Text | British Library “Discovering Sacred Texts” WebsiteEdited by Buddha Museum International Affairs Department
In January 2018, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum and the
British Library signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the
hope that this partnership would bring long-term benefits and contribute to the
reservation and promotion of Buddhist archives and collections. Discovering
Sacred Texts is one of the important projects in the collaboration. Through this website, one will be able to turn the pages of sacred
Buddhist texts and learn more about the texts interpreted by Venerables of Fo Guang
Shan. This project aims to contribute to global conversation around religions
and enhance the connections between the young generation and faiths of the
world.

On the website,
British Library has made a video introducing how different Buddhist traditions
practices their faith through the concept of the Three Jewels: the Buddha;
Buddhist teachings (Dharma); and Sangha, the religious communities that
practice Dharma. The Mahayana tradition was represented by Fo Guang Shan. In the video, Venerable Ru
Hai commented on the importance of precepts, “the precepts are our foundation and the basis
of being a human. Similarly, a country cannot be without laws. A household
cannot be without rules. Precepts are standard for Buddhist practitioners. As a
female Buddhist, after we renounce to become a monastic, we transcend gender
forms. So both males and females have to undertake the same responsibilities;
there is no difference.”

During the
three-year partnership, both the British Library and the Buddha Museum had exchanged
ideas on digitisation, Buddhist exhibition curation, Buddhist scriptural
research, and community engagement programmes. Although the MoU has come to an
end, both hope to continue their partnership after the Covid-19 pandemic.Watch full
video on
https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/videos/buddhism#