Sri Lankan scholar: We are still telling the story of the Chinese monk Fa Xian

Beijing News Express (reporter Ni Wei) On May 15, the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations was held in Beijing. At the sub-forum on "Safeguarding the Diversity of Asian Civilizations", Dissanayak, former president of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, said that the cultural dissemination of the Chinese Eastern Jin Dynasty monk Fa Xian in Sri Lanka is a famous story in sri Lankan history. Today, young international students are expected to become ambassadors of cultural exchange in contemporary Asia.

On May 15, the sub-forum of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations on "Safeguarding the Diversity of Asian Civilizations" was held. Photo / Beijing News reporter Wang Jianning

Dissanayak said that Buddhism is an important source of inspiration for the development of culture and art in Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka's historical and cultural sites are all related to Buddhism, including temples, irrigation techniques, etc., all benefit from the spread of Buddhism.

One of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is from China, namely the Eastern Jin Dynasty monk Fa Xian. At the age of 65, He Xian set out from China to India to collect Buddhist scriptures, and on his way back to China, he lived in the Lion Country (present-day Sri Lanka) for 2 years to obtain the scriptures. Revered in Sri Lanka, he lived on Mount Fa Xian, and there was a cave on the way to Mount Fa Xian, which is said to have lived for a time, and this cave is now known as the "Fa Xian Cave".

"In our history books, the story of the Fa Xian is still told." Disanayak said that Faxian's experience in Sri Lanka has left a lot of cultural heritage, and Faxian Cave is one of them.

Fa Xian was the cultural ambassador of ancient China and Sri Lanka. Dissanayak believes that today, a large number of young students are expected to inherit the mission of Fa Xian. Higher education in Asian countries, including China, has made great progress, and a number of universities have ranked among the international advanced. "In the past, many people were willing to go to Western countries to study, but now the educational strength of Asian countries has increased, coupled with the scholarship mechanism, which has attracted many Asian students."

Dissanayak said that the exchange of education has enabled young people from all countries to deepen their understanding of each other and bring the culture and values accepted in foreign countries back to their own countries, which is the practice of people-to-people communication in the "Belt and Road" initiative. "Asian civilizations maintain diversity, people-to-people communication is very important, through the 'Belt and Road' to promote people-to-people communication, this is an important channel for Asian civilization exchanges." Dissanayak said.

Beijing News reporter Ni Wei photography Wang Jianning Editor Yu Yin Proofreader Lu Aiying