Zubair Qureshi
An 11-member delegation from Malaysia led by Venerable Jue Cheng who is the Chief Abbess of the FoGuang Shan order arrived early Monday and is now on her way to Buddhist sites in Taxila and Swat. She is also the Chief Abbess responsible for Indonesia and Philippines.
They are visiting Pakistan as guests of former Adviser to the Government of Pakistan, Imran Shauket who is known for his passion to promote Pakistan’s rich ancient Gandhara culture in the world. They will also visitil Quaid-e-Azam University where they have set up a partnership between the QAU and KL University, Malaysia.
This is the fourth visit that Chief Abbess is paying to Pakistan and this time apart from her visit and religious prayers, she has a noble mission too i.e. to provide gifts (school bags, uniforms, stationery items) to 550 students of Amlukdara, Swat, on Wednesday (today). In Swat, she will also visit the grave of former MNA and a patron of Miracles Trust, late Prince Adnan Aurangzeb who was a selfless promoter of Buddhism tourism and was always in the frontline along with Imran Shauket to welcome Buddhist monks in the region. While talking to Pakistan Observer, Imran Shauket said Adnan’s widow Zenab Adnan is now carrying forward her late husband’s mission and that is why Chief Abbess, Most Venerable Jue Cheng and her team have made it a point to visit his grave and hold prayers there.
In her previous visits, too, MV Jue Cheng has been preaching and promoting interfaith harmony and peace besides delivering regular Dhamma lectures.
To a question, Imran said that he has discussed with MV Jue Cheng her wish of continued visits of large delegations of Buddhist monks and disciples of FoGuang Shan order from Malaysia, regional countries and the world to follow MV Jue’s footsteps.
In her brief interaction with Pakistan Observer, MV Jue said she admired the people of Pakistan and the Buddhist sites here are of rare and unique importance. In my early days in Buddhism I used to read about Gandhara and marveled at the Buddhist statues and relics of the Gandhara period. My quest came to an end when I finally visited Taxila and other sites in Pakistan which held our imagination for so many years, she said. She appreciated Imran Shauket and his efforts to promote Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage and the ancient Gandhara Civilization in the world.
FoGuang Shan International Monastic Order was setup by Venerable Master Hsing Yun (1927 – 2023), a Chinese Buddhist monk. This order has 2 million disciples all over the world, 300 temples, 4 universities and some 20 other affiliated organizations such as Buddhist colleges, libraries, publishing houses, Buddhist art galleries and tearooms, free mobile medical clinics, children’s home, retirement home, high school, and television station.
