International Workshop Convened By The Asoka Mission, New Delhi 27 And 28 August 2011

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Location

International Buddhist Confederation

Summary of the minutes of the

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP CONVENED BY THE ASOKA MISSION, NEW DELHI
AT THE INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE
27 and 28 August 2011

COLLECTIVE WISDOM, UNITED VOICE

Over the 2 days of 27 and 28 August 2011 the delegates unanimously agreed and resolved that:

1. A new international umbrella Buddhist body will be formed that will serve as a common platform for Buddhists worldwide

2. The Body will be called International Buddhist Confederation (IBC)

3. IBC will operate under the two over-arching themes of Collective Wisdom and United Voice

4. IBC will be established in India, the Land where the Dhamma originated

It was unanimously agreed that the responsibilities of IBC will include:

1. helping to preserve and conserve Buddhist heritage worldwide, including in India

2. providing a common resource of Buddhist knowledge for reference, elucidation, and education

3. presenting a strong Buddhist voice with moral authority to preserve, revive, identify and recognize Buddhist traditions, practices and communities

4. addressing internal points of doctrine, e.g. the issue of women’s ordination

5. representing Buddhist values and principles in international forums such as UN

6. assisting smaller Buddhist bodies to achieve their goals

7. carrying out peace-building in inter-religious and other conflicts

8. engaging with non-Buddhist traditions

9. outreaching to youth

10. influencing more conservative and rigid Buddhist institutions and traditions, e.g. in Japan, to be less rigid

Delegates also discussed as to how IBC could:

1. speak to the mutually complementary internal element (within Buddhism) as well as to the external element (Buddhism to the world)

2. actualize Buddha’s teachings in the world, go beyond our boundaries and use Buddhist wisdom to address issues such as social justice, human rights and environment

3. be relevant in the contemporary world, particularly to young people

4. move forward without competing with existing organizations or duplicating their work

5. gain the necessary credibility required for a truly global organization

6. garner the necessary funding and resources for its maintenance and projects

7. help its members to become more familiar with each other’s work and respective traditions in order to develop mutual respect and understanding (one of the ways suggested to achieve this was pilgrimage)

8. win the support of, and find ways to, include the Sangha in predominantly Buddhist countries

Possible projects of IBC could include, but not be restricted to:

1. Nalanda Cloud: Collective Wisdom – A presentation on the Nalanda Cloud was made by Mr Greg Walton. This will be a virtual platform through which Supreme Masters, scholars, Buddhist institutions, monasteries, archival and academic institutions of excellence, museums, etc. would collaborate with one another to ensure authentic, authoritative and peer-reviewed contributions of quality. This would enable IBC to serve as a common resource, a repository for the knowledge and teachings of all Buddhist traditions available in multiple languages. Nalanda is a metaphor for the shared common Buddhist heritage of Asia. This project is not connected to the new Nalanda International University in Bihar.

2. Plan to protect Buddhist heritage, particularly in India, e.g. Mahabodhi Temple Complex of Bodhgaya – In this context, a presentation on the Lumbini Development Project was made by Mr Lai. Another presentation, highlighting the need for preservation and development of Bodhgaya was made by Ven. Sanghasena Mahathera.

3. A Buddhist university in India

4. Programs for youth outreach

Two sub-committees were formed to discuss and recommend on the following:

• Sub-committee 1: Vision, Mission statement, Aims & Objectives

Members of Sub-committee 1 were Ven. Pasura, Geshe Dorji Damdul, Mr Patrick Gaffney, Mr. Lai Seow Khee, Ven. Jinwol, Ven. Junsei Terasawa, Ms Rebon Banerjee and Mr Kishore Thukral. As suggested by this sub-committee, it was agreed by the delegates that the VISION of IBC would read as follows: “A platform for the collective wisdom, united voice, and universal responsibility of Buddhists around the world” As suggested by this sub-committee, it was agreed by the delegates that the MISSION STATEMENT of IBC would read as follows: “To gather the collective wisdom of Buddhists around the world to speak with a united voice; to make Buddhist values part of global engagement while working to preserve and promote Buddhist traditions and heritage” It was also agreed that the Aims and Objectives of IBC should be such that they enable IBC to provide a common platform to all Buddhist traditions and organizations to serve humanity and the Buddha Dhamma effectively in the following way: EXTERNAL: by addressing global challenges such as

1. conflict resolution and world peace

2. social injustice

3. the environment and natural disasters

4. education

INTERNAL: by preserving and revitalizing Buddha Dhamma within Buddhist communities through

1. encouraging mutual understanding and cooperation

2. preserving Buddhist traditions, practices and heritage

3. enhancing Buddhist education

Linking INTERNAL to EXTERNAL: by representing a united Buddhist voice in the national and international arena

• Sub-committee 2: Structure & Membership

Members of sub-committee 2 were Mr. Gregory Kruglak, Dr. RK Nayak, Ven. Thich Quang Ba, Ms Kiyoko Suzuki, Ven. Thich Naht Tu, Ms Rinchen Ongmo and Mr Ashok Wangdi.

The structure of the organization was tabled to another time and the committee focused on the issue of membership.

As suggested by this sub-committee, it was agreed by the delegates that membership to IBC be accepted under the following categories:

1. National Sangha bodies/federations

2. Monasteries/nunneries (Individual monasteries/nunneries under national Sangha bodies/federations may seek separate membership under this category)

3. Organizations/institutions

4. Emeritus/honorary

5. Associate

It was agreed by the delegates that all applications for membership must be thoroughly screened and that IBC must reserve the right to deny membership to applicants that do not meet standard criteria.