The World Buddhist Scout Council (WSBC) formerly the World Buddhist Scout Brotherhood until 2009 is an autonomous, international body committed to promoting and supporting

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

within Scouting. The WBSB began as a means to facilitate religious activities among Buddhist Scouts. The WBSC was declared active with the election of its chairman on July 21, 2004, and received consultative status with the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

at the WSC meeting on March 9, 2009. The World Scout Committee's guidelines indicate that at least three years is required to fulfill the requirements before consultative status may be granted. In 2016 the gender equality of the organisation name was considered and updated to be more inclusive, becoming the World Buddhist Scout Council. The world jamboree in 2019 was another success with Buddhist scouts both attending and operating exhibitions on Buddhism and collaboration with other faiths in the area of shared spirituality. The Dalai Lama sent a personal blessing to all scouts there.

Objectives

The official objectives of WBSC are: * To develop and promote the spirit of community and understanding among Scouts of the Buddhist faith. * To develop an education curriculum that should enhance the spiritual dimension in the personalities of young Buddhists in accordance with the purpose, principles and method of the Scout Movement. * To promote relations between Scouting and local Buddhists. * To introduce Scouting in such states or areas where Buddhism is established. * To co-ordinate the activities of WBSC with non-Scout Organizations having parallel objectives. * To motivate co-operation among WBSC members. * To motivate and promote Scouting among Buddhist boys and girls on a global basis. * To promote contacts, exchanges and interactions with the Scouts of other faiths. * To foster inter-religious peace dialogue.

Membership

Members of the WBSC include Brazil,

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

, France,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, Japan,

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, Norway,

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, Sri Lanka,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, USA and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Activities

2007

At the

21st World Scout Jamboree The 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in July and August 2007, and formed a part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations of the world Scout Movement. The event was hosted by the United Kingdom, as 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the fou ...

at Hylands Park in the UK, the WBSB ran the Buddhist Tent in the Faith and Belief Zone (FAB). A large statue of the Buddha, a gift from the National Scout Organization of Thailand to celebrate the Centenary of Scouting and the 80th birthday of King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

of Thailand. The statue is named ''Prabuddha Prathanporn Loka-satawassa-nusorn'' and now sits in the Buddha Sala at

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...

in London and replaces the statue given to the Scout Association in 1967. The activities included making an origami Lotus, making

prayer flag A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated withi ...

s, sewing Buddhist neckerchiefs and meditating. On Sunrise Day, a Buddhist celebration on one of the subcamp stages was attended by over 1000 Scouts. As well as Lama Gankhuyag Magsarjav representing

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

Buddhism, Ven.

Ming Kuang The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

from Taiwan represented

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Buddhism and Ven.

Chao Khun Bhavanaviteht Chao may refer to: People * Chao (surname), various Chinese surnames (including 晁 and 巢, as well as non-Pinyin spellings) * Zhou (surname) (周), may also be spelled Chao * Zhao (surname) (趙/赵), may also be spelled Chao in Taiwan and Hon ...

( Luangpor Khemadhammo) OBE represented

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhism. The Heart Sutra was read in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and Tibetan and talks on Buddhism were given and translated into French.

2008

WBSB members from the

ran the Buddhist tent in the Faith and Belief Zone at the National Irish Jamboree. Scouts made prayer flags, incense sticks, sand

mandalas A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

and practiced meditation.

2009

WBSB members from

and the

organised a service project for the UK Scout Network and Mongolian

Rover Scout Rover Scouts, Rovers, Rover Scouting or Rovering is a program associated with some Scouting organizations for adult men and women. A group of Rovers is called a 'Rover Crew'. Rovers was originated by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Assoc ...

s at the Manzushir Khiid (Манзушир Хийд) temple in the town of Dzuunmod which is 43 km south of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

. The temple replaces the large monastery of the same name which was destroyed by the Mongolian communist government in 1937. 82 Scouts spent a week repainting the temple and a large sum of money was also donated to the temple to help improve the facilities.

2019

WSBC Members work with the

World Scout Jamboree The World Scout Jamboree is a Scouting jamboree of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, typically attended by several tens of thousands of Scouts from around the world, aged 14 to 17. The first World Scout Jamboree was organized by Th ...

team in North America to delivery a space on Buddhism, contributed to a shared journey of spirituality space and also were key in the running of an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

+ safe space for young people and adults being developed.

2022

The World Buddhist Scout Council Conference took place on the 26th of February 2022. New elections were held appointing Dr Tony Malone of the UK as the new Secretary General, the new council now meets every two months to continue the work in youth development.

References

External links

Official siteThe Forest Hermitage
{{DEFAULTSORT:World_Buddhist_Scout_Council International Scouting organizations Buddhist youth organizations International Buddhist organizations Religious organizations established in 2004