{"id":7789,"date":"2019-03-13T15:19:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T09:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/?p=7789"},"modified":"2020-01-08T00:50:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-07T19:20:27","slug":"pakistan-sri-lanka-relations-are-based-on-commonality-of-eternal-values-espoused-by-islam-and-buddhism-pak-envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/?p=7789","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations are based on commonality of eternal values espoused by Islam and Buddhism: Pak Envoy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"293\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Buddhist-clergy-representing-different-chapters-Vice-Chancellor-Bhikshu-University-of-Sri-Lanka-High-Commissioner-of-Pakistan-along-with-the-scholars-at-the-stage--1024x293.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7792\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sri\nLanka and Pakistan inherit a rich cultural heritage and strong cultural\nrelations which are deep-rooted in history. The mutual love between the two\npeople, transcending any other consideration, is the foundation of special\nrelationship that is further cemented by the commonality of eternal values of\nuniversal peace and love for humanity, espoused both by Buddhism and Islam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nHigh Commissioner of Pakistan, Maj. Gen. (R) Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat expressed\nthese views during his concluding address at an International Seminar on\n\u2018Buddhist &amp; Gandhara Civilization: The Cultural Nexus between Pakistan and\nSri Lanka\u2019, organized by the High Commission of Pakistan in collaboration with\nthe Buddhist &amp; Pali University, Homagama held on March 11, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Renowned\nscholars from China, Germany, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the keynote speakers\nat the Seminar. The scholars include Prof. Dr. Li Xiguang, Director, Tsinghua\nUniversity International Center for Communication, China, Prof. Dr. Hugh van\nSkyhawk, University of Mainze, Germany, Brig. (R) Agha Ahmad Gul, Former Vice\nChancellor, University of Balochistan, Pakistan, Dr. Safdar Ali Shah, Director\nGeneral, High Education Commission, Pakistan, Prof. Dr. Ghani-ur-Rehman,\nDirector, Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Pakistan and Ven. Senior\nProf. Dr. Gallelle Sumanasiri Thero, Vice Chancellor, Buddhist &amp; Pali\nUniversity of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brig.\n(R) Agha Ahmad Gul, in his presentation, elaborated the various facets of\nGandhara Civilization and its historical and cultural influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof.\nDr. Ghan-ur-Rehman elaborated that one of the brightest chapter of the history\nof Pakistan is the Buddhist Gandhara that flourished during the first five\ncenturies of the Common era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof.\nDr. Hugh van Skyhawk explained that among the many statues and relics of Gandh\u0101ra\nart, there is a motif that is better known than any other the world over: the\nfasting Siddh\u0101rtha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof.\nDr. Li Xiguang shared the travel notes about Uddiyana (Swat vally in northern\nPakistan) written by the five Chinese pilgrims from Faxian in the 5th century,\nSong Yun in the 6th century, Xuanzang in the 7th century, Huichao &nbsp;and\nWukong in the 8th century. In Chinese Buddhism, Uddiyanais identified with\nWestern Heaven where the universal emperor Jade Emperor and the immortals\nlive.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr.\nSafdar Ali Shah explained glimpses of Buddhist heritage, including famous\nmonasteries, stupas, and specimen of Gandhara Art preserved in Pakistan.&nbsp; He further added that when Buddhism spread\nbeyond its birthplace, the first two places where it took root were Gandhara\n(Pakistan) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Among other places, relics of Buddha were\nenshrined in the great stupas of Gandhara which linked it with other dhato-garbha&nbsp; (relic-depository) stupas around the world,\nincluding Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vice\nChancellor, Buddhist &amp; Pali University of Sri Lanka, Ven. Senior Prof. Dr.\nGallelle Sumanasiri Thero warmly welcomed the guests and paid rich tribute to\nthe Government of Pakistan&nbsp;for preservation of the archaeological\ntreasures, Buddhist sites and artifacts, which he witnessed during his visit to\nPakistan. He also appreciated the High Commission of Pakistan for holding the\nInternational Seminar at Buddhist &amp; Pali University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At\nthe conclusion, High Commissioner of Pakistan, Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat\nannounced that the Government of Pakistan through its High Commission will be\nawarding 1000 scholarships to the Sri Lankan students in diverse fields and\nexchange of faculty members, students and programmes. He also invited the\nparticipants and students of the Buddhist &amp; Pali University to visit\nPakistan and assured that the High Commission of Pakistan will provide complete\nassistance and visa facilitation in this regard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\nemphasized that Pakistan is peace loving country and it supports promotion of\ncooperation in all areas with South Asian nations and with Sri Lanka in\nparticular. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sri Lanka and Pakistan inherit a rich cultural heritage and strong cultural relations which are deep-rooted in history. The mutual love between the two people, transcending any other consideration, is the foundation of special relationship that is further cemented by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7789"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7793,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7789\/revisions\/7793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pakistanhc.lk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}