The city of Nagpur is the heart of the Buddhist movement in India, being the place that Dr. Ambedkar chose to convert to Buddhism in 1956, along with five hundred thousand followers.

龍城(納格普爾市)是印度佛教運動的核心,安貝卡博士將此選為皈依之地,並於1956年,攜50萬追隨者,於此改信(皈依)佛教。

Most of the first newly-converted Buddhists were concentrated in Maharashtra and from the so-called Mahar Scheduled Caste, Dr. Ambedkar’s own caste, found in every town and village in the State. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s the Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha (TBMSG) conducted Dhamma tours, established a number of Dhamma centres and two large retreat centres, and started social work projects in many places, mostly in Maharashtra. It also and developed a thriving publications wing, its quarterly TBMSG Marathi language magazine, Buddhayan, having a circulation of 25,000. Apart from Gujarat there was little activity outside of Maharashtra.

首批皈依的佛弟子,絕大多數集中在馬哈拉施特拉邦,來自所謂的馬哈爾表列種姓。此一種姓亦是安貝卡博士所屬種姓,遍布在該邦每個城市與村落。「印度佛教普濟會」 (Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Ganac, TBMSG) [1]在1980年至1990年代初期,展開了一系列的巡迴弘法,設立若干佛教中心、兩座大型禪修中心,並且主要在馬哈拉施特拉邦許多鄉鎮,展開社會工作計畫。此外,這個協會還成立了一個發展蓬勃的出版部門;其馬拉地語季刊《佛乘》(Buddhayan),每季發行量高達25,000本。不過,除了古吉拉特邦之外,馬哈拉施特拉邦之外僅有少許活動。

In 1991, the centenary year of Dr. Ambedkar’s birth, there was a surge of interest in Dr. Ambedkar all over India among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Many young people wanted to know why Dr. Ambedkar had converted to Buddhism and how it could help them transform their individual and social lives.  Today there are over 230 million Scheduled Castes and over 175 million Scheduled and other Tribes. The Triratna movement was not in a position to go to all who were interested, and so the Nagarjuna Training Institute was developed to train young people in the basics of Buddhism ,which they could then share in their towns and villages.

1991年,隨著安貝卡博士誕辰100周年的到來,印度各地的表列種姓和表列部落,對安貝卡博士的關注大增。許多年輕人都想知道為安貝卡博士皈依佛教的原因,以及佛教如何幫助他們改變個人和社會生活。至今,列表種姓人口逾2.3億,而表列種姓人口超過1.75億。然而,「印度佛教普濟會」很難顧及所有關心佛教者。有鑑於此,龍樹學院之成立,便是為了給年輕人奠定佛學基礎,讓他們回到自己生長的鄉鎮之際,能夠分享自己所學。

The land was purchased in 1994, and first building, the Buddha Surya Vihara, completed in 1997, and other facilities were constructed gradually since then. Local Dhamma activities commenced in 1997, and in 2002 the one-year residential training programme was inaugurated.  Since then over 1,667 students from all over India (26 different states) have attended the course. They now form an all-India network, many of whom are very active in Dhamma teaching and social action.
我們於1994年承購了一片土地,第一座建築「佛光精舍」(Buddha Surya Vihara) 於1997年竣工,其他設施亦陸續落成。我們於2002年,初啟為期一年的住宿培訓計畫。自此,接受此培訓者遍布印度各地(25個不同邦),校友人數逾1,400名。現在他們形成了一個全印度網絡,其中有許多校友,非常積極從事弘法教育和社會運動。