World Fellowship of Buddhists

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The World Fellowship of Buddhists ( WFB , " World Fellowship of Buddhists ") is an international organization of Buddhists based in Bangkok .

Overview

The WFB was founded in 1950 by representatives from 27 countries in Colombo , Ceylon . Although Theravada Buddhism has the most influence, all schools of Buddhism are represented in the organization. All presidents so far have come from Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka . Today there are regional centers in 35 countries, including a. in India , the USA and Australia .

aims

The goals of the WFB include

  • promote strict adherence to the Buddha's teachings and practices ,
  • To ensure unity, solidarity and brotherhood among Buddhists,
  • to spread the sublime teaching of the Buddha
  • To organize and carry out activities in social, educational, cultural and other humanitarian projects,
  • the work for peace, harmony and happiness on earth, also together with other organizations that have the same goals.

The current president has been Phan Wannamethee from Thailand since 1999, with Hsing Yun from Taiwan as honorary president.

Political infiltration

The organization was deliberately infiltrated by American secret services from 1954 onwards, with funding being channeled through the Asia Foundation . The purpose was to influence the Buddhists in Southeast Asia to create a "bulwark against communism", which was seen as urgent after the battle for Điện Biên Phủ . Success was achieved in that representatives of the Buddhist Association of China were not granted entry permits for the 1954 Congress in Bangkok. At the 1961 meeting in Phnom Penh , the Chinese delegates were so deliberately provoked that they left early. In the same year the head office was permanently moved to Bangkok. There Sarit Thanarat had established a right-wing military dictatorship by the grace of America. It was only with the progressive détente that the organization was depoliticized, which since 1984 has again been operating with the participation of Chinese Buddhists.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ford, Eugene; Cold War Monks: Buddhism and America's Secret Strategy in Southeast Asia; New Haven 2017; ISBN ~ 978-0300218565, pp. 9, 106-7, 159-69, 163-6, 234-6.