A Brief Detail of KOKUSAI BUKKYO KORYU KYOKAI
I have the honour to inform your Excellency for the brief detail of our KOKUSAI BUKKYO KORYU KYOKAI in this opportunity.
The International Buddhist Brotherhood Association, KOKUSAI BUKKYO KORYU KYOKAI in Japanese, the owing body of INDOSAN NIPPONJI(Japanese Temple) Bodh Gaya, Bihar State, India, was originally established in 1963 as the synthetic society of all Japanese Buddhist Sects and Schools, seizing upon the opportunity for “Japanese Buddhism to make a contribution to today’s international society” as expressed in the first Prime Minister of India, the Late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s proposal to “Build an international Buddhist society on the sacred site of Bodhgaya where Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment, making of it a base for peace and everlasting international reconciliation between human beings who have experienced the successive world wars,(address on 2500 years of Buddhism)”
It is registered at the Ministry of Education(in old days, then the Ministry of Education and Science), Government of Japan as Juridical Foundation, and its sister society International Buddhist Brotherhood Association of India was registered to the Government of Bihar in 1986 under the Society Registration Act 1860 of India with the aim and form of religious welfare foundation for organizing of its activities.
The first project of the International Buddhist Brotherhood Association was to build the International Buddhist House of Bodh-Gaya, which completed in February 1970.
The INDOSAN NIPPONJI(Japanese Temple) which formed the second step of the project, was completed in November 1973, and was formally inaugurated by His Excellency V.V.Giri, the then President of India in December 1973.
As the third step, the construction of the kindergarten attached to the Japanese Temple completed in February 1977 and started functioning from 15th September 1977
on a trial basis with forty children.
Now it trains 208 children, in three years course, from 3 years of age to 5years old.
The well experienced 8 teachers are giving nursery pre-school education, such as language, music and rhythm, paper work, painting, manual arts, and so on.
Children have facility of medical check, uniforms, educational materials, lunch and milk, and other necessities. The Japanese temple in provides all those free.
The fourth is a free clinic, KOMYO FREE MEDICAL CENTRE called in Japanese, charitable dispensary. The dispensary was constructed by All Japan BuddhistWomen’s Association in 1984. However, International Buddhist Brotherhood Association has been providing free medical services for the local needy people since its settlement here at Bodhgaya in 1970s.
Now, on every working day more than 300 patients come and take medical treatment with free medicines, and education about importance of the precaution against the ill which is the most essential task for the both patients and medical staff.
We, IBBA, believe that the FREE does not mean only for the benefit of the poor, but also good for the local consumption due to the reduction of the total expenditure for the medical problems, understanding that the early findings and medical treatment brings the early physical and mental recovery.
Another important activity of the International Buddhist Brotherhood Association is to organize an annual International Buddhist Conference, The general theme of last year
the 37th conference 2012 was “BUDDHISM AND BUDDHIST OF EAST & SOUTH-EAST ASIA UNDER COLONIALISM” and attended by various eminent Buddhist preachers and scholars.
Now on this year of 2013, we-The International Buddhist Brotherhood Association are going to cerebrate its 50th anniversary, and as to memorize this unobtainable period, we had started the process to establish the INSTITUTE OF BUDDHIS AND ORIENTAL
STUDIES at Bodhgaya the place where the Lord Buddha attained his enlightenment and of the home base of our activities
In fact we were being inspired by the expression：ATTADĪPĀ VIHARATHA, ‘Wander thyself being the light (of Wisdom)’ , one of the final exhortation of lord Buddha.
Buddhism is infinite in its vastness encompassing all aspect of life and beyond. So to give an inspiring vision, an introduction to the spirit of Buddhism and is aimed at the all-round development-both in heart and mind-of the people of India. It would ultimately become the common venue for ,meeting the people of India with the people of other nations, especially the people of Japan, irrespective of caste, creed of gender for ensuring a better humane environment on this earth for the beneficial result in future.
