Over a millennium has passed since the Chinese scholar Xuanzang journeyed westward in search of the Dharma in the 7th century. In modern times, Nepal has rarely seen large groups of young Chinese scholars coming to study here. It was not until the golden autumn of 2024 that the first cohort of Chinese students set foot on the sacred soil of Lumbini, opening a new chapter in Sino-Nepali Buddhist cultural exchange and attracting considerable attention from Nepali academia and intellectuals.
These pioneering groups, who arrived in the initial waves, are the trailblazers rewriting the modern history of Buddhist interaction between China and Nepal. To this day, Nepali academia, major universities, and relevant government bodies continue to observe this distinctive company of Dharma- seekers from China with interest and cautious curiosity.
Upon arrival, the local community initially held certain worldly misconceptions about the Chinese students, assuming most were migrant workers, tourists or businesspeople. Fortunately, our students have remained disciplined, focused single-mindedly on seeking the Dharma, and conducted themselves with propriety and spiritual purity. I have also taken the opportunity to clarify external doubts, safeguarding the ascetic integrity and pure monastic ethos of Chinese scholars.
During that period, multi-departmental joint enforcement teams conducted rounds of targeted inspections, with the Chinese students at Lumbini Buddhist University falling within the scope of review. In the course of these operations, several Chinese nationals found to be in violation of local regulations were duly penalized. Fortunately, none of those implicated were enrolled students of our university.
We set an example through our own conduct and pave the way with our actions, laying a stable foundation for future seekers of the Dharma. May our upright and pure practice reshape the ideal of young Dharma-seekers in this new era, allowing more scholars to settle peacefully in this sacred land and delve deeply into the true Dharma.
I assumed the role of Director and Secretary-General of the International Campus of Lumbini Buddha University in May 2024. From 2024 to 2026, the university has successfully completed four rounds of global admissions, bringing together over three hundred international students from more than ten countries. Our students possess pure spiritual motivation and exceptional qualities: thirty percent are senior monastics bearing the legacy of the Buddha's teachings; seventy percent are devout lay practitioners and Chan cultivators, with the core aim of seeking wisdom and realising their true nature.
The students' initial aspirations are pure and noble: sixty percent are financially independent and seek only the ultimate truth; thirty percent come, drawn by the path of Dharma, to abide in the true teachings; only ten percent also consider conventional academic development.
It is this pure spiritual resolve that has made Lumbini a unique, serene, and magnificent international center for Dharma study and practice for the students.
In the future, the university plans to recruit international guest faculty from around the world, gathering talented minds from all quarters to revive the open, inclusive, and pluralistic academic spirit of the ancient Nalanda Monastery—so that the true Dharma may be passed down through generations and flourish without cease. Now, we extend a broad invitation to wise men and women from all corners, sincerely recruiting distinguished teachers from both home and abroad, gathering Buddhist scholars from across the globe in Lumbini, in the hope of reviving the glorious grandeur of ancient Nalanda—where a hundred schools of thought debated the Dharma, the True Teaching spread far and wide, and a galaxy of talents congregated.
On the personal front, I feel my own daily needs are met, my salary sufficient; I seek no worldly vanity or empty fame. My sole wish is to dedicate myself to study, to refine my mind, and to uphold the true Dharma. For the rest of my life, I devote all my efforts to propagating the Dharma and promoting education in Lumbini. Regardless of changes in position or the complexity of affairs, I am willing to stay here long-term, protect this sacred ground, and accompany all seekers of the Dharma who come from near and far.
This is the land of the Buddha's birth, the very source of the true Dharma. To study and practice on this sacred ground already transcends the meaning of worldly textbooks and diplomas. To deeply engage in Buddhist studies here, to nurture the mind, and to carry forward the lineage of Dharma—this is to honour Xuanzang's original aspiration in journeying west and to continue the open, inclusive scholarly tradition of Nalanda from a thousand years ago.
To study and cultivate here is the perfect union of academic achievement and spiritual practice. It is both a formal international academic pursuit and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for spiritual cultivation on sacred ground—bestowing a unique and unparalleled transformation of one's very being. This unique Dharma affinity and karmic opportunity constitutes a precious blessing that no ordinary overseas study experience can ever hope to equal.
May all of us fellow students resonate in harmony, unite our hearts, and walk hand in hand, guarding together the original aspiration to propagate the Dharma, and never betraying the karmic fortune of this sacred ground.
To be continued...
(The author serves as the Director and Secretary at Devdaha Education Development Project, Lumbini Buddhist University.)
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