Buddhism highlighted in social harmony
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-05-10 22:02
When she retired from a local factory three years ago, Qiu Huiying, a
resident in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, couldn't help
feeling lonely and depressed as she often thought she had been "left behind by a
rapidly developing society."
Qiu, now 58, didn't find back her mental peace until she turned to Buddhist
doctrines. "Having meditated over the meaning of life, my mind gradually calmed
down and my family is happy to see my life back to normal," she said.
Qiu was more than glad when her city played host to a World Buddhist Forum in
early April, China's first international Buddhist congregation since the
religion was introduced to the country some 2,000 years ago.
The holding of the forum was big news to the country's 100 million Buddhism
adherents, as well as some 200,000 monks and nuns in 130,000 monasteries and
convents. It has conveyed the message that the doctrines of Buddhism are
officially recognized by the atheist government as a conducive vehicle to help
with the creation of a harmonious society.
As China becomes more wealthy and worldly, "Buddhism can
be taken as 'a method to deal with humanity's spiritual confusion and solve
various problems confronting us," Ye Xiaowen, director of China's State
Administration for Religious Affairs, told China Features at the World Buddhist
Forum.
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