Bro. Tan sharing about the advent of Buddhism in Southeast Asia with EXCO Members of VBCM.

Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia (VBCM) EXCO Members Bro. Pek Chee Hen and Bro. Chew Eng Ghee paid a courtesy visit to Nalanda Centre on 23 October to meet with Founder Bro. H S Tan and Nalanda Institute Director Achariya Vijaya Samarawickrama.  Secretariat Manager Sis. Joanne Tan was in attendance.

Bro. Tan had a general discussion with the visitors about the positive development of Buddhism in Malaysia, where more devotees are concerned about its teachings and practice rather than its rituals.  Achariya Vijaya also shared about the importance of a non-sectarian approach towards propagating Buddhism in this country, and how this approach can be applied to dialogues with followers of other religions as well.

From left: Bro. Chew Eng Ghee (VBCM), Bro. Pek Chee Hen (VBCM), Bro. Tan and Achariya Vijaya. Bro.Tan is showing the 'thangka' presented to Nalanda Institute by His Holiness the Dalai Lama recently.

The visiting VBCM EXCO Members briefed Nalanda Institute about their current and future plans to promote secular ethics and inter-faith dialogues. This fruitful meeting certainly bodes well for the growth of non-sectarian Buddhist studies, and mutual understanding.  As Bro. Tan concluded at the end of their visit, “Unity is our strength”.