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胡翛玮会长为《蓝毗尼的召唤》所作前言（英文版）
来源:中国南亚经济文化促进会 | 作者:胡翛玮 | 发布时间: 2019-08-15 | 1016 次浏览 | 分享到:
由巴桑塔•比达里教授所著的《蓝毗尼的召唤》，系统讲述了佛陀出生、圆觉、传法、涅槃波澜壮阔的一生，对蓝毗尼圣园作为世界文化遗产规划及现今状况作了详尽描述，使读者仿佛身临其境，有非常直观之认识。

 

Forward
I have always wanted to accurately define what I know about Basanta Bidari. Based on his humility, elegance, and erudition, I often wonder that "is he an university professor? Is he a teacher? Or an archaeologist?" Wait, it all doesn't seem to be very accurate. Until one day in May of this year, he accompanied me in the ruins of Nanyamuni Buddha site, which was discovered by his personal archaeology. At the moment he touched the stone pillar, his deep eyes seemed to penetrate through the dust of thousands of years of history, and at the same time revealing a deep passion and sentiment, so attached to Buddha and Lumbini. The sun shines through his window, his face is firm and resolute, like a sculpture, at this moment, my heart finally found the answer, Basanta Bidari - "The Watchman of Lumbini".
 
Buddhism is about origin, my acquaintance with Mr. Basanta was due to the Lumbini Buddhist Sacred Land Project that I was engaged in. In 2015, I came to Lumbini for the first time. Thanks to the Buddha and Bodhisattva for blessing, I was fortunate to meet Mr. Basanta. All my knowledge and impressions about Lumbini come from his introduction and enlightenment, which benefited me greatly. Then we met several times each year. Although our research fields are different, we paid much attention to the same issues and had a lot of tacit understanding. There are always many endless topics to talk about. Communicating with him has broadened my horizons, uplifted my inspiration, and increased my knowledge. His modest, humorous, affable and helpful style won him the admiration of almost everyone who knows him, even those who were merely admirers. Whenever I mention him to a Nepali friend, without exception, they all say:"that's my teacher."
 
The book "Lumbini Beckons" is complete in structure and rich in content. It is very detailed, vivid and fascinating through archaeological activities, historical materials, pictures and so on, in different periods. The whole book is divided into two parts, A and B. Part A introduces the history and geographical location of Lumbini in Nepal, and then systematically tells the magnificent life of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, Dharma teaching, and Nirvana, which enables the readers to easily understand, comprehend, appreciate and feel the Buddha; at the same time, Lumbini is introduced as the King Kong Land where it is the birth place of three Buddhas, the Sun Buddha, Nanyamuni Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha; towards the end of this part, Lumbini Sacred Garden is described in detail as World Cultural Heritage Site and its current situation, so that readers can be immersive and have a very intuitive understanding. Part B highlights the inscriptions on the Ashoka Pillars and the Stone that marked exact birth position of the Buddha. The establishment of the exact location also benefits from the contribution of Mr. Basanta in archaeological research.
 
Mr. Basanta has repeatedly said that this book is not an academic work, it only provides visitors tips to get to know Lumbini. But in my opinion, this is entirely his humility. The important significance of this book is not only to introduce Lumbini, but more importantly, in the Era of the Last Law, "Lumbini Beckons" is a convenient way to draw people closer to Buddha, closer to Lumbini, and to admire the Buddhist practice. As the "Watchman of Lumbini", Mr. Basanta personally led and planned to participate in all major archaeological discoveries of Lumbini areas since the 1980s. He is a man with renowned international reputation, who has been invited by more than a dozen countries to lecturer, a great scholar with many publications. You may find it difficult to associate him with a white-haired grandfather looking man who walks in the dusty roads of Lumbini at a temperature of over 40 degrees. His body may be covered with dust, but his eyes are always so clear and bright, full of sunshine, giving hope and strength, and holding a childlike heart forever. He once told me that he would not go anywhere else; he belongs to Lumbini; and he so decisively gave up all the comfortable and superior environment outside; he is here watching the pure land of Lumbini, and pass on the Buddha spirit to the world. I firmly believe that my big brother Basanta is a living Buddha with a mission to this world.
 
In today's society, in the fierce competition, people are eager to seek success on the outside. The impetuous atmosphere fills every corner. Whether successful or not, people generally feel unhappy, dissatisfied, and all kinds of troubles come one after another. Many people realize that the material can not solved their inner confusion and distress, and they are being tortured with desires and are unable to rest in peace. In the end, they find that the problem lies in the lack of soul. To solve the inner problem, the enrichment of one's own mind is the only solution. Buddhism has been called study of understanding one's inner heart since ancient times. The purpose of the Buddha's doctrines teaching in the forty-nine years in the world is to guide all living beings to understand the nature of impermanence, thus breaking the mystery and enlightening, and get happiness by leaving suffering. As a result, more and more people have chosen to know and believe in Buddhism. As the birthplace of Buddha Sakyamuni, Lumbini is extremely remarkable, attracting countless people seeking spiritual peace, hoping to purify the soul, reduce desires, and complete the transition from inner confusion to full peace of mind. How to understand the Buddha's life, how to experience the sacredness of Lumbini, how to get inspiration from the great life of Sakyamuni Buddha, and vow to return to merit. "Lumbini Beckons" gave us a opportunity to get started.
 
Mr. Basanta told me that Lumbini is not only the pride of Nepal, but also the pride of the world. But this pride was buried in the dust before the end of the 19th century. This process has lasted for more than seven hundred years since the 13th century. We are grateful to the great Master Xuanzang from the Tang Dynasty of China. It is based on his book "Journey to the West" that the archaeological team accurately excavated the Ashoka Pillar on December 1, 1896, thus enabling Lumbini to see light again. Not only Xuanzang, but also the sages from China, such as Fa Xian, Yi Jing, Sheng Cai, Wu Kong, etc., in their writings, have clear description of Lumbini and the surrounding terrain. Their works are precious to Lumbini, to the history of Buddhism, and precious to the whole world. It is those eminent monks from several Chinese dynasties who went to seek the Buddhism truth in the west, never fearing difficulties, they kept going on. While Buddhism extinct in ancient India for more than seven hundred years, those eminent monks widely circulated Mahayana Scriptures in the land of China, making China become the most concentrated area of Buddhist believers in the world. I think that is why we should always remember the virtues of those sages, the virtues of Buddha and the everlasting friendship between China and Nepal.
 
It is my absolute honor to be invited by Mr. Basanta to write this forward for his monograph. Based on this, my teammates and I express our sincere wishes to have this blessing and we are obliged to join the work of revision and typesetting of the future Chinese versions of the book by Mr. Basanta "Lumbini Beckons". It is our common goal to help more peace-loving people come to the beautiful Lumbini in Nepal for pilgrimage; become attached to the Buddha's sacred land; and to gain practical benefits.
 
Thanks again to Mr. Basanta Bidari for his devotion to the cause of Buddha and his merits.
 
China South-Asia Economic and Culture Promotion Association
Xiaowei Hu (Wayne)
August 15th, 2019
at Kathmandu, Nepal