[Buddha-l] buddha-l Digest, Vol 66, Issue 7

[michael wilson]

 I have been to Nalanda a couple of times and it, like Lumbini and Kushinagar is 
in really poor and kind of off the beaten track places.  I imagine this was why 
Buddha chose these places to be born, teach, and to die.  It is near Rajgir 
isn't it?  I wish them luck building an international university.  Very few 
buddhist universities around.  

Michael J. Wilson





Nalanda, an ancient seat of learning destroyed in 1193, will rise
again thanks to a Nobel-winning economist
same overarching vision as Nalanda - and located alongside its
physical ruins - has been spearheaded by a team of international
experts and leaders, among them the Nobel-winning economist
Amartya Sen. This week, legislation that will enable the building
of the university to proceed is to be placed before the Indian
parliament.

I wonder how the Buddha managed to visit Nalanda University. By time machine? 
Most accounts say the university was not founded until the fifth century C.E. 
It's true that the Pali canon says that the Buddha visited the town of N?land?, 
but to say he was an alumnus of the university that was founded there a thousand 
years later is like saying Hadrian was an alumnus of Oxford or that Francisco 
V?squez de Coronado y Luj?n was a graduate of University of New Mexico.

Richard






I wonder how the Buddha managed to visit Nalanda University. By
time machine? Most accounts say the university was not founded
until the fifth century C.E. It's true that the Pali canon says
that the Buddha visited the town of N?land?, but to say he was
an alumnus of the university that was founded there a thousand
years later is like saying Hadrian was an alumnus of Oxford or
that Francisco V?squez de Coronado y Luj?n was a graduate of
University of New Mexico.

Richard
___________

Yes--it's a wonder, isn't it. The Thais also say that the Buddha
visited Thailand, or whatever it was in his day. Others in India
say that he was born in south India. Trying for Faqs about
charismatics is a bit futile, eh wot?

After posting, I read further down in the article, to find that
HHDL was not invited to be a part of this, um, revival........for
political reasons. The same ones India uses every time HHDL comes
up--fear of infuriating China (translation: messing up
India-China business arrangements).

Joanna