Seventy-two years ago today, on June 3, 1953 (April 22, 1953), the Buddhist Association of China was established. Zhou Enlai and representatives of the Buddhist Association took a group photo. From May 30 to June 3, 1953, the Buddhist Association of China held its inaugural meeting at Guangji Temple in Beijing. 120 famous people from the Buddhist community across the country attended the meeting. After repeated deliberation and consultation, the delegates determined that the purpose of the Buddhist Association of China is to unite Buddhists across the country, under the leadership of the people's government, participate in the movement to care for the motherland and defend world peace, assist the people's government in implementing the policy of freedom of religious belief, and contact Buddhists in various places to carry forward the fine traditions of Buddhism. The conference elected the Dalai Lama, Panchen Erdeni, Xuyun, and Chagan Gegen as honorary presidents of the Buddhist Association of China, Yuan Ying as president, and Xilao Gyatso, Gongdelin, Jigme Yoshimura, Nenghai, Zhao Puchu, Khalazang, Huba, and Awang Gyatso as vice presidents. The current president of the Buddhist Association is Zhao Puchu (died May 21, 2000). Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are collectively referred to as the three major religions of the world. Founded in the 6th to 5th centuries BC by Siddhartha Gautama, prince of the ancient Indian state of Kapilavastu (in present-day Nepal). Sakyamuni is a Buddhist honorific title for Siddhartha Gautama, which means the hermit practitioner of the Sakyar people. Buddhism was introduced to the Han region of China around the 1st century During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty sent people to the Western Regions to seek Buddhism and founded the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, China's first Buddhist temple. In the 4th century AD, Buddhism began to spread widely in China. The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the heyday of the development of Chinese Buddhism, and most of the various religious schools with Chinese colors were formed at this time. Buddhism has a great influence on the development of our country's ideology and culture and folk customs. Before the founding of New China, there were many Buddhists in our country. After the founding of New China, the party and the government formulated a long-term policy to respect and protect religious freedom and protect normal religious activities. Some people in the Buddhist community also put forward the idea of reforming Buddhism, abolishing the feudal system of exploitation and oppression in Buddhism, and temples in various places organized productive labor one after another. On June 3, 1953, the Buddhist Association of China was established. The Buddhist Association of China is a joint organization of Buddhists of all ethnic groups in China. After the establishment of the association, it has done a lot of useful work and achieved remarkable results in uniting Buddhists of all ethnic groups to participate in socialist construction, assisting the people's government in implementing religious policies, cultivating Buddhist talents, studying Buddhist history and teachings, protecting and arranging Buddhist cultural relics, and maintaining famous Buddhist mountains and temples. The association also pays attention to strengthening friendly exchanges and cultural exchanges with Buddhists from all over the world. Master Yuanying