Buddhist diplomacy to the fore

P Stobdan

Former Ambassador

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making attempts to salvage Buddhism to advance India’s global interests. His latest gesture of taking PM Fumio Kishida to the Bal Bodhi Tree in Buddha Jayanti Park and gifting him a sandalwood Buddha statue was a masterstroke in diplomacy. For centuries, the gifting of Bodhi saplings and Buddha relics has been integral to Indian statecraft and diplomacy. Kings and monarchs exchanged relics for building alliances; they also fought wars over them.

Devni Mori’s architectural mastery should symbolise India’s rise on the world stage in the 21st century. It would imply the emergence of India as ‘the light of Asia’.

Buddha’s relics symbolised the rule of dharma (path of righteousness), conferred on the upholders of righteousness in conformity with the chakravartin (ideal ruler) manifesting Bodhisattva or Buddha-nature. There were instances of Indian emperors conferring the chakravartin title on Chinese rulers who spread dharma in the rest of Asia.

In 2017, PM Modi expressed his desire to build a grand Buddha temple at Devni Mori in Vadnagar (Gujarat) where archaeologists in 1963 had unearthed a silk-wrapped gold bottle inside a 1,700-year-old casket with the inscription ‘Brahmi Dashabala Sharira Nilaya’, meaning abode of the bodily remains of Lord Buddha.

It is said that the relic is from one of the eight original sharirik stupas that originally belonged to eight major Sakya clans. The story goes that they were reopened by emperor Ashoka to erect more stupas to spread dharma across the world. Major Buddha relics have been discovered in India at places such as Piprahwa (UP), Bhattiprolu (Andhra Pradesh) and Lalitgiri (Odisha).

Vadnagar’s history is deep-rooted. The Girnar rock edicts from the Ashoka period explain most of it. The Maitraka Dynasty ruled western India until the onslaught of Muhammad bin Qasim in the eighth century that marked the destruction of Buddhist heritage of Sindh and Saurashtra.

Just as Buddhist monks had to escape from Afghanistan to Kashmir due to Arab persecution, the monks displaced from Sindh took shelter in Valabhi. From Kutch to Saurashtra and up to Bharuch, caves were built to accommodate the monks.

Dudda Vihara was once a powerful centre of spiritual power and knowledge in Saurashtra. Hiuen Tsang noted over 200 monasteries in Bharuch, Atali, Kheta, Valabhi, Anandapura and Saurashtra. Similarly, I-tsing noted the primacy of Sammitiya tradition in Valabhi. Taranga remained a prominent Tantrik Buddhist centre even till the ninth century.

The ruins of viharas, stupas and chaityas are distressing symbols of India’s cultural destruction. We saw how the Bamiyan Buddhas were decimated with tanks and artillery in Afghanistan. Resurrection of Devni Mori would signify the end of a dark phase of Indian history.

Devni Mori can potentially reignite an Asian renaissance. It may provide fresh impetus not only among nations where Buddhism is still a living tradition, but also with those sharing common archaeological heritage such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Iran.

For India, it will go beyond symbolising its past spiritual connectivity to provide fresh stimulus required to advance its economic ties with the rest of Asia.

The Gujarat Government needs to form, in the first phase, an authentication council comprising professionals drawn from across the world. Its topographical context needs to be highlighted through international conferences, and its final results require global academic publicity.

In the second phase, it would require a high-level spiritual appropriation and legitimation council comprising top Buddhist masters to sanctify the place where the casket will be placed. The final phase requires an authority to prepare the architectural layout for placing the holy relic.

There would be both physical and philosophical challenges in adopting either the cosmic model based on the concept of Mandala (Indian metaphysical cosmology), the key concept of Mount Meru (god’s abode) or nirvana (liberation from sansara). They all depict ‘formlessness’ as a path to sunyata (non-existence of the self).

The traditional viharas, stupas and chaityas symbolise these ideas. The Sanchi Stupa is one of the surviving examples. Borobudur in eastern Java symbolises the three ‘realms’ of Buddhist cosmology — kamadhatu (the world of desires), rupadhatu (the world of forms), and arupadhatu (the formless world).

The other models include Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) of Thailand, Haeinsa (Reflection on a Smooth Sea) of South Korea, Pha That Luang (Great Stupa) of Laos, Todaiji (Great Eastern) of Japan, Boudhanath of Nepal, Mahabodhi (Great Enlightenment) of Bodh Gaya and Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Pagoda) of Myanmar. The Kanishka style is another one — mostly adopted by the Chinese.

With India’s economic rise, reviving the ancient seats of knowledge such as Nalanda, Devni Mori, Valabhi and others would have to become a reality.

Devni Mori’s architectural mastery should symbolise India’s rise on the world stage in the 21st century with a big bang. It would imply the emergence of India as ‘the light of Asia’.

It should depict India’s unique worldview emanating from its civilisational culture, emerging as a modern nation without necessarily accepting westernisation, a wonder of the world projecting the universal image of a vishwaguru. It should become a rare place to get a glimpse of the nature of mankind, all-encompassing totality of existence, and a place to feel the beauty of love, peace and stillness within oneself. Above all, it should symbolise human honour for nature and respect for the universe.

To be sure, once all these essential steps are fulfilled, patrons worldwide will flock to Devni Mori to assist in its revival. It will provide India a historic opportunity — hitherto hijacked by others — to lead Buddhism in the 21st century.

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