Buddhism came to Korea from India, strong religious ties between two countries: South Korean author

New Delhi [India], April 21 : South Korea and India have a special bonding through Buddhism which needs to be explored further, an expert has said, noting that 'Gaya Buddhism' came directly to Korea from India.

Domyung Sunim, an author and Chairman of South Korea-based Gaya Culture Promotion Institute, told that a book authored by him looks at the strong religious ties between the two countries.

"The Gaya Buddhism directly came from India, so we all know that Buddhism is from India," he said.

Domyung Sunim is in Delhi to attend the Global Buddhist Summit.

Referring to the book, 'Gaya Buddhism - the beginning of Korean Buddhism', he said people can get some details of the history of Buddhism which came to Korea from India

"We are trying to give the details of Gaya Buddhism through this book," he said.

According to "SamgukYusa" or "The Heritage History of the Three Kingdoms" written in the 13th century, a Princess from Ayodhya (Suriratna) came to Korea, married King Kim-Suro, and became Queen Hur Hwang-ok in the year 48 AD.

Korean Buddhist Monk Hyecho (704-787 CE) or Hong Jiao visited India from 723 to 729 AD and wrote travelogue "Pilgrimage to the five kingdoms of India" which gives a vivid account of Indian culture, politics & society.

The year 2023 is special for the bilateral relations between India and Republic of Korea as the two countries celebrate the historic milestone of 50 years of diplomatic relations. The occasion coincides with India's G20 Presidency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist Summit on Thursday.

He underlined that 'Atithi Devo Bhava' is a tradition of the land of Buddha and the presence of so many personalities who have lived through Buddha's ideals "makes us feel the experience of Buddha being present himself around us".

"Buddha is beyond the individual, it is a perception," the Prime Minister said.

Participating in the Global Buddhist Summit, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Friday called for a focus on wisdom and compassion as he highlighted the situation in Tibet by giving his example and stressed looking at the current situation from a broader perspective.

The Summit is an effort towards engaging the global Buddhist Dhamma leadership and scholars on matters of Buddhist and universal concerns, and to come up with policy inputs to address them collectively. The discussion at the Summit explored how the Buddha Dhamma's fundamental values can provide inspiration and guidance in contemporary settings.