From June 16 to 18, 2017, the first China-Canada-US Buddhist Forum was initiated by The Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple and co-organized by The Buddhist Association of China, The Buddhist Association of Canada and the American Buddhist Confederation at University of Toronto in Canada.

Many high-profile Buddhist masters and guests from China, US and Canada were present at the opening ceremony, such as Deputy Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs of P.R.C. Mr. Jiang Jianyong, Culture Consul of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto Ms. Han Ning, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of State Administration for Religious Affairs of P.R.C. Ms. Xiao Hong, Director of the Department of International Affairs of University of Toronto Mr. Zhang Bosong, Chairman of The Buddhist Association of China Ven. Xuecheng, President of The Buddhist Association of Canada Ven. Dayi, and Chairman of the American Buddhist Confederation Ven. Pindao, to name just a few.

The opening ceremony was presided over by the Vice Secretary General of The Buddhist Association of China, Chairman of The Buddhist Association of Hangzhou and Abbot of Lingyin Temple Ven. Guangquan. Several guests delivered speeches at the ceremony, including Deputy Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs of P.R.C. Mr. Jiang Jianyong, Vice-chairman of The Buddhist Association of China Ven. Miaojiang, President of The Buddhist Association of Canada Ven. Dayi and Culture Consul of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto Ms. Han Ning. They all expressed their best wishes for the success of the Buddhist photography exhibition.

Ven. Guangquan said in his speech at the opening ceremony, ＂Buddhism was introduced into China over 1900 years ago via the Silk Road. Since then, it has been integrating with and benefiting the Chinese society and even the international community. It has set a good example for cultural exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations. The Silk Road Economic Belt played an important role in the promotion of equal exchanges between different religious cultures and it is now known as a carrier of the history and future, a path of collaborative development and a symbol of mutual exchanges, mutual tolerance, peace and friendship. Marking the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, the China-Canada-US Buddhist Forum was held here in Toronto in the topic of ＂Perfecting the Middle Way & Enduring Peace＂. Such a forum has important historical value and practical significance in that it helped presenting the core value of the Buddhist culture and its role in the dialogue between civilizations and recording the history of the promotion of Buddhism.＂

There are more than 120 photographs on display at the Buddhist photography exhibition. All of the photographs are from Lingyin Temple, most of which depict the landscape of the Buddhist countries along the Silk Road. Earlier this year, Lingyin Temple sent professional photographers to the Belt and Road countries for shoots on special topics. It also held a national Buddhist culture photography festival—＂The Buddhist Land of Southeast China (Hangzhou) Photography Festival＂, and collected over 20,000 excellent photography works. The photographs at display at the exhibition in Toronto were part of the ＂Buddhist Culture Along The Belt and Road Countries Photography Exhibition＂ organized by Lingyin Temple, whose collection of photographs are scheduled to be shown at display at the headquarters of UNESCO, the Belt and Road countries and the headquarters of World Fellowship of Buddhists.

The opening ceremony of the Buddhist photography exhibition

Ven. Guangquan presiding over the opening ceremony

Deputy Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs of P.R.C. Mr. Jiang Jianyong delivering a speech

Vice-chairman of The Buddhist Association of China Ven. Miaojiang delivering a speech

President of The Buddhist Association of Canada Ven. Dayi delivering a speech

Culture Consul of Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto Ms. Han Ning delivering a speech

At the Buddhist photography exhibition