Exchange and mutual learning, win-win cooperation and build a close China ASEAN Community of common destiny
2021-12-01
*** *** 。 Religious culture in ASEAN countries ASEAN, the association of Southeast Asian nations, was founded in August 1967. It now has 10 member countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, covering an area of 4.5 million square kilometers and a population of more than 600 million. Adhering to the spirit of equality, friendship and cooperation, ASEAN has become a platform for political, economic, military, cultural and other exchanges and cooperation in Southeast Asia. ASEAN countries have a long history of religious communication and rich religious culture. Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Taoism and other religions have developed to varying degrees in ASEAN countries, but their religious forms are very different. Among the ten ASEAN countries, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are very typical southern Theravada Buddhist countries. More than 90% of the people in Thailand believe in Buddhism. The legal sect and the big sect are the two main factions. Buddhism affects all levels of national politics, social culture and people's life. Among the three color flags in Thailand, white represents religion. The Thai constitution stipulates that "the king must be a Buddhist and the protector of Buddhism". The king is the largest supporter of the monk group. The fourth monarch of sukhtar Dynasty established the king of Thailand as a devout Buddhist and once became a monk, setting a precedent that the king of Thailand must become a monk once in his life. Thai men have to become monks at least once in their life, ranging from days to years. Short term becoming a monk is even a "rite of passage" for Thai men. Up to now, some Thai women still think that a man who has never been a monk is a "stranger" and refuse to marry him. In special periods such as the death of relatives, Thai men will also try to become monks for a short time and return their merits to their old friends. About 88% of the people in Myanmar believe in Southern Buddhism, and the three largest sects are the good Dharma sect, the Ruiqin sect and the sect. Myanmar once defined Buddhism as the state religion in 1961. Although its state religion status was abolished, Buddhism is still the most important religious belief and spiritual guidance of the Myanmar people. Buddhism is Myanmar's tourism resource and diplomatic force. The pagoda of Ruixi palace, built in 1090, is not only a tourist card of Myanmar, but also a witness to major diplomatic events. Beside the pagoda, there is a Buddha Pavilion donated by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during his visit to Myanmar in 1961. Buddhism is also the main religious belief in Laos and Cambodia. "Taiping Yulan" in the Song Dynasty said, "supporting the South and West for more than seven kilometers, the land is flat and broad. There are more than 100000 families, men and women are benevolent and good, and they all serve the Buddha". Funan is the ancient name of Cambodia. The main religious belief of Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia in ASEAN is Islam. Indonesia is the Islamic country with the largest Muslim population in the world, with a Muslim population of more than 200 million, accounting for about 87% of the national population. The Muslim population of Brunei and Malaysia also accounts for more than 60% of the national population. Before the introduction of Islam, Indonesia and Malaysia were deeply influenced by Buddhist culture. Sri Buddha kingdom was an important Buddhist Center in Southeast Asia. In the 5th century, Faxian went to India to seek Dharma. On his way home, he stopped in Java and visited the Malay Peninsula. In the 6th century AD, Yijing also stayed in Malaysia to promote the Dharma during his journey to the west, and successively stayed in Sri Buddha Kingdom three times for nearly 10 years. Between the 13th and 18th centuries, Islam spread rapidly in this region through business, intermarriage and immigration. The kingdom of Malacca in the 15th century was even known as "Maijia" and became the center of Islam in this region. More than 86% of the people in the Philippines believe in Catholicism, and about 6% believe in other Christian religions. In 1521, Magellan's fleet arrived in the Philippines for the first time. Since 1565, Augustine, Franciscans and Jesuits landed one after another. Singapore and Vietnam are ASEAN countries where the spread of various religious beliefs is relatively average. About 33% of the people in Singapore believe in Buddhism, about 10% believe in Taoism, about 18% believe in Christianity, about 14% believe in Islam, Hinduism and folk religion, and even about 18% have no religious beliefs. Less than 20% of the people in Vietnam have clear religious beliefs, mainly Buddhism, Catholicism, Hohhot and Gaotai. Religious exchanges between China and ASEAN countries Historically, China and ASEAN countries have carried out many friendly interactions in religious culture. In the 14th century, the monks of the ancient kingdom of Rana in Thailand first spread Southern Buddhism to Jingdong area of Myanmar, then to Yunnan area of China, and finally developed into Chinese Southern Buddhism, that is, the two major factions of run sect, Huayuan Temple sect and Lianhuatang Temple sect. Both FA Xian and Yi Jing stayed in Malaysia and Indonesia to preach the law. Since then, the people of the two countries mainly believe in Islam. However, after the 17th century, Chinese immigrants came one after another and brought back Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism and Taoism are still the main religious beliefs of local Chinese and affect the local people. In Thailand, Phuket holds the ninth emperor's fast every September and October. Local Chinese eat fast and worship Buddha during the nine days and hold a grand ceremony. In recent years, more and more local Thais have participated in fasting activities, and the Nine Emperor fasting festival culture has been extended out of Phuket to all Thailand. The "stone dare" belief of "tiger, stone dare, invincible, dragon Weiyang" mentioned in the chapter of urgent death of the history tour of the Western Han Dynasty also traveled across the sea with Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia. The hanging "Mount Tai stone dare" can often be found in national houses such as Singapore and Thailand. Looking closely at the 30 years since China and ASEAN established dialogue relations, due to the development of globalization, the facilitation of transportation and communication modes, and the breaking of cultural barriers, religious and cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN countries have blossomed everywhere The exchange of religious education and the cooperation of religious research have achieved very remarkable results. China and ASEAN countries have a good foundation for religious exchanges and cooperation. In 2006, China held the first World Buddhist Forum with the theme of "harmonious world, starting from the heart" in Zhejiang. The forum is held every three years, and the fifth session has been held by 2018. The forum has set up an equal, pluralistic and open platform for high-level dialogue, exchange and cooperation, exchange and mutual learning, and discuss the issues of international cooperation, social responsibility and peace mission of the Buddhist community. From 2006 to 2018, the Buddhist community in ASEAN countries has been a very important participant in this forum. Vesak day is an important festival in Southern Buddhist countries. It is a day to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and nirvana of the Buddha. Since 2004, the United Nations International Buddhist Conference on Vesak day of Southern Buddhism has been held alternately in Thailand, Vietnam and other countries, and the Chinese Buddhist Association has sent delegations to participate. In 2019, master Yan Jue, then vice president of the China Buddhist Association, affirmed in his speech that the conference provided an important platform for exchanges and cooperation among Buddhists around the world and made constructive contributions to using Buddhist wisdom to solve universal problems faced by mankind. *** Ding shansutin, chairman of the Indonesian scholars Committee of Islamic law, and his delegation visited the China Islamic Association in Beijing in October 2014. The two sides held talks on continuing to promote Muslim cooperation between the two countries. When meeting with Ding shansutin, Chen Guangyuan, then president of the China Iran Association, said that Chinese Muslims and Indonesian Muslims have established good relations and maintained close exchanges; Mutual exchanges and exchanges are the aspirations of both sides and increase their friendship. It is hoped that Muslims of the two countries will help each other and develop together on this basis. Ding shansuting reviewed the history of exchanges between China and Indonesia. He especially mentioned that the Indonesian people were very familiar with Zheng He, a famous navigator in the Ming Dynasty, and believed that he contributed to world peace; Now there are five or six mosques in Indonesia named after Zheng He, and the architecture is also in Chinese style. In July 2014, China Malaysia Islamic cultural exchange was held in Malaysia. Chen Guangyuan, then president of the China Islamic Association, said that the friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Malaysian people have a long history, and the exchanges and cooperation between the Islamic circles of the two countries are becoming closer and closer. The holding of the exchange conference and cultural exhibition is a cultural gift dedicated to celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia. It is a new movement and step in the history of Islamic cultural exchanges between China and Malaysia. It will further promote the exchange and development of Islamic culture between China and Malaysia, strengthen the cooperation between the Islamic circles of the two countries and enhance the traditional friendship between Muslims of the two countries. In religious education, China and ASEAN countries also have a lot of cooperation. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries have overseas monks who come to Chinese universities to exchange studies and even study for degrees every year. Thailand's Dharma body temple has sent many students to Peking University to study and obtain master's and doctor's degrees. After returning home, it has played a great bridge role in Sino Thai Buddhist cultural exchange. Because religious education in ASEAN countries such as Thailand is a part of national education, more and more students from China go to these countries to study religious related professional degrees. Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University in Thailand is one of the two major Buddhist universities in Thailand and a university recognized by the Ministry of education. In recent years, many Chinese students have completed their studies in the University. After returning home, some of them are committed to Buddhist exchanges between the two countries in the monk group, and some are engaged in religious education and research in Colleges and universities. In terms of academic research exchange and cooperation, the Chinese translation project of Pali Buddhist classics, which was jointly launched by Thailand's Fashen temple and the Eastern Language Department of Peking University, has achieved phased results and published the Chinese translation of Pali long bu. The high-end forum on religious research in Southeast Asia organized by the Institute of world religions of the Chinese Academy of social sciences has been held for ten times by 2021. Over the past decade, the conference gathered nearly 700 experts and scholars from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries. The co organizers include overseas Chinese University, Wuhan University, Yunnan University, Xiamen University and other universities, which promoted the development of religious research in Southeast Asia. The Sino Thai Buddhist Forum jointly organized by Chongqing Huayan culture and education foundation and Thailand Maha Chulalongkorn Buddhist University brought together well-known scholars from Chinese and Thai universities and promoted the exchange and mutual learning of Buddhist culture between the two countries. Religious and cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN countries have advanced steadily. *** (outlook new era)
Edit：Yuanqi Tang Responsible editor：Xiao Yu
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