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50 EASTERN HORIZON | FEATURES

Some of the committee members visited The National Museum of The volunteers who had contributed and helped to ensure the smooth
Malaysia as part of the conference preparation. running of the conference. Many of them were university students.

They keynote speaker of WBC 2023 Venerable Kotapitiye Rahula The conference was officiated by Venerable B. Saranankara Mahāthera
Anunāyaka Thera arrived from Sri Lanka and was welcomed by YBAM (Chief Adhikarana Sangha Nayaka of Malaysia) and Gobind Singh
representatives and WBC organising committee. (Former minister of Malaysia).

led by YBAM Assistant General Secretary Brother Yong affect the preservation of Buddhist heritage sites? Why
Hong Li. This gargantuan work spanned one whole are they so important to us and what techniques are
year. We searched for suitable panellists based on their available to effectively preserve Buddhist heritage sites?
qualifications. We sifted through the research articles I think I have a clearer outlook after listening to the
that are related to our theme, with the help from our presentation by the panellists.
colleagues in Publication Team. This process had really
tested our determination and perseverance. While presenting about the ‘Importance of Buddhist
th
Heritage’, His Holiness The 12 Chamgon Kenting Tai
Many people doubted us because preservation of Situpa reminded us that the Dharma is in everything,
Buddhist heritage was not a very popular topic. In including the heritage, we just needed to look. On the
all honesty, we did not have a clue on where to start. other hand, Dr Nasha Rodziadi Khaw revealed to us
We needed to do a lot of preparation to gain a deeper the Buddhist cultural remains in ancient Kedah. It was
understanding. For instance, we visited The National very sad to learn that the heritage sites in our country
Museum of Malaysia and to our surprise and delight, we were neglected and gradually fell into decline over time.
realised that there were many Buddhist Heritage sites Ven. Ompalpe Sobhita emphasised that this conference
in our country. These treasures had always been here. should not be ended with academic discussion only, but
action was genuinely needed, and Buddhists ought to
During the conference preparation, many questions support the preservation of these heritage. It was not
kept popping into my mind: What are my feelings while only about religion, but also the promotion of culture.
visiting the heritage sites? What is the role of Buddhist ‘We may have different religions, different languages,
heritage in our spiritual practice? How does politics different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human