Tawang Hosts International Conference on Buddhism's Spread Across the Himalayas

In news

• An international conference, "Buddhism: Dissemination in the Himalayan Region and Beyond", was held at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Organised by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) with the Ministry of Culture and the Arunachal Pradesh Government.
• Held alongside the exposition of the sacred Piprahwa relics in Tawang.
• Delegates came from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Germany.
• The day also marked the IBC's 14th founding day.

How Buddhism spread from India

Phase	Key figure	Contribution
3rd century BCE	Ashoka	Sent missions across Asia; Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra
8th century CE	Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) and Shantarakshita	Took Buddhism from India to Tibet
11th century CE	Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana	Scholar of Vikramashila; revived Buddhism in Tibet

Tawang: key facts

• Tawang Monastery (Galden Namgey Lhatse) is India's largest monastery.
• Founded in the 17th century by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso, at the wish of the 5th Dalai Lama.
• Tawang is the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso.
• Home of the Monpa people, who follow Tibetan Buddhism.

The Piprahwa relics

• Discovered in 1898 at Piprahwa, Siddharthnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, near ancient Kapilavastu.
• Believed to be linked to the mortal remains of the Buddha, enshrined by the Shakya clan.
• Kept at the National Museum, New Delhi.
• Related gems that had gone abroad were brought back to India in 2025 after their auction was stopped.

About the IBC

• Founded in 2012, headquartered in New Delhi.
• A global umbrella body of Buddhist organisations, supported by the Ministry of Culture.

Why it matters

• Soft power: Buddhism is a key part of India's cultural diplomacy with Asia.
• Act East and the Himalayas: strengthens ties with Buddhist countries and border regions.
• Heritage and tourism: promotes the Buddhist circuit and pilgrimage tourism.

Static connect

• Buddhist councils: 1st Rajagriha, 2nd Vaishali, 3rd Pataliputra (Ashoka), 4th Kashmir (Kanishka).
• Nalanda, Vikramashila and Odantapuri were great Buddhist learning centres.
• Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana: Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism is mainly Vajrayana.

Exam relevance: UPSC Prelims and GS-1 (Art and Culture, Ancient History); TGPSC, APPSC (Indian Culture).