Healing touch of ancient philosophies

Benoy K Behl

The Buddhist path of compassion travelled not only across Asia but also on an artery of the Silk Route to Europe. The photograph here shows traditional European Buddhists with a statue of an acharya from Nalanda University at Kalmykia in Russia, the only part of Europe with a Buddhist heritage.

In December 2018, when my exhibition on Buddhist Heritage of the World was shown in Kalmykia, the people there were so happy to see themselves getting recognition in the Buddhist world! In times like the present pandemic when there is so much stress all around, we need the healing touch of ancient philosophies. We need the vision which brings the whole world together in love and harmony. It is time for us to appreciate again and to recognise our deep kinship with the entire world of creation, its animals, its beautiful birds, trees, mountains and vast skies. We are deeply connected to the world around us, in fact we are one with all that there is.