The world-renowned Boao Forum for Asia 2025 Annual Conference once again opened a cultural feast of compassion and wisdom, ushering in the wonderful chapter of the 10th “Religious Harmony and Mutual Learning of Civilizations” sub-forum. 12 eminent monks and cultural scholars from six countries and regions gathered together in the form of a roundtable meeting to discuss the theme of “Ten Thousand Dharmas Return to the Square Inch – Discussion and Prospects of the Buddhist Scripture Digitalization Project”, to build consensus and empower the present.
Yan Jue, member of the 14th Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, deputy director of the China Religious Peace Committee, co-chairman of the World Religious Peace Organization, and president of the Buddhist Association of China; Shi Guangquan, deputy secretary-general of the Buddhist Association of China and president of the Zhejiang Buddhist Association; Zhu Cuiping, editor-in-chief of Zhonghua Book Company Gulian (Beijing) Digital Media Technology Co., Ltd.; Shi Huimin, chairman of the Taiwan Buddhist Electronic Buddhist Scripture Foundation, honorary professor of Taipei National University of the Arts and Dharma Drum University of the Arts
Hong Xiang, research assistant of the Buddhist Studies Research Center of the University of Hong Kong, China; Kawanaka Hirokyo, general secretary of the Pure Land Sect of Japan; Tomatsu Yoshiharu, deputy director of the Pure Land Sect Comprehensive Research Institute of Japan; Zonglin, honorary chairman of the Goryeo Tripitaka Research Institute of Korea; Baben Masidi, deputy sangha of Thailand, member of the highest monastic order of Thailand, abbot of the Golden Mountain Temple; Sandima Biwansa, chairman of the Great Sangha Committee of Myanmar; and Kalind Asagi, abbot of the Gangkala Ma Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, etc. spoke at the forum.
Yin Shun, member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, and president of the Hainan Buddhist Association, presided over the meeting. At the opening ceremony, Master Yinshun, one of the initiators of the sub-forum, the special host of this sub-forum, and the only religious representative who has attended the sub-forum for ten consecutive sessions, recalled: “Ten years ago, we responded to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s major initiative on building a community with a shared future for mankind and initiated the establishment of the Boao Forum for Asia’s “Religious Harmony and Mutual Learning of Civilizations” sub-forum.”
“Over the past ten years, we have always adhered to the original intention of building a community with a shared future for mankind, focusing on religious harmony and civilization exchanges and dialogues, helping to build a bridge of communication between people from all over the world, promoting friendly cooperation in global religions, culture, education, charity, medicine and other fields, enhancing understanding and trust among the world’s five major religions, promoting harmonious exchanges in the three major Buddhist languages, serving as a cultural ambassador to help the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, and demonstrating the responsibility of Chinese Buddhism.” Yinshun said.
Standing at a new starting point, in order to practice the spirit of the Sixth World Buddhist Forum and respond to the call of the 2025 Boao Forum for Asia to “create the future of Asia in the midst of world changes”, this religious forum closely follows the pulse of the times, promotes close cooperation among the international community, and jointly builds a global Buddhist scripture digitization project to respond to the global challenges brought to religion by the great changes of the century, contributes religious wisdom to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, and demonstrates great love and responsibility.
The global Buddhist scripture digitization century project is not only an artificial intelligence technology proposition, but also a cultural mission. In recent years, the participating countries and regions of the Boao Forum for Asia Religious Forum have actively explored and innovated around the digitization of Buddhist scriptures: using digital technology to compile the “Chinese Buddhist Dictionary”; promoting the digital translation of Buddhist scriptures for the South China Sea countries.
We also took the lead in proposing relevant proposals at the National People’s Congress and the CPPCC meetings, and promoted the digitization of Buddhist scriptures to become a major topic for discussing state affairs. It is particularly worth mentioning that Nanhai Buddhist College, as China’s first international Buddhist education platform for Southeast Asia, has so far recruited and trained 106 international students from Laos, Mongolia, Cambodia, Nepal and other countries. I believe these international students
