Stamps on Buddhism

Date of issue- 19 May 2008

It is June 6, 2008.Today China is going to issue two beautiful stamps depicting White horse Temple of China and Mahabodhi Temple of Bodha Gaya, India in the denominationof 1.20 Yuaan each. It is a China-India joint issue. Another stamp on bodh Gaya temple was issued on 19 May 2008 by Thailand on Important Buddhist Religious Day (Visakhapuja Day) to pay homage to the Lord Buddha and to publicize the important Buddhist Religious Day (Visakhapuja Day). For this post we sincerely thank our distinguished reader of Ludhiana Dr. S.K. Sondhi who sent us information about these stamps from United States. We also introduce our new member from Haryana who is a student. He has formed Kansal Philatelic & Numismatic Society in Shahabad Markanda,Haryana . Its a pleasure to know about budding philatelists as they are the future of philately. It's really very nice to see a Philatelic Society in Haryana.

Date of issue- 6 June 2008

The White Horse Temple was the first Buddhist temple in China, established under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han capital Luoyang in the year 68. The story behind the foundation of this temple is according to the Book of Later Han history, Emperor Ming was said to have dreamed one night in the year 64 of a golden person standing 20 metres tall and with a radiating white aureola flying from the West. The next day he told his ministers, and the minister Zhong Hu explained to him that he had probably dreamed of the Buddha from India. The emperor then sent a delegation of 18 headed by Cai Yin, Qin Jing and Wang Zun to seek out Buddhism. They returned from Afghanistan with an image of Gautama Buddha,the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters and two eminent monks. The monks names have been variously romanized as Kasyapamatanga and Dharmavanya, Moton and Chufarlan.The next year, the emperor ordered the construction of the White Horse Temple three li east of the capital Luoyang, to remember the horse that carried back the sutras. The temple compound covers an area of 13 hectares, and faces south. A stone paifang (archway) has been recently built 150 metres in front of the original gate. Between the archway and gate lies a pool with fountains, spanned by three stone bridges.Entering the temple today, one sees the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Hall of the Great Buddha, Hall of Mahavira, Hall of Greeting, the Cool and Clear Terrace and the pavilion. On each side of the pavilion are the Sutra House and the Magic Weapon House.It was China's first Buddhist temple.The temple increased in importance as Buddhism grew within China, and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The introduction of Buddhism in China was also a significant influencene on Chinese morals, thought and ethics.

The Mahabodhi Temple (Literally: "Great Awakening Temple") is a Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya is located about 96 km (60 miles) from Patna, Bihar state, India. Next to the temple, to its western side, is the holy Bodhi tree. In the Pali Canon, the site is called Bodhimanda, and the monastery there the Bodhimanda Vihara. Mahabodhi Temple is constructed of brick and is one of the oldest brick structures to have survived in eastern India. It is considered to be a fine example of Indian brickwork, and was highly influential in the development of later architectural traditions. According UNESCO, “the present temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from the late Gupta period. Mahabodhi Temple's central tower rises to 55 meters, and were heavily renovated in the 19th century. The central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers, constructed in the same style.The Mahabodhi Temple is surrounded on all four sides by stone railings, about two metres high. The railings reveal two distinct types, both in style as well as the materials used. The older ones, made of sandstone, date to about 150 BC, and the others, constructed from unpolished coarse granite, are believed to be of the Gupta period (300 CE – 600 CE). The older railings have scenes such as Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, being bathed by elephants; and Surya, the Hindu sun god, riding a chariot drawn by four horses. The newer railings have figures of stupas (reliquary shrines) and garudas (eagles). Images of lotus flowers also appear commonly.In June 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, specifically nominated for the international World heritage program.

Members

13. Mitul Kansal, Shahabad Markanda (Haryana)
I am MITUL KANSAL from Shahabad Maarkanda in state of Haryana. I am a science student. I am collecting Philatelic and Numismetic items from more than eight years. My Collecting Philatelic interests are Thematics:-1) Personalities 2) Animals 3) Birds 4) Flowers 5) Insects 6) Space and Astronomy 7) Marine Life 8) Paintings 9) Sports 10) Buildings(Ancient and new) 11) Transportation/ Aviation/ Automobiles 12) INDIA. At present I have many Postage stamps, FDCs, International Response Coupen, Special covers, Postal stationery, etc of different countries of the world.I have about 1500 different coins and 200 different currency notes. I won a consolation Prize in Mera Dost My Post Contest organized by Department of Post, India. I also take part in different exhibitions. I want to buy, sell and exchange items.
E-mail : mitulkk97@rediffmail.com & mitulkansal@rediffmail.com