Declaration of Mount Xuedou at the Sixth World Buddhist Forum
We, representatives of the Buddhist community from 72 countries and regions, gathered from October 15 to 17, 2024, at Mount Xuedou in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, for the Sixth World Buddhist Forum. Centered on the theme “Hand in Hand for Coexistence” and nine sub-topics, we engaged in in-depth discussions and open exchanges, fostering consensus and seeking collaboration.
We believe that in the face of unprecedented global changes unseen in a century -- an era of much turbulence and transformation, there is urgency for us to uphold the fundamental Buddhist spirit of compassion and wisdom. By practicing peace, the Middle Way, equality, perfect harmony, and altruism, we must aim to safeguard world peace, address global challenges, and create a brighter future for humanity.
We believe that we should adhere to respecting each other’s beliefs, advocate the spirit of equality and inclusiveness, conduct inter-religious dialogue, resolve religious conflicts, resist extremist ideologies, foster religious harmony, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
We believe that we must deeply understand the close connection among members of the international community for shared destiny, and leverage Buddhism's role as a cultural bridge connecting hearts and minds. This will help promote peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit among countries and regions to build a community with a shared future for mankind. To this end, we call on the global Buddhist community to:
1. Promote the healthy inheritance of Buddhism. We should adhere to the precepts, to the diligent practice of the Threefold Training, and to doctrinal correctness and situational properness, so as to ensure that Buddhism is transmitted healthily in all countries and regions. We should promote contemporary translations and interpretations of Buddhist scriptures of the three major linguistic traditions, and encourage exchanges on Buddhist doctrines and practices. We should strengthen unity and cooperation among the four groups of Buddhist disciples to generate concerted effort in inheriting and disseminating the true Dharma of the Buddha; enhance international cooperation in charitable work, guiding Buddhist followers to practice their faith and benefit all beings through charitable activities; uphold the Buddhist principles of non-duality between self and environment, and the compassion to protect all life. We should also advocate simple, eco-friendly, and low-carbon lifestyles, protect biodiversity, and promote harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
2. Implement the Buddhist scripture digitization project. To do the sorting and digitization of Buddhist scriptures, we should train digital specialists, and explore innovative paths for the digitization of Buddhist scriptures through the application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. We should strengthen international exchange and cooperation in the digitization of Buddhist scriptures, provide scientific support for the transmission and promotion of Buddhism in the information age, and enrich human civilization. We should pay attention to ethical issues arising from technological development and advocate for the application of technology to serve all beings.
3. Strengthen research on contemporary Buddhist thought and practice. We should launch projects to trace the historical development and practical experiences of contemporary Buddhist thought; encourage comparative studies between Han Buddhism’s Humanistic Buddhism tradition and important ideas that emerged in response to modern developments in Zang Buddhism and Theravada ; expand the scope of modern and international methods for Dharma propagation and benefiting all beings; promote comparative research regarding Buddhist theories of the mind and modern psychology. We should also protect cultural relics and heritage, and encourage innovative development of Buddhist art.
4. Actively engage in friendly Buddhist exchanges. We should strengthen the organizational functions of the World Buddhist Forum to promote international Buddhist exchange and cooperation; thoroughly explore historical resources of international Buddhist exchanges and fully utilize the role of sacred Buddhist relics, root temples, and patriarchal Dharma lineages as bonds of faith; inherit and develop traditional Buddhist friendships, fostering mutual learning through exchange; promote people-to-people exchanges among countries and regions through friendly Buddhist exchanges, consolidating the public opinion foundation for peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit. We should also highlight Buddhism’s positive role in building a community with a shared future for mankind.
