Shravasti Awards

The Shravasti Awards are given to extraordinary role models that transcend religious and cultural barriers and contribute to the betterment of the world by leading the way in promoting good acts, therefore inspiring more individuals from other areas and cultures to collaborate and benefit humanity. The vision of the Shravasti Awards is towards encouraging humans to transcend our differences and together build a harmonious homeland where all human beings exist in balance, and beautiful earth can develop sustainably. 
On December 20, 2021, the First Shravasti Awards has announced its three winners of this year. Adhering to the principle of "mutual love" and "symbiosis", the Shravasti Awards pay tribute to those who transcend religious differences to promote good deeds and encourage people from different cultures to collaborate and improve the world.
==History==
As His Holiness, The Drikung Kyabgon Tinle Lhundup said, "The physical world and the mental world are connected to and dependent on each other. Likewise, all living beings are interdependent in a similar manner. Therefore, we should respect other beings with kindness. This is the virtue of being a human and what we should value as a human."
==Background:==
For a long time, His Holiness The Drikung Kyabgon Tinle Lhundup has been devoting himself to promoting the development of cultural diversity, education and humanistic care, aiming to manifest the principle of "mutual love" and "symbiosis" in all areas of life. His Holiness initiated GO GREEN GO ORGANIC and other sustainability projects in the Himalayan region. These projects have greatly improved the lives of local people in the highest desert in the world. The local population of this area comes from a different religious backgrounds, including Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. His Holiness has been appointed as the Mountain Partnership Goodwill Ambassadors of the United Nations for his excellent contributions.
The Shravasti Foundation was established in September 28, 2020 in California, USA. Adhering to the principle of "mutual love" and "symbiosis", the foundation encourages people to realize religious harmony, transcend differences, care for the living beings and our environment. A team of volunteers founded this foundation to support His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Tinle Lhundup's humanitarian activities.
More than 2500 years ago, when Buddha Shakyamuni preached the Dharma teachings in Shravasti, he pointed out that all living beings share a common destiny and equality. Therefore, we should treat other beings with kindness and no discrimination. This is where the foundation takes its name. The Shravasti Foundation strives to practice the Buddha teachings, making great endeavors to transcend religious differences and promote harmony between different groups and between humans and the environment.
===Philosophy behind the concept===
The concept of the Shravasti Awards is based on the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni who led us to realize the interconnection of all occurrences at Shravasti over 2500 years ago. He emphasized how the physical environment and mental health are intertwined and interdependent. Similarly, all living things coexist in the same way. Another insight Buddha revealed was that "all sentient beings have Buddha-nature." All living beings, like humans, have the capacity to achieve enlightenment, therefore we should treat them with respect and kindness. This is what it is to be human, and it is something we should value. The Shravasti Awards were founded for the sake of our ecosystem and all living species within it.
==Categories==
The Shravasti Awards consist of three categories: the Shravasti Spiritual Leadership Award, the Shravasti Humanities Award, and the Shravasti Environmental Award. Recipients of this award may come from any religious background and are nominated by the public. Three extraordinary figures-Hindu religious leaders His Holiness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, senior media professional and scholar Dr. Her Rey Sheng, and environmental activist Dr. Mohammed Deen Darokhan-have been recognized as winners of the first Shravasti Awards.
===The Shravasti Spiritual Leadership Award===
The Shravasti Spiritual Leadership Award honors spiritual leaders who strive for religious unity and recognizes their great contributions to the interfaith discussion, conflict resolution, and living in peace. The Shravasti Spiritual Leader Award is given to someone from any religious background.
===The Shravasti Humanities Award===
The Shravasti Humanities Award is given to individuals who promote goodwill, care about humanity's fate and the dignity of life, and make significant contributions.
===The Shravasti Environmental Award===
The Shravasti Environmental Award is given to people who have spent a long time working to safeguard the environment, who treat all people equally, and/or who advocate for environmental awareness.
==Winners==
* The Shravasti Spiritual Leadership Award: Mutual Love and Symbiosis- The winner of the Spiritual Leadership Award is His Holiness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati, a Hindu spiritual leader. His Holiness Pujya Swami has led the Global Interfaith Summit and has long been devoted to realizing religious harmony. Moreover, His Holiness Pujya Swami has put his heart and soul into humanitarian projects, working on saving the Ganga River, developing healthcare and education, and improving women's positions. His Holiness's contributions have been recognized by receiving awards such as the World Peace Ambassador Award and the Mentor of India Award.
* The Shravasti Humanities Award: Prosperity of All Human Beings- The winner of the Humanities Award is Dr. Her Rey Sheng, the initiator of global "goodness" research and deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation. Transcending the differences between Eastern and Western culture, Dr. Her advocates altruism to achieve equal wealth and prosperity of all human beings and to achieve social harmony and fulfillment of life. Dr. Her has participated in relief work of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China, the 2013 Philippine Typhoon, and the 2015 Nepal Earthquake.
* The Shravasti Environmental Award: Caring for Farmers and Nature- The winner of the Environmental Award is Dr. Mohammed Deen Darokhan. Dr. Deen is an environmentalist dedicated to ecological protection in the Himalayan region. His vision of transforming his hometown into an integrated organic area by 2025 is crucial to glacial and climate protection in Ladakh. Dr. Deen has made significant contributions to carbon neutrality, ecological agriculture system, afforestation, biodiversity, energy and water conservation, reduction of plastic use, protection of local cultural traditions and language diversity.
==Gallery==
==External links==
* Official Website
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
Category:Humanities awards
Category:International awards
Category:Environmental awards