(Excerpt from the Maha Bodhi, printed in 1984 Vol. 92)

What is commonly called ‘Buddhism' is a compound of two ingredients. There is the Buddha-Dhamma, a coherent set of ideas, a world-view, an analysis of human life. There is also the cultural form in which the Dhamma is expressed. Primarily this is Indian culture, and in a broad sense it can be said that Buddhism is a special form of Indian culture. A culture, too, is itself a mixture of various elements; language, art, music, literature, ceremonies, modes of behavior, customs, types of food, dress and so on. The Buddha-Dhamma is a world-view in the sense that it is a view of human life in general terms; it shows the way in which human existence is conditioned (anicca, dukkha, anatta) and it points to the goal, and the mans whereby it is to be reached. Inevitably, this general view has to be particularized; what does the Buddhist way entail under certain specific or actual conditions? How is it put into effect in certain specific circumstances? Such ‘translation' into new cultural forms has been characteristic of Buddhism from the beginning, and it has continued throughout Buddhist history. The textural truths have to be expressed in contextual situations; they have to be made contextually relevant. At first, the cultural forms were Indian, and these have remained a strong element of Buddhism, but there have also developed forms which are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Sinhalese, Burmese, Khmer, Thai, Central Asian and so on.

That the Maha Bodhi Society of India was found in Calcutta towards the end of the nineteenth century is a fact of great potential. For by the end of the nineteenth century British culture had made what was probably to be its maximum impact on Indian life, at least in certain regions of India, notably the four major cities which had been developed under British rule; Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi (although in the case of the last-named it would be truer to say it had been re-developed in the British period). Calcutta, for half a century or more the capital of British India, has always been a place of mingling cultures, Indian, West Asian, Chinese and European. Situated in Bengal it is by no means a purely Bengali city; other Indian languages are heard there in abundance. And mingling with these various elements of Indian culture in this metropolis of India was the English, European-based culture of nineteenth-century Britons. Calcutta University was established on a European model. The coffee houses of Calcutta are the venue for the city's intellectuals in much the same way as are those of Vienna or Paris. Calcutta, the place where the Maha Bodhi Society was born, is a place of mingling cultures, and especially of Indian and European cultures. (This is why, perhaps, a European with strong Indian sympathies can feel more at home in Calcutta than, say, in London; such has been the present writer's experience)

There is a particular advantage in this for Buddhists. It means that the Buddha-Dhamma, the Buddhist world-view, is in Calcutta (or Bombay or Madras or Delhi), at home in a city of mingling India-European cultures, that is, in an international context. Just as in earlier periods the Dhamma was expressed through other Asian cultural forms, now it is finding expression in an international form that carries it well beyond the bounds of Asia. Perhaps the future historian of Buddhism will see the first century of the Maha Bodhi Society's existence as, among other things, one in which Buddhism was establishing itself and familiarizing itself within yet another major cultural form.

Some of the Indian cultural features which Buddhism first acquired are, of course, themselves capable of being transplanted to other cultures. For example, some Westerners can learn Sanskrit and Pali and study the Dhamma in these languages. Others can benefit from the wealth of Buddhist art, and as some have done, enrich their own culture with Buddhist themes; others can learn the value of Indian meditational methods and apply these to Buddhist practice elsewhere. However, Buddhism is always potentially international, or more properly, trans-national, and does not always need to be presented in Indian dress. It can develop its own inter-cultural and international modes of expression. In some places it is already doing this. Cities such as Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Delhi, where Buddhism is already established, possess a special advantage; they provide the opportunity for the re-acculturation of Buddhism, places where, on Indian soil, Buddhism can begin to be re-expressed in other cultural forms.

No special, self-conscious effort is required in order for this to happen. It is probably better that the process should take place naturally. What is required is that there shall be a continual opportunity for the mingling and interchange of cultural ideas and forms, on terms of equality. Rabindranath Tagore founded Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan to be just such a meeting place of cultures, and to some extent be succeeded. But Rabindranath disliked Calcutta and preferred the quiet Bengal countryside. It is, however, at the world's crossroads that the world's travelers most naturally and normally meet. And if at such crossroads there are also Buddhists to be found, the Buddhist presence is more likely to be carried out from these places into tomorrow's world.

Besides the cities, however, there are other places in India where cultures meet and mingle at an international level, that is, at the Buddhist pilgrimage centers; BuddhaGaya, Sarnath, Kusinagara and Lumbini. For these are the meeting places for travelers and tourists from many cultures; Japanese and European, Sinhalese and Australasian, Tibetan and American, and others besides. These centers are now expanding; new rest-houses are being built and they are becoming increasingly centers of international Buddhism. Such centers could provide great opportunities for the development of new ways of Buddhist thought, new approaches to Buddhist living, new patterns of co-operation and contact between those who wish to learn more about the Buddhist life and those who can teach and help.

Some facilities exist for taking advantage of such opportunities and for making possible such sharing and encounter; the new rest-house in Calcutta is an example. But more could be done, and is being planned in some places – as at BuddhaGaya. Where a new Maha Bodhi rest-house is being built, and where a study and meditation centre under the auspices of the Temple Management Committee is being planned. Buddha Gaya is certainly a place where today, quietly and unobtrusively, international Buddhism is being strengthened. For example Japanese Buddhists have built not only a splendid temple and rest house, but are contributing to the well-being of the local people with the kindergarten they have established, and this is to be followed by a dispensary and an agricultural school. The Burmese vihara regularly provides a centre for Western travelers, where they can stay in simple living quarters at a minimal cost, in quiet and calm surroundings, and where they can meditate, and sometimes attend meditation courses; this year it is receiving the first party of Burmese pilgrims for many years. The Thai temple also provides the venue for occasional meditation courses, as well as a place where bhikkus can stay while they are studying at Magadha University (where they head of the Department of Ancient Indian Studies is a distinguished Buddhist scholar). The large Tibetan temple and rest house is a prominent feature of the scene at Buddha Gaya (as elsewhere) and clustered around it is a large tented Tibetan settlement and many places where Tibetan food can be had. The Maha Bodhi Society Vihara is a centre of various activities; it is a place of meeting for travelers and visitors, where lectures are held, and a place where books can be obtained and one can enjoy informal discussion and exchange of views; above all, it is a place of great helpfulness and kindness. The Maha Bodhi Temple is the heart of Buddha Gaya and the present beauty and peacefulness of this temple and its spacious garden is the result of the careful work of the Temple Management Committee during the past few years. The profound impression which is made upon travelers and visitors, especially those who can prolong their stay in Buddha Gaya, even if only for a few days, is, as the writer knows, something which does not quickly fade, and there is obviously much that could yet be done to strengthen the already important role which the pilgrimage centers play.

In such centers of Buddhist life it is the Indian cultural element which, rightly and appropriately, is most deeply felt. For the Buddha Dhamma was transmitted to the world initially within Indian culture; and that is wbat constitutes Buddhist culture, initially. But Buddha Gaya and the other centers are also, each one of them, places where, in Rabindranath's phrase,(coined in another connection) ‘the world is at home in one nest' (Viswa-bharati); this is Bharat (India) at her most universal. As the travelers come and go, so the understanding and practice of Buddha-Dhamma can also increase and spread. Already this is happening; may it be realized to its fullest possible extent.