<\/p>\n
Source<\/span><\/b>: The post is based on the article <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/b>Using Buddhism as a tool of soft power\u201d<\/span><\/b> published in <\/span>\u201cThe Hindu\u201d <\/span><\/b>on <\/span>31st May 2023<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Syllabus: <\/span><\/b>GS2- International relations<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Relevance: <\/span><\/b>About Buddhist diplomacy of India and China.<\/span><\/p>\n News<\/span><\/b>: Recently, <\/span>the Global Buddhist Summit took place in New Delhi in April<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>Shakyas who ruled Kapilavastu<\/span><\/b> after Buddha\u2019s Parinirvana did not have an army. Many were massacred. The remaining Shakyas fled to different parts of the country.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many also went to the Kathmandu Valley. They were granted a status comparable to that of the <\/span>Vajracharya priests<\/span><\/b>, but were not permitted to practise <\/span>priesthood outside of their families.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Therefore, in<\/span> Golden Temple<\/span><\/b> Shakyas alternate as temple caretakers and conduct all the rituals. This is one of the few temples in the Kathmandu valley where a <\/span>1,000-year-old tradition continues.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nepal accepted a grant from the Government of India to renovate portions of the <\/span>Golden Temple complex.<\/span><\/b> But, it has created a controversy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many locals believe that India was only interested in this project because it is the temple complex most <\/span>frequently visited by Chinese tourists.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n China is home to around 245 million Buddhists, 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples, and 2,40,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. This makes Buddhism an important soft power for China.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n China has added <\/span>religious overtones<\/span><\/b> to China\u2019s existing portfolio of cultural and linguistic diplomacy. The <\/span>state religious system<\/span><\/b> is supporting the growing <\/span>political and economic power <\/span><\/b>of China abroad.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Beijing pursues a <\/span>multifaceted and flexible approach<\/span><\/b> to promote Chinese Buddhism abroad. Its approach varies depending on whether the <\/span>target country<\/span><\/b> is Buddhist-majority, Western, or one of China\u2019s Asian competitors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a source of Buddhism, the Chinese <\/span>look to Nepal rather than India<\/span><\/b>. The popular temples in Beijing have a <\/span>connection with Nepal.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n China utilised <\/span>Buddhist narratives alongside infrastructure investments<\/span><\/b> in Sri Lanka. China would prefer to use its own version of Buddhism as a <\/span>tool of soft power.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Nepal, a popular rumour is that China will send<\/span> five million Buddhist pilgrims<\/span><\/b> and establish hotels and other businesses through its investment arms as a big soft power push.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For India, Buddhism provided an identity of <\/span>peace and tranquillity<\/span><\/b> after independence when there was <\/span>intense violence and division<\/span><\/b> between Hinduism and Islam.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There has been usage of <\/span>Buddhist symbolism<\/span><\/b> as a means of escaping difficult times. Due to such usage and evidence, India likes to claim Buddhism as its own.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It convened the <\/span>Global Buddhist Summit<\/span><\/b> in April to promote Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama. There were no Nepal and Bhutan representatives present. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage<\/span><\/b> is coming up in Lumbini, Nepal. Prime Minister laid the foundation stone in May 2022. <\/span>This could be seen as an attempt to counter the opening of the <\/span>Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, Nepal<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n India\u2019s overtures of Buddhism in Nepal began only after <\/span>\u2018Buddha is Born in Nepal\u2019<\/span><\/b> became a populist slogan of sovereignty in Nepal.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Source: The post is based on the article \u201cUsing Buddhism as a tool of soft power\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 31st May 2023.\u00a0 Syllabus: GS2- International relations\u00a0 Relevance: About Buddhist diplomacy of India and China. News: Recently, the Global Buddhist Summit took place in New Delhi in April.\u00a0 What are some facts about Shakyas… Continue reading Using Buddhism as a tool of soft power\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10311,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10498],"class_list":["post-245648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10311"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What are some facts about Shakyas after Buddha’s death and its importance for Indian diplomacy?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What are some facts about the Buddhist diplomacy of China?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
What are some facts about Buddhist diplomacy in India?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n