Buddhism, a major religion in China, can assist in making a contribution to the country's "harmonious society" and assisting with world peace, a top religious affairs official said yesterday.

 

As a religion with "profound ideas of harmony and a conception of peace," Buddhism could relieve strain and stress among people and between them and nature, thus enhancing social accord, said Ye Xiaowen, chief of the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

 

China was working hard to build a harmonious society and advocated the construction of a world where harmony played a significant roll, he said.

 

Promoting the Buddhist spirit of harmony, peace and benevolence would undoubtedly push forward this ethic in China and the world, Xinhua News Agency quoted Ye as saying.

 

"As a responsible country China has had its own deep thoughts and a measure of foresight in the promotion of world harmony," Ye said.

 

"Religious beliefs are one of the important social forces from which China draws strength," he added.

 

The official made the remarks just days before the World Buddhist Forum convenes in the scenic city of Hangzhou and nearby Zhoushan, in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday.

 

It's the first time since Buddhism came to China 2,000 years ago that the country has hosted such an event.

 

Monks and experts in Buddhism from across the world will exchange views at the five-day forum and focus on the theme that "a harmonious world begins in the mind," according to Buddhist sources.

 

A popular doctrine of Buddhism is "to do no evil, to do only good and to purify the will," said Wei Daoru, a researcher with the Institute of World Religions under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

As has been shown historically, Buddhism has helped avert various conflicts among people and taught believers to re-adjust their throughts for peaceful co-existence with their fellow men and nature, Wei told China Daily.

 

The religion also held that all the various Buddhist sects were equal and lived peacefully and amicably, Wei said. In addition Buddhism had become a bridge for international cultural exchange, he noted. ?

 

Venerable Guoguang said Buddhism advocated fusion rather than conflict and stuck to accepting that there were differences in many things. ?

 

The religious doctrine of selflessness, charity, respect, equality and tolerance made it culturally advantageous in safeguarding world peace, he said, in an article published in the Buddhist Forum.

 

China has at least 20,000 Buddhist temples and about 200,000 monks and nuns, according to official statistics.

 

(China Daily April 11, 2006)