too had plans to raise funds on the capital markets. The fourth of China’s sacred mountains, Emei Shan in Sichuan province, completed a public listing in Shenzhen in 1997, under the incredibly auspicious ticker symbol “888.” Read the rest of this entry »
[Lumbini-Kapilvastu Day Movement does not endorse the opinions of the author.]
NEPAL: THE NEW RAINBOW NATION?
By Gabriel Lafitte
Among Tibetans and their supporters worldwide, Nepal evokes dread. The news out of Nepal is invariably bad. The 20,000 Tibetan refugees in settlements are prisoners, unable to move freely, unable to obtain certification of their refugee status, unable to find employment or get an education, stigmatized and excluded. They may not publicly vote, protest or even hold religious celebrations of the birthdays of their most revered lamas.
China’s power over Nepal extends to equipping and financing the armed forces to patrol the border with Tibet, to apprehend Tibetans using the only route of escape. China’s ability to get the Nepali army to do its security work is aided by the willingness of Nepali politicians to be seduced by the largesse of China’s aid program, no strings attached, no accountability auditing of where the money went. From the outside, it seems that Nepal, riven by revolution, is agreed on only one thing, right across the spectrum, from Maoists to royalists: no-one likes the Tibetans.
It is not just the elite that is prejudiced. The Tibetans, like the landless urban poor in the Kathmandu slums along the riverbanks, are considered sukumbasi, a term so broad it includes all the excluded, the displaced, landless, unacknowledged refugees, with no means of subsistence, suspected of thievery, gold smuggling and an inclination for criminality. Sukumbasi are feared and sneered at, especially by the upper caste Bahun Hindus who depict them as dangerous outsiders, despoilers, polluters of the rivers, a threat to the nation. The slum dwellers are seen as puppets of the Maoists, a rent-a-mob willing to swarm into the city on command to fill rallies with their shouts. The sukumbasi are said to have toppled the king, and that behind the scenes, they are tools of foreign meddlers or get undeserved help from NGOs. Read the rest of this entry »
Just weeks after publicly declaring that they had just signed a USD 3 billion deal with Nepal to develop Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha, China is left wondering where they stand.
An investment that would have seen China leading the project to transform the small town of Lumbini into a Buddhist Mecca and place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world was mired in controversy from the start.
Sparking a row of lack of transparency, the news was met by concern in certain quarters of the Nepalese Government, which felt that it had been left in the dark and not consulted; prompting a dismissal from China on reports in the media of a secret pact with certain Maoist sections of the Government.
The Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Modraj Dotel, also promptly quit stating: “I have resigned as works are being done in a non- transparent way which has become a matter of concern for us,” he was quoted as saying by Annapurna Post Daily.
However, responding to queries from The Kathmandu Post the Vienna-based United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has denied entering into any valid contractual agreement with the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF). Stating further, that contrary to what had been claimed: they were not involved in any activity related to the Lumbini ‘Special Development Zone.’ Flatly refuting claims made by APECF that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them. Read the rest of this entry »
3B may be big amount for Nepal but given the gravity of urge to put the livelihood of people living in a place where a philosophy of eternal peace and civilization took its birth some 2560 years ago is not enough. Apple corporation has 80B cash in hand, worlds most valuable company on the otherhand US treasury and government is bailed by China! If 3B is real from China to Lumbini, so what? Have writer been to Lumbini? Or Nepal? Nepal is Chinas immidate neighbor! Buddhim is China’s national religion too!
Water flows downward because of gravity which is natural force! Money flows towards where there is opportunity! Where is oppurnity? In a island where people do not ware sleepers? It’s an attitude driven by prespective of gain or interest or gratitude! Who on the earth is largest trade partner with US and India, China? Then why so big huha from India (if there is any) if China aims to be largest trade partner to Nepal too! It’s India’s problem they did not had enough time to regard their neighbor’s best along with their economic prosperity! India’s rulers from past 20 years or more thought its government officers expatriate childrens earned money, transferred skills and network management is only biggest job for them! India suppose to lead in it’s varried roles in all fronts with it’s neighbor in South Asia as per expectation from the globe, could not delivered. Simply no serious thought given on formulating and improving policy towards its neighbor. Just lost in the greed of few administrative diplomat’s parrot taught old school of thought left by British India so called India’s foreign policy!
Frankly people from India and Nepal are far ahead in awareness than the leaders from there! All know India do not have any foreign policy with US, China or Nepal on the other and all know China have serious vision for US, India and Nepal. And all rest of the world including Africa. Read the rest of this entry »
BAHAIRAHAWA, AUG 11 –
Representatives of China’s Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation (APEC) Foundation toured Lumbini on Thursday. The visit led by APEC Joint Chairman Colin Heseltine marks the first visit by the organisation after it announced a US$ 3 billion project to develop Lumbini as a global centre for Buddhism study.
Only on Wednesday, Taiwan-based communication company, TCCL, had returned after wrapping up the preliminary study on a modern communication facility for the proposed project.
“APEC is planning to transform Lumbini into an international hub for Buddhism, while helping in the preservation of ancient ruins and artifacts related to Buddhism,” said Heseltine.
He said APEC would equip Lumbini with modern communication technology and provide its assistance in infrastructure development works in the first phase. APEC could also launch various income generating activities to lift the economic standard of local people in the future, Heseltine said.
Majhilal Tharu Thainat, treasurer of Lumbini Development Trust, said that Heseltine’s visit helped confirm the APEC’s plan for Lumbini. Read the rest of this entry »
From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Aug 9 (PTI) China today said it has signed a USD 3 billion deal with Nepal to develop Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha by constructing an airport and other facilities in the southern region, adjoining India.Dismissing media reports about having a secret pact with Nepalese authorities, China has clarified that it has signed an agreement with Nepal’s Tourism Minister to launch the controversial mega project. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yang Houlan told a Madhesi party that they had signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Tourism Minister Khagda Bahadur, also a Maoist leader, regarding the mega project involving construction of airport, roads, hotels and other facilities to develop the area of southern Nepal adjoined to India. Read the rest of this entry »
Months after plans of a Chinese private sector company to invest Rs 8 billion to develop Lumbini as an International
Buddha Center hogged media headlines there comes news that a Chinese-backed foundation is planning to raise $ 3 billion to help Nepal develop Buddha’s birthplace.
According to Reuters, the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation plans to raise the aforesaid amount at home and abroad “to build temples, an airport, a highway, hotels, convention centres and a Buddhist university in the town of Lumbini.”
Interestingly, UCPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is the vice-chairman of the foundation which aims to transform Lord Buddha’s birthplace in southern Nepal “into a magnet for Buddhists in the same way as Mecca is to Muslims and the Vatican for Catholics”, the report adds.
The foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with Nepal government last month to jointly develop and operate Lumbini.
According to the report, the foundation also pledged to bring communications, water and electricity to Lumbini.
“Lumbini will transcend religion, ideology and race. We hope to rejuvenate the spirit of Lord Buddha,” Xiao Wunan, a devout Buddhist who is executive vice president of the foundation, told the news agency.
The development of Lumbini will also help boost government revenues, create jobs and improve infrastructure in the impoverished corner of Nepal, the report cited the memorandum as stating. Read the rest of this entry »
Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha (“Buddha” means “enlightened one”), who born in Lumbini, Nepal in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering.
The Basic Teachings of Buddha which are core of Buddhism are-
The Three Universal Truth The Four Noble Truth The Noble Eightfold Path
In Buddhism, the law of karma, says “for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.” Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them.
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the Buddhist community. For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars, kings and slave girls. At night, they would sleep where they were; when hungry they would ask for a little food. Read the rest of this entry »
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