His Holiness the Dalai Lama advises Mongolian followers to study Buddhism as science

His Holiness the Dalai Lama today addressed an assembly of Buddhist monks at Gaden Tegcheling monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

His Holiness said that Buddhism was not the primary bridge of Tibet and Mongolia’s relations as both their relations is said to have begun even before the spread of Buddhism to Tibet from India. Both being neighbours, they developed a longstanding historical and civilizational affinity.

“Buddhism gradually spread in Tibet and as an old saying goes, Buddhism is said to have travelled from north to north. From northern India, Buddhism originated and it spread northward to Tibet, Mongolia, and China, etc” said His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

His Holiness accounted that while he was in Tibet, he has met with many influential Mongolian Buddhist scholars and teachers. Among them, His Holiness mentioned that the best and most influential was a teacher named Ngodup Tsognyi from Sera Je.

Despite going through a difficult course of history, His Holiness commended the Mongolian for effectively preserving the faith and Buddhist heritage of Mongolia and advised them to benefit others through the Buddhist teachings.

Recounting one of his Mongolia visits in 1979, His Holiness explained that it was a difficult period for religious freedom, yet the Buddhist tradition had survived. “Despite everything, the Mongolian followers showed such zeal and dedication in preserving their faith that it brought me in tears”.

His Holiness asked the devotees especially the religious figures to pay more attention to studying Buddhist texts in the light of reason and logic and not studying it simply out of faith. He clarified that even the great scholars of Nalanda tradition analyzed and examined Buddhist teachings and a few times they refuted some of the teachings because it contradicted their logical analysis.

“Do not take the teachings of Buddha on faith alone but examine and confirm them using logical analysis” said His Holiness. He added that Buddhist teachings have a wider scope for benefitting others if it is evolved from a study of religion and faith.

His Holiness was invited by the Gaden Tegcheling monastery in Mongolia to address the assembled Mongolian monks at the Battsagaan Grand Assembly Hall.

Monks from both Sera Je and Deprung monasteries led by Mongolian Geshe Lharampas participated in the annual debate. The purpose of the debate is to maintain the studies of those Mongolian monks who had temporarily returned to Mongolia from their respective monasteries in South India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Grants $90M To Sri Lanka

By   —  Shyamal Sinha

New Delhi  – China announced Sunday that it was providing a $90 million grant to Sri Lanka, two days after the island nation’s president sought help from a visiting Chinese delegation in disproving a perception that China-funded megaprojects are debt traps.

Calling the financial assistance a timely grant, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said that it would be used for medical care, education and water supplies in Sri Lanka’s rural areas. and that it would contribute to the well-being of (Sri Lankans) in a post-COVID era.

The announcement follows a visit to the Indian Ocean island nation Friday by a Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi, a Communist Party Politburo member and a former foreign minister.

During talks with Yang, Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa asked China to help him in disproving a perception that China-funded megaprojects are debt traps aimed at gaining influence in local affairs.

China considers Sri Lanka to be a critical link in its massive Belt and Road global infrastructure building initiative and has provided billions of dollars in loans for Sri Lankan projects over the past decade. The projects include a seaport, airport, port-city, highways and power stations.

Critics say that the Chinese-funded projects are not financially viable and that Sri Lanka will face difficulties in repaying the loans.

In 2017, Sri Lanka leased out a Chinese-built port located near busy shipping routes to a Chinese company for 99 years to recover from the heavy burden of repaying the Chinese loan the country received to build it.

The facility is part of Beijings plan for a line of ports stretching from Chinese waters to the Persian Gulf. China has also agreed to provide a $989 million loan to Sri Lanka to build an expressway that will connect its tea-growing central region to the Chinese-run seaport.

China expanded its footprint in Sri Lanka during the leadership of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the older brother of the current leader. Mahinda Rajakapaksa, who is currently prime minister, held separate talks with Yang on Friday.

Chinas economic influence over Sri Lanka has worried its closest neighbor, India, which considers the Indian Ocean region to be its strategic backyard.

Yangs visit came days after the top diplomats of four Indo-Pacific nations the U.S., Japan, India and Australia met in Tokyo to increase their involvement in a regional initiative called Free and Open Indo-Pacific aimed at countering Chinas growing assertiveness in the region.

India’s relative size by itself, regardless of policies, makes it a threatening actor in the subcontinent. Sometimes, policies add to the problem. It is no surprise that small neighbours would want an extra-regional balancer to temper Indian influence and even to secure better terms from the bureaucrats in New Delhi. China is the most obvious option to balance India. Besides geopolitical balancing, there is genuine need for capital for infrastructure projects in SriLanka . If India cannot service those needs, then China’s bottomless pocket comes in handy. There is also the angle of Chinese money greasing the political economy of  small  countries.

Buddhist Times News – China’s dos and don’ts for Indian media ahead of Taiwan national day

Rezaul H Laskar for Hindustan Times. Read the original article here.

China on Wednesday issued a series of guidelines for the Indian media for coverage of the national day of Taiwan, observed on October 10, saying all countries having diplomatic ties with Beijing should “firmly honour their commitment to the One-China policy”.

The move followed full-page advertisements issued by the Taiwan government in two Delhi-based newspapers ahead of the national day, which featured an image of President Tsai Ing-wen and the slogan “Taiwan and India are natural partners”. The advertisement referred to Taiwan’s efforts to counter Covid-19 and its sharing of experiences and essential medical items with like-minded partners.

Against the backdrop of the India-China border standoff, experts and commentators have called for New Delhi to review its relations with Taipei, which has been dealing with the Chinese military’s actions in recent months.

In 1995, India and Taiwan established representative offices in their respective capitals though the two sides do not have formal diplomatic relations. Taiwan has the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi, while India has the India-Taipei Association in Taipei to promote interactions and facilitate business, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that Taiwan had canceled a reception for its national day because of the Covid-19 pandemic and would only have advertisements and a TV show to mark the occasion.

A letter sent out by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi referred to the “so-called forthcoming ‘National Day of Taiwan’” and said it “would like to remind our media friends that there is only one China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China”.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory…All countries that have diplomatic relations with China should firmly honour their commitment to the One-China policy, which is also the long-standing official position of the Indian government,” the letter said.

India presents 3,000 vials of Remdesivir to Myanmar as mark of commitment to assist Nay Pyi Taw in fight against COVID-19