On the morning of March 28, 2025, the highly anticipated Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025 opened a cultural feast of compassion and wisdom, featuring the 10th sub-forum titled “Harmony of Religions and Mutual Learning among Civilizations.” Twelve eminent monks and cultural scholars from six countries and regions gathered around a round table to discuss the theme “Countless Dharma Doors, All Returning to the Same Source—Exploring the Prospects of the Buddhist Texts Digitization Project,” aiming to reach a consensus and empower the present Buddhist community.
During the discussions, Venerable Guangquan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Buddhist Association of China and President of the Zhejiang Buddhist Association, was the first speaker to offer his insights. He emphasized the historical significance of digitizing Chinese Buddhist texts. He then introduced the achievements made by Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou in recent years concerning the digitization of Buddhist scriptures. These achievements include the development of several platforms, such as an “AI-based OCR engine for ancient texts,” a “digital production platform for ancient texts,” a “digital tool platform for ancient texts,” and a “Buddhist scripture reading platform.” In addition, Lingyin Temple systematically advanced the digitization projects of the Jingshan Canon, Yongle Northern Canon, and Sixi Canon, achieving in-depth organization and intelligent development of Buddhist texts. In the future, efforts will be focused on systematic construction for both quantitative expansion and qualitative breakthroughs so as to better digitize Buddhist texts, according to Venerable Guangquan. At the end of his speech, Venerable Guangquan concluded by calling for a reverent approach to safeguarding the classics and an innovative mindset to embrace the future, promote deeper cultural exchanges among countries through digital connections, and allow the wisdom of Buddhism in Asia to thrive anew in the digital age.
