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KOLKATA: The Kolkata airport was awash with red-ochre robes as high-ranking monks from the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’ arrived in Kolkata Tuesday on a religious and educational tour of India, from the place Guru Padmasambhava travelled to show Buddhism to Bhutan.
The 24-member delegation will go to Buddhist holy websites, the Infosys campus at Hyderabad in addition to meet prime Indian officers in Delhi.
“It’s the responsibility of each member of the Sangha (Buddhist monastic order) to attempt to comply with within the footsteps of the Buddha,” Venerable Ugen Namgyal, the secretary of the Central Monastic Physique of Bhutan, advised PTI, explaining why the highly effective delegation is on a go to to the nation.
The Worldwide Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in coordination with the Central Monastic Physique of Bhutan has organised the eight-day lengthy journey for the monks who head the Buddhist Sangha in every of the districts within the picturesque Himalayan kingdom, which lies sandwiched between India’s West Bengal and China’s Tibetan autonomous area.
Bhutan is thought for its Buddhist tradition, the place individuals’s lives nonetheless revolve across the traditions related to the faith.
Prayer flags fluttering within the wind and chortens (Buddist shrines) in each village are a typical sight. The idea of ‘Gross Nationwide Happiness’ as a improvement mannequin for the dominion nestled within the excessive Himalayas too depends largely on this distinctive tradition.
“We now have two big neighbours on two sides, however with India, we have now an exquisite relationship. Buddhism got here from this nation. Bengal, our instant neighbour, has robust linkages with us and has contributed to Buddhism in our Kingdom,” mentioned Ven. Namgyal.
Guru Tilopa is believed to have travelled to Bhutan from Bengal preaching the Vajrayana faculty of Buddhism.
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Most Bhutanese comply with the Drukpa subsect of the Kargyupa sect of Vajrayana Buddhism.
The monks, led by IBC’s deputy secretary-general Venerable Jang Chup Choden and Ven Namgyal, will go to varied Buddhist websites in India, together with the Nagarjuna Konda in Andhra Pradesh, Buddhavanam in Telangana and Sankissa in Uttar Pradesh.
‘Zhung Dratshang’ or the Central Monastic Physique of Bhutan was established in 1620.
The unification of the nation, codification of the legal guidelines, and organisational improvement of the twin system of governance passed off solely after the institution of this important establishment.
In accordance with Bhutan’s Structure, the ‘Zhung Dratshang’ is an autonomous establishment, financed by an annual grant from the royal authorities.
“For us, Buddhism is a lifestyle. Even our arts and structure mirror our non secular traditions,” he mentioned.
“Whereas China too is a neighbour, we have now little interplay with that nation. Being Buddhist, Bhutanese have a better affinity to Indian values,” the monk mentioned.
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