In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte Lokamitra speaks to the Triratna Buddhist Order in Bodh Gaya on the history of the modern Buddhist movement in India. In and#8220;The Growth and Potential of Buddhism in Indiaand#8221; he draws parallels between Dr. Ambedkarand#8217;s and Sangharakshitaand#8217;s approach to the Dharma, particularly their common emphasis on social change.
This excerpt is from the 2009 International Convention where Lokamitra addresses the stunning rebirth and growth of Buddhism in India, the positive work undertaken by the TBMSG and FWBO in the region, and the potential for Buddhists in India to have an impact on the future of their country and the rest of the world.
Recorded 2009 at Bodh Gaya, India. Includes translations.
[music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you, and happy listening. [music] But since the 1990s, there has been an enormous growth of Buddhist, all over India. [speaking in foreign language] In Maharashtra, you can reckon that at least 10 million people consider themselves Buddhist. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] But in India, there could be more than 30 million Buddhists today. [speaking in foreign language] And this number is growing day by day. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] But I would say that possibly 300 million people are, to some extent, open to the Dharma if approached in the right way. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] And we're trying to respond to this in various ways. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] And after this convention, they're having a retreat here. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] And there are many other individual initiatives. [speaking in foreign language] And just as we sound in the 80s in Maharashtra, wherever people go in India, people want to know. They're desperate to know about the Dharma. [speaking in foreign language] There's a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. [speaking in foreign language] People know that they are on the way to destroying, smashing the chains of their past identity. [speaking in foreign language] This is irreversible. [speaking in foreign language] But how they're doing it, they're not over show. [speaking in foreign language] Now, we're not really chanting centers in many different parts of India. [speaking in foreign language] And some of that energy could be much more widespread. [speaking in foreign language] But we're making contact with many, many people. [speaking in foreign language] We're having holding lecture tours, retreats, training programs. [speaking in foreign language] We're developing clusters, groups of people all over India associated with us. [speaking in foreign language] In that way, over the last six years, we have developed a considerable or injured network of friends. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] With a small and a big M. Okay. Social work, as all of you know, has also played a very important role in the development of T.B.M.S.G. [speaking in foreign language] Most order members and mittress have been very keen, more than keen to give back to society. [speaking in foreign language] They can't live practicing the summer and close their eyes to their pooling conditions in which people around them live. [speaking in foreign language] And Dante from the very beginning was very keen on this. [speaking in foreign language] In 1982, we started our first health and education community center. [speaking in foreign language] Now we have many of both. [speaking in foreign language] And this work has made a significant difference to the lives of thousands of people. [speaking in foreign language] But it's given us, confidence, that we can help society effectively on the basis of our Dharma practice. [speaking in foreign language] We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [music fades out] [music fades out] [BLANK_AUDIO]
