Vietnam attends international Buddhism conference in India

The Fansipan pagoda in Vietnam

Scholars from Vietnam, India and other countries including Australia and Belgium exchanged views on Buddhism’s role as a social and cultural bridge and a source of global peace at an international conference in India’s Bhubaneswar city on February 8-9.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Toan, Director of the Centre for Indian Studies (CIS) at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and President of the CIS’s Science Council, highlighted cultural exchanges between Vietnam and India related to Buddhism, Hinduism and Brahmanism, and similarities in the thoughts of President Ho Chi Minh, leader Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India. 

He also highlighted the core Buddhist ideas such as peace, non-violence and tolerance.

During the conference, Toan answered other scholars’ questions regarding the practice of Buddhism in Vietnam and its role in the country’s national construction and defence./.