Harmony in Action Conference 2012 – Toronto
(Toronto, Ontario) As the world debates the religious protests across the Middle East, Canada is hosting a historic conference on religious harmony under the auspices of the Honorable Paul Hellyer, Deputy PM to Canada’s most iconic leader Pierre Trudeau and featuring Hanne Strong, Organizer of the UN’s Millennium World Peace Summit and wife of Under Secretary General to the UN Maurice Strong as well as Dave Courchene who conducted the Opening ceremonies at the G8 Summit on World Religions in 2010. Indian dharma will be represented by powerhouse orator Zenji Acharya, noted professor T.S. Rukmani, philanthropist Dr. Rajiv Malhotra and Sikh Spokesperson Ramadeep Kaur Grewal.
Hinduism will be represented by Professor T.S. Rukmani – an Oxford University awarded author on Yoga philosophy and protege of the legendary philosopher B.K. Matilal. Her four volumes on Vijanabhikshu’s Yogavarttika and her two volumes on Sankara’s Yogasutrabhasyavivarana have been widely acclaimed as significant contributions to Yoga philosophy. She may be joined by Dr. Rajiv Malhotra – CEO of the Infinity Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the India Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts and Ramandeep Kaur Grewal to give a voice to the Sikh community.
Buddhism will be represented by Zenji Acharya who is the only Western expert to hail from the oldest and most venerated Buddhist-Brahmin lineage of India that comprised the Buddha’s closest disciples Sariputra and Maudgalyayana and founders of every major Buddhist tradition including Mahayana (Asvaghosha and Nagarjuna Acharya), Theravada (Buddhaghosa), Chinese (Kumarajiva and Paramartha), Tibetan (Atisa and Padmasambhava) and Japanese (Bharadwaja and Bodhi Dharma). The peerless lineage also included Buddhism’s most influential authors (Shantideva and Nagasena), Nalanda’s brightest scholars (Shantarakshita and Aryadeva), Mahakashyapa – the Conveyor of the first Council and Dona Acharya who presided over the distribution of Lord Buddha’s relics. Furthermore, Buddhists believe that this unrivaled lineage will also give birth to Maitreya – the Future Buddha today both India and China are honoring Him by building the world’s 2 tallest statues respectively.
Moreover, Zenji Acharya is the only Western expert to hail from an unbroken line of sages that were appointed by the last Buddhist empire of India; the Palas of Bengal under whom Mahayana Buddhism reached its zenith – to preserve the Dharma for future generations and assist in the promotion of Buddhism down the Silk Road. He has therefore been passed on many insights one cannot find on Wikipedia or in conventional class-rooms and will thus be referencing a landmark book he is working on titled “Everything You Need to Know About Buddhism (But No One Else Is Telling You)”. It will present rare research into Buddhist scripture, history, art and archaeology to challenge and correct even the most basic concepts of Buddhism in the West. While most of the books written today on Buddhism are from a Sri Lankan, Tibetan or Western perspective, Zenji will be representing the original Buddhist traditions of India that were continued by his family even after Buddhism was phased out by foreign invasions and are today well preserved in Japan as well as among the majority inhabitants of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan among other Asian nations.
During his presentation, Zenji Acharya will also be highlighting the synergy between Buddhism and Hinduism that created the Golden Era of Indian history and he will be drawing parallels between the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Vedanta on the one hand and such influential Buddhist scriptures as the Lotus Sutra, Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Lankavitara Sutra, Vimalkirti Nirdesa Sutra, Mahajima Nikaya and Itivuttaka on the other. Zenji will also be elaborating on Vivekananda’s assertion that it was Lord Buddha who first brought Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga to Hinduism as well as Mahatma Gandhi’s proclamation that Buddhism has played such an important part in Indian history, culture, literature and social reform that India’s national emblem on her flag, currency and official letterhead deserves to be the Buddhist Ashoka Chakra.
In addition, Zenji Acharya will be speaking about India’s greatest monks Vivekananda and Bodhi Dharma and is producing the first international films on their lives, lessons and legacies. This is continuing the dharmic tradition of using story-telling and entertainment to communicate Dharma as evidenced by perennial classics from the Buddha Jatakas to the Ramayana. Zenji is planning to film key scenes of these films in Bodh Gaya as well as Nalanda where the governments of Japan, China, Singapore and many Asian nations are working with Indian scholars from Amartya Sen to former President Abdul Kalaam in honoring India’s glorious Buddhist heritage.
The Harmony in Action Conference will take place on the 3rd and 4th of October, 2012 at the prestigious 89 Chestnut Conference Center of the University of Toronto – Canada’s premiere center for learning and one of the world’s leading academic institutions.