On November 13, 2014, the press conference of the 2014 Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange was held at Baohua Temple in Kunming, Yunnan. The Vice Secretary General of the Buddhist Association of China Zhang Lin hosted the press conference and venerable masters and representatives from more than ten news media attended the conference, including Director of the Teaching Affairs Division of the Buddhist Association of China Venerable Master Hongdu, the Vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of Zhejiang and Abbot of Lingyin Temple Venerable Master Guangquan, the Vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of Yunnan and Abbot of Baohua Temple Venerable Master Chonghua, all of whom gave a speech.
Venerable Master Guangquan, also the executive director of the Buddhist Association of China and Dean of Hangzhou Buddhist Academy (a base of Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange), gave a speech introducing the experiences of Hangzhou Buddhist Academy in organizing sutra lecture exchanges and their great efforts in the promotion of sutra studies and the practical application of Buddhist scriptures to public life over the past few years. According to Venerable Master Guangquan, Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange is a high-level and high-profile exchange of sutra lecture experience, aiming to create a positive sutra learning environment in the Buddhist community and to promote a sound development of Chinese Buddhism. In 2008, the Buddhist Association of China organized the first Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange, after which five consecutive sutra lecture exchanges have been hosted in Hangzhou from 2009 to 2013 by the Buddhist Association of Hangzhou. Under the guidance of the Buddhist Association of China, the Buddhist Association of Hangzhou set up a work team of over 80 staff, which consisted of divisions of meeting service, reception, secretariat, security and lay Buddhists, to coordinate all forces of Hangzhou Buddhist Academy and ten temples in Hangzhou. In recent years, the Buddhist Association of Hangzhou supported and actively participated in the sutra lecture tour around the country.
In 2013, a delegation of Buddhist masters led by the General Secretary of the Buddhist Association of China Wang Jian lectured on Buddhist scriptures in New York, US. The five sutra lectures enjoyed a warm welcome by the overseas Chinese there. In addition, “China Sutra Lecture Website” has been established to provide a platform for Buddhist believers. Videos of sutra lecture tour around the country are available on the website, which deepens the enthusiasm of Buddhist masters to broadcast Buddhism and expands its extent of influence.
The sutra lecture exchange this year will be hosted at Baohua Temple in Kunming, Yunnan. With the great support of the provincial and municipal governments as well as the general public, the sutra lecture exchange will achieve full success.
The theme of the 2014 Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange is purity and harmony and will be based on the fifteen most basic and most widely recognized Buddhist scriptures, such as The Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra and The Amitābha Sutra. Its aim is to explore the right faith and the right conduct advocated by Buddhism to lead the general public to a life of wisdom, purity and harmony so as to promote the social development. The main purpose of the sutra lecture exchange is to discover and cultivate talents in sutra lecturing and create a good atmosphere of sutra learning and lecturing among young Buddhists.
It is learned that dozens of Buddhist masters from the Buddhist community around the country are going to participate in the event and representatives of masters of Han-Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Theravada have been invited to give a demonstration sutra lecture.
The press conference of the 2014 Chinese Buddhism Sutra Lecture Exchange
Ven. Master Guangquan summing up the impact of the past six sutra lecture exchanges
