[ Research on Modern India ] project group from Ryukoku University,
Kyoto, Japan visited South India in 2009.

The Gendai Indo Kenkyu project is a collaborative effort involving six Universities under the auspices of The Japanese Government.

Dr. Nagasaki Nobuko led a delegation of seven Gendai Indo Kenkyu participants on a visit to India from October 26th thru November 3rd 2009. Included in the group were three Ryukoku University students; Ms. Moe Nagao, Ms. Shibata and Ms. Mie Oohashi. The other delegates were Dr. Sato Chisui, Mrs. Miki Enoki and Mrs. Nakayama.

The three students arrived in Mumbai on October 24th 2009. One of the Ven. Bodhidhamma's disciples is an airport employee and he met the student group at the airport and introduced them to the Venerable. Over the following two days the students visited Buddhist sites as part of their historical research. The group also met and interacted with Buddhist families, establishing direct personal contacts, thus fostering their connection to the people and developing an understanding of the sociological aspects of the Dalit conversion phenomena. On October 26th, Dr. Sato - sensei arrived, accompanied by the remaining participants.

Karnataka State

On the morning of October 27th the entire group journeyed from Mumbai to the Bijapur Indosan Sogenji Zen Monastery in Bijapur, Karnataka a distance of some 500 km. They arrived at the monastery at nine o’clock in the evening and had a late dinner. All the participants then retired, as everyone was exhausted from traveling.

On October 28th the group convened in the Indosan Sogenji meditation hall and were introduced to the students of the Bodhisatva, Dr.Ambedkar Buddhist Academy, Bijapur City. The Academy presently has twenty five students who are members of the scheduled caste. The parents of these students are all disadvantaged manual laborers. The interaction of the students with the visitors was fruitful and the students happily replied in great detail to all of the questions raised by the visitors. On the evening of the 28th the group traveled to Gulbarga City.

Andra Pradesh

On the morning of October 30th the journey continued to the Kolhari Village, Adilabad District, Andrapradesh, some 280km distant. Several short breaks for tea were made and the group arrived shortly after 1:30 PM. The location of the event in Kolhari Village was on a mountain. The villagers have donated approximately a five acre parcel of land to zen monk Shaku Bodhidhamma for the purpose of some day constructing a Buddhist school in Kolhari.

It is the Venerable’s sincere prayer that this land will serve as a home for a Bodhisatva, Dr. Ambedkar - Buddhist Academy to provide resources for poor and destitute boys and girls. Venerable Bodhidhamma is fervently seeking financial resources for this noble cause. If you are interested in furthering this effort, please contact him.

A “Japan and India Buddhist Integrity Meeting 2009” (jaibim) similar to the previous events was conducted for a gathering of more than a thousand local Buddhists dressed in white clothing. Venerable Bodhidamma lead off the presentation and each group delegate from Japan was able to offer their insight to the people. Later the event became less formal in the early evening and the delegates were able to have casual conversation with the Indian Buddhists.

That evening, the group visited a small nearby village called Umari that contains half a dozen Buddhist households. The electricity to the area was out so a small gathering was held in a cozy candlelight atmosphere.

On the morning of October 31, the group journeyed to a village called Pimpaldhari, some 15 km distant from Adilabad.  Adilabad Village is nestled in the mountains and is quite well known for cotton production. On the way to the village, the group stopped at a cotton field and had the opportunity to speak with some of the field workers. Adilabad Village is a Buddhist village and boasts a Buddha Vihar built by the villagers.

At one time the area was home to a substantial number of Naxalites, a movement of far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology.  Group members conversed with a man who was forcibly kidnapped from his village and put into a Naxalite reeducation program to indoctrinate him into their Marxist ideology.  The man now works in his own cotton field whit his family and is able to support his family through hard labor. Along the way this man became a Buddhist.  Venedable Bodhidhamma had visited with him on an earlier trip and was served lunch at the man’s house. The group enjoyed their time at  Adilabad Village and had cordial dialog with many of the villagers.

Later that evening the group held a program in Adilabad City where there is a Buddha Vihara.  The members of The International Buddhist Youth Organization convened a group meeting attended by many upasaka and upasika - Buddhist laymen and laywomen. The program lasted for an hour.

The following day, November first, the group continued on to their next destination, Nagpur.  On the way to Nagpur they visited the Buddhist village called Wadner and had a meeting in a Buddhist Vihar. Many young people attended and listened to the group members speak to the local people. After this meeting the group continued on their way and arrived in Nagpur around five in the afternoon.

The next day, November second, the group visited the Dr. Ambedkar philosophy chair at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.  The group met with a group of University Ambedkar scholars for two hours.  Then they visited the world famous stupa, the Deeksha Bhumi, where Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the emancipator of India’s untouchables and the father of the Indian Constitution converted to Buddhism on October 14, 1956.  Dr. Ambedkar and his wife Savita accepted the Three Jewels, the Five Grave Precepts and twenty-two vows from Mahapandita U. Chakkapala Mahasthavir.  Immediately after their ceremony, Dr. Ambedkar turned to the audience and gave the vows of the Three Jewels, the Five Grave Precepts and twenty-two vows to thousands of his followers. It is said that counting that ceremony and in the remaining six weeks of his life, he converted half a million Indian Dalit people to Buddhism.

The group toured the sacred monument and purchased books about Dr. Ambedkar from the Deeksha Bhumi shop. Following the visit to the sacred shrine the group was invited to have lunch at the home of a local Buddhist family.