ISLAMABAD: A seminar to study and analyse the deep footprints of Buddhism origin and the civilisation in Pakistan was held on Monday at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in collaboration with MISIS (Myanmar), a statement said. The theme of the discussion was “Gandhara Civilisation and Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan.”
The highly intellectual discourse thread-barely dwelt into the rich culture, history and monuments of Buddhism in Pakistan, as it is the seat of the ancient religion.
The speakers were Aye Kyaw, managing director and chief executive officer of Rubyland Tourism Services, Myanmar; Dr Nadeem Omar Tarar, Gandhara Chair University of Wah; Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, MNA and patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council; and Dr Pyiet Phyo Kyaw, Prof Department of Archaeology, University of Yangon, Myanmar. Former ambassador to Vietnam, Shahid Kiani was the discussant.
The participants eulogised the values of Buddhism as a religion and social way of life and stressed on promoting tourism.
It was underscored that a couple of well-prepared documentaries’ are needed to project the culture and history of Pakistan vis-à-vis Buddhism. The museums and other relevant literature are too dry and does not carry the required enthusiasm, it was noted.
The seminar urged for furthering tourist exchange, as well as incoming of monks so that more harmony and cooperation between the great civilisations can be buoyed. The need to invite cultural attaches from Buddhist countries, as well as archeologists, was also underlined.
It was pointed out that the culture pertains to an era between 200BC and 900AD and the present Pakistan territory was home to the first and largest lived urbanised civilisation.
Promoting Buddhist culture will be a shot in the arm in furthering the message of peace and Pakistan as the cathedral of this ancient civilisation can play a major role in it.
Dr Tarar remarked that the state ownership of Buddhist heritage is very old in Pakistan. The country used to issue souvenir stamps on such special occasions and the Rs5 postal stamp in 2002 on the 50th anniversary of Pakistan-Japan relations is a case in point.
He also said a book on Raja Tridev Rao: Buddhism in Pakistan was published in 1955. This is why, he noted from 1950 to 1969, Buddhism was part and parcel of the academic discourse.
The major highlight of Pakistan is that apart from Gandhara, Taxila, Swat, Waziristan and Northern Areas, Sindh and Punjab also have major traces of Buddhism.
This makes Pakistan the epic-centre of Buddhism, as it houses seven great museums and numerous stupas, too, and Mohenjo-Daro is a classic melting point.
While highlighting the importance of Taxila, it was noted that the Taxila University is the oldest in the world, it has the oldest surviving manuscripts, site of transmission of Buddhism to Southeast Asia, origin of literature works, as well as home of second Buddha (Padmasambhava — a Buddhist sage from Swat) and renowned Gandhara sculptures. Moreover, Panini — the ancient Sanskrit writer — was born in Swabi.
The seminar recommended that efforts should be made to highlight the potential of cultural diplomacy of Gandhara. It was also observed that the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) manifest the commonality of Buddhism and Pakistan should create a Buddhist international circuit of Gandhara and celebrate International Buddha Day in Pakistan.
Ramesh Kumar said that Buddhism presents the peaceful and pluralistic face of Pakistan.
He regretted that some of the characters have been projected negatively and this needs a scholarly rectification. There are 520 million worldwide followers and China’s 18 per cent population is Buddhist.
He lamented that Buddhists are living a destitute life in Pakistan and their population is shrinking. They are in few thousands only and need to be protected as an endangered species. The participants underscored the need to establish a regulatory authority to promote Buddhist education and tourism, as well as protection to other minority religions.
