Courtesy: Buddhist Channel

CHENNAI , India — A day-long national seminar titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Philosophical Revisit to Buddhism in Tamil NaduƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was organised by the Department of Philosophy, University of Madras, here on Wednesday. The seminar focused on how Buddhism forayed into Tamil Nadu.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Inaugurating the seminar D Raja, MP and National Secretary of the Communist Party of India, said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Earlier all the Dalit colonies in northern Tamil Nadu had the photos of Buddha and Ambedkar. During my early years as a school student, I came to know about Buddha and Ambedkar through their birth anniversaries celebrated by the people of those colonies. Their birthdays were celebrated like a festival. Later I was introduced to the principles of Karl Marx through one of my school teachers. Then in my college days I came to know about Iyothee Thass, who organised the first conference on BuddhaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s teaching in Tamil Nadu. Thus I am shaped by the thoughts of both communism and Buddhism.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

He added, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-India made the first and foremost contribution to the world of philosophy in the form of Buddha. Buddha doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t care about the existence of god or soul. His only problem was human beings. He believed that through his teaching, humans can walk in a good path. The principles of both Buddha and Karl Marx are more or less equal. Ambedkar was the first person who tried to build a link between Buddha and Marx.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Buddha renounced everything. He went to people and spoke to them in their own language. He lived as a common man. He lived for the common man and so he too is a fighter. His philosophies are not religious principles, but a new way of life. We are influenced by western studies and hence we are not aware about Buddhist principles. The great irony in todayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s scenario with regard to Buddhism is, in Myanmar Buddhist monks fought against the junta. But in Sri Lanka the scenario is different. There Buddha is bleeding,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he concluded.

Around 150 students from various colleges of the State participated in the seminar and nearly 20 papers were presented.