Zoom Talk on 'Buddhist Art in China and Nepal' Held

By Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, (Nepal Oregon News): A virtual talk on 'Buddhist Art/ Buddha and Bodhisattvas in China and Nepal' was organized on Saturday, June 12, 2021 by Hong Kong Buddhist Studies Association.

While Dr Tina Ho of Hong Kong Sangha made a presentation on 'Buddhist Art in China', Prajwal Vajracharya of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara spoke about Buddhist art in Nepal.

Dr Tina Ho's talk dealt comprehensively with the ancient history of Buddhist art in China.

Laying emphasis on the origin of Buddhist arts history of China, she said that  these chronicles date back to very ancient times.

Dr Ho said that the range of Chinese Buddhist art is vast, stretching for nearly two thousand years from the later Han dynasty  well into the Qing dynasty.

Speaking on the occasion, Guru Prajwal Vajracharya presented a more generalized view of arts history.

He said:"Art started before any writing and alphabets. What the ancient people visualized were reflected in drawings and art."

Vajracharya also underlined the need for protecting and preserving the ancient and medieval arts of Nepal.

Guru Prajwal also threw light on pedagogical importance of arts education for awareness and preservation  purposes.

"Arts and culture are the important sources of identity of a nation", said Vajracharya.

A lot of pictures on ancient Buddhist arts in China and Nepal were also demonstrated in the zoom program by Dr Ho and Guru Prajwal.

The zoom participants included distinguished personalities from different states of the US, Canada, Hong Kong and China.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in USA)