On October 31, 2016 Crane Summit 21st Century International Forum and National Kaohsiung Normal University, Department of Chinese, jointly organize a conference on religion. The organizers invite all participants to engage in academic study and discussion, in order to make Buddhism more accessible to human heart and in tune with the rhythm of the new century.

Religious Forum: Prelude

Two thousand five hundred years ago Buddhist teaching spread to China from India. In 2009 former Indian President Abdul Kalam presented Master Yu Garden Dao Yi (Yu Hsi), chairman of the Crane Summit 21st Century International Forum, with a statue of a golden Buddha symbolizing the introduction of the Buddhist doctrine to the East. On this occasion, Dr. Kalam also composed a related poem “Oceans Meet” expressing his hope that the golden Buddha brings fraternity and peace to the world.

To commemorate this memorable event with profound historical meaning, we are organizing this year's “Crane Summit 21st Century International Forum – Religious Forum” under the topic jointly proposed by Master Dao Yi and President Kalam “An Inspection into the Will of the People towards the Hope for Peace – The Choice to Take on Responsibility to Spread Enlightenment”. The organizers invite papers on the relationship between Indian and Chinese Buddhism and the spread of Buddhist thought and Buddhist Scripture, in order to promote the innate goodness and loving heart in all humankind.

Through academic study and discussion, we aim at making Buddhism more accessible to human heart and in tune with the rhythm of the new century. We also hope to attract more intellectuals and thinkers to pay closer attention to this topic and guide the public towards harmony and enlighten wisdom.