1. In view of the mutual desire felt by both Buddhists
and Christians to meet together on an international level the Pontifical
Council for Interreligious dialogue, Vatican, organized a Buddhist-Christian
Colloquium, hosted by Fo Kuang Shan Buddhist Order at Kaohsiung, Taiwan
from July 31 to August 4, 1995.
This colloquium, on the theme of “Buddhism and Christianity: Convergence
and Divergence”, gathered together ten Buddhist scholars and ten Christian
scholars from Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America
and Italy.
Indispensable to the success of the colloquium was the atmosphere of prayer,
vigorous monastic observance, generous the place. In addition, the Fo
Kuang Shan Buddhist Order provided efficient collaboration for the smooth
running of the proceedings.
The agenda of the colloquium included four topics: the Human Condition
and the Need for Liberation, Ultimate Reality and Nirvana, Buddha and
Christ and Personal Detachment and Social Commitment.
Living together for five days, reading papers and discussing the beliefs,
experiences and values of both traditions, and participating in more intimate
dialogue groups have enabled the Buddhist and Christian participants to
reach a deeper mutual understanding of the convergences and divergences
of both religions. By communicating what is of the highest valve in the
hearts and minds of the participants at the religious level of encounter,
the members of the colloquium also reached a deeper mutual respect for
each other's traditions. As many misunderstandings were clarified through
this dialogue process there was a real growth in sensitivity to, and appreciation
for, each other's religions.
2. The Human Condition and the Need for Liberation
Both Buddhism and Christianity recognise that the human condition is in
some respect flawed, and admit the possibility of positive transformation.
The Buddhist approach to the human condition is to examine human experience
and present a precise analysis and method of practice that leads to liberation.
Traditional Buddhist analysis posits karmic energy rooted in ignorance
and selfish attachement as the cause of human suffering and evil. Buddhists
propose a Path of high morality, deep meditation practice and profound
wisdom as the antidote to this condition. According to the Christian tradition
every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. However,
we experience limitation not only because of our creaturely status, but
also because of the consequences of original sin. This legacy produces
the limitations of ignorance, concupiscence, alienation from self, others
and God, and even death. At the heart of the Christian history of salvation
lies the Paschal Mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ by which the human condition is definitively transformed through
participation in the divine life of grace.
3. Ultimate Reality and the Experience of Nirvana
Both
Buddhism and Christianity, in their respective traditions, propose concrete
ideals of human perfection. For the Buddhists this ideal entails a subtle,
selfless, pure and unattached balance between awakened wisdom and compassionate
engagement with the world. Although the precise nature of Nirvana is not
easily articulated, its realization entails both selfless liberation and
the freedom to live fully for the good of others. Grounded in the biblical
revelation and fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Christian
ideal is always viewed in a theistic perspective. As pilgrims on earth
Christians are called to find perfection in union with God. This union
is a dynamic and communal participation in the life of the Trinitarian
God. Since God is light and love, this perfection entails both love of
God and love of neighbour. This life of love is nourished by the Word
of God and Sacraments.
4. Buddha and Christ
An important divergence between the two traditions is disclosed in the
respective understandings of the figures of Buddha and Christ. It was
brought out more clearly that the Buddha is an enlightened human being
who shows us the perfection of Buddhahood ( perfect selflessness manifested
as purity, compassion and wisdom ) and gives people the hope that they
can themselves attain this ideal. The Buddhahood that can be achieved
is a positive condition of human wholeness and freedom characterized by
loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity of affinity,
so that one can live fully for the good of others. A great historical
movement was born ( the Sangha ) with a message of spiritual liberation
for all sentient beings. It was also understood more clearly that for
Christians, Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God’s saving will, the
incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, bringing the
light of salvation into the world for all humankind once and for all.
Through the grace of this Event “ that enlightens all persons “ ( John
1:9 ), the meaning of individual and human history is revealed. In the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the infinite love and mercy of
God that is the source of salvation is also revealed. This central event
of the world's salvation culminated in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost. Then the Church was born as the gathering of all peoples,
all languages, all races to be the family of God on earth.
5. Personal Detachment and Social Commitment
The connection between spiritual practice and social commitment has presented
Buddhists and Christians not only with a timely topic for dialogue, but
also an opportunity for mutual collaboration. For the Buddhists, the more
the mind is purified, the deeper becomes one's wisdom and compassion.
With calmness of mind, they try to bring peace to the world by applying
the teachings of the Buddha to their personal and social circumstances.
It was also noted that the Buddha himself engaged in a renunciate mission
and advised his disciples to live similarly, for their well-being and
that of the people. In the spirit of the Buddha's teachings, in detachment
and compassion, contemporary Buddhists engage in new forms of social service
and spiritual service in practice. In the recent history of Christianity
there has been a renewal of the traditional commitment towards social
justice which is seen to be inseparable from the life of faith. It is
the detachment taught by Jesus Christ that makes one free to actualize
the liberation won for us by Him. The social dimension of this liberation
calls the Christian to dedicate him/herself consciously and totally towards
a life of charity and service to other persons, with a preferential option
for the poor, and developed a particular sensitivity to the global environment.
6. The Buddhist and Christian members of the colloquium also recognized
that they were gathering in a world torn by division and strife, poverty
and injustice, violence and war, erosion of spiritual values and destruction
of nature. They reaffirmed the need for religions today to promote both
personal and social transformation leading to a more peaceful world. In
the end, there was a realization that true in-depth dialogue can strengthen
a creative impulse to strive together in genuine interreligious friendship
for a greater unity among all peoples and nations. The hope of the participants
is that this successful meeting will enables us to grow in the knowledge
and experience of our own traditions and that of others leading to future
encounters at various levels, local, national and international.
