Buddhist and Christians -Walking Together on the Path of Non-Violence
6th Christian-Buddhist Colloquium
November 13 - 17, 2017

FINAL STATEMENT

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See, in cooperation with the Chinese Regional Bishops Conference (CRBC), and Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society, organized the Sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium from 13-15 November 2017 at Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, and, on the following day, the Closing Ceremony at the Museum of World Religions, Taipei.  The general theme was Buddhists and Christians Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence.  The Tzu Chi Foundation, Fo Guang Shan and the Buddhist Association of New Taipei City were also actively involved in organizing this Colloquium.

More than eighty men and women, Buddhist and Christian, representing eighteen countries, attended the Colloquium, among them both academics and practitioners of inter-religious engagement.  Participants also included members from the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC), the World Council of Churches (WCC), and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue.

The participants noted that in the course of the years, Christian-Buddhist dialogue has made a valuable contribution to improving mutual understanding and mutual knowledge, as well as strengthening relationships and cooperation aimed at promoting a culture of peace and nonviolence on the basis of shared values.  The participants also acknowledged that the 21st century has been marked by conflicts that also involve ethnic, cultural, and religious affiliations and identifications. In many regions of the world, cultural diversity has become a social and political issue.  Many people have been deprived of equal protection and rights, and are treated as second-class citizens within their own countries.

While acknowledging and appreciating various initiatives at the local, national, regional, and international levels aimed at promoting a culture of encounter and respect, the participants emphasized that much remains to be done to build together a culture of peace with justice for all human beings and to preserve and enhance the welfare of the environment, our common home.  The participants stressed that they met at a critical time, when violence has already wreaked havoc in many of their countries, leaving people in desperate need of healing, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  They also observed that violence and conflicts today cross borders, and thus local problems become national, regional, and at times, even global ones.

The participants were unanimously agreed that there is no time to lose, since the situation is so serious.  Consequently, they noted that on the basis of their respective religious convictions they need to bring new hope to a shattered world by speaking of the love of Jesus and the compassion of the Buddha.  This task includes speaking out in defense of the powerless and voiceless, standing up for justice, mending broken hearts and polarized societies, distancing themselves from sectarianism, and halting the building of walls that separate religions and cultures.  At this crucial moment, encouraged by the positive outcome of the Colloquium, the participants, as followers of Buddha and believers in Jesus, were agreed on:

1. Recognizing that the Sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium has been an important milestone in fostering a culture of peace and nonviolence in a culture of indifference.

2. Stressing the importance of hearing the cry of the victims of violence in its multiple forms  self-directed, interpersonal, and collective and also decrying and curbing the threats of unbridled nationalism, sexism, racism, casteism, ethnicism, and religious and secular fundamentalism.

3. Eradicating poverty, injustice, inequality, exploitation, and discrimination, which are often the underlying causes of violence and conflicts.

4. Recognizing the positive influence of the media in encouraging nonviolent actions for global peace and warning the public of the negative impact offake news, which can provoke estrangement, division, prejudice and violence between people of different cultures and religions.

5. Encouraging concrete actions at the national, regional, and global levels aimed at restoring polarized societies through justice, reconciliation, and forgiveness, as well as advancing the equality and dignity of women in order to prevent violence and discrimination against them, especially the scourge of domestic violence.

6. Developing safe, stable, nurturing and caring relationships between children and their parents, relatives, teachers, elders, orphans and others, in order to form wholesome individuals and inclusive societies, and reaffirming the importance of education, especially by creating academic institutions focused on training new generations of young women and men to love peace in various settings.

7. Promoting hospitality by recognizing that we and the other share a common humanity, regardless of ethnic, religious, cultural, or socioeconomic differences, so as to avert and minimize verbal, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse.

8. Recognizing that the eco-crisis is an ego-crisis and promoting ecospirituality for safeguarding the environment, our common home, and emphasizing the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life forms as central to living communities.

9. Promoting prayer, silence, and meditation to cultivate inner freedom, purity of heart, compassion, forgiveness, healing and the gift of self as essential conditions for the inner peace of the individual as well as for social peace.10. Acknowledging the important role that faith-based organizations, people of goodwill, civil society, governmental organizations, and centres of education can play in fostering interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

The participants express their gratitude to the Conference Committee for creating a pleasant atmosphere and for the warm hospitality that characterized this Colloquium. They also thank the Authorities of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and local Christian and Buddhist followers for their generous support in making the Sixth Buddhist-Christian dialogue a success.

Christians and Buddhists: Walking Together on the Path of Non-Violence
Sixth Christian-Buddhist Colloquium
Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, Taiwan
12-16 November 2017

Why Do We Have So Much Violence in Our World:
A Sociological Perspective
Msgr. Indunil Kodithuwakku, PCID

Today, we all wrestle with the problem of violence. More than 1.3 million worldwide die each year because of violence in all its forms - self-directed, interpersonal, and collective. Violence accounts for 2.6% of global mortality. The World Bank estimates that 1.2 billion people, roughly one fifth of the world‘s population, are affected by some form of violence or insecurity. [1] In addition, tens of thousands of people around the world are victims of non-fatal violence every day.[2] By the end of 2016, the number of displaced people had risen to 65.6 million.[3]

The World Health Organization defines violence as

the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.[4]

            The World Report on Violence and Health (WRVH) presents a typology of violence that is useful for understanding the contexts in which violence occurs and the way different types of violence interact. Violent acts can be physical, sexual, or psychological and can involve deprivation or neglect. It further divides the general definition of violence into three sub-types according to the victim-perpetrator relationship.

    •    Self-directed violence refers to violence in which the perpetrator and the victim are the same individual. This type of violence is subdivided into self-abuse or self-mutilation and suicide.[5]
    •    Interpersonal violence refers to violence between individuals. This type of violence is subdivided into family violence and community violence. Family violence includes child maltreatment; intimate partner violence, and elder abuse. [6] Community violence is broken down into acquaintance and stranger violence and includes youth violence, assault by strangers, violence related to property crimes, and violence in workplaces and other institutions.
    •    Collective violence refers to violence committed by larger groups of individuals. It can be subdivided into social, political, and economic violence.[7] Larger groups such as nation states, militia groups, and terrorist organizations resort to collective violence in order to achieve political, economic, or social objectives.[8]

The 2014 Global Status Report on Violence Prevention dealt only with interpersonal violence, using data from 133 countries with a combined population of 6.1 billion people, that is to say, 88% of the world‘s population. It is estimated that in 2012, 475000 deaths were the result of homicide. Sixty percent of these were males who were between 15 and 44 years old, making homicide the third leading cause of death for males in this age group.[9] Women, children, and elderly people bear the brunt of non-fatal physical, sexual, and psychological abuse.[10] A quarter of all adults report having being physically abused as children. One in five women report having been sexually abused as a child. One in three women has been the victim of physical or sexual violence by her intimate partner at some point in her life.[11]

What causes interpersonal violence?

Violence often disfigures peoples’ lives for decades or forever and can lead to alcohol and drug addiction, depression, suicide, dropping out of school, unemployment, and recurrent relationship difficulties. These factors create a social climate that is conducive to more violence. Economic stagnation, inequality, alcohol misuse, and inadequate parenting all increase the likelihood of child maltreatment, youth violence, and intimate partner abuse, and sexual abuse. Moreover, those who witness violence at home or in the community are at greater risk of manifesting violent behaviour as adults.[12]

Religion and Violence

Violence in the name of religion and the growing phenomenon of religious fundamentalism have provoked a heated debate in many societies with regard to the causes of violence and, more specifically, with regard to the role of religion in relation in the perpetration of violence. There are two principal schools of thought: one school argues that religion is inherently violent, while the other refutes that claim, arguing that the essential message of religion is non-violence.

To examine the reasons brought forward by those who claim that religion is inherently violent, we can turn to The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence, edited by Mark Juergensmeyer, Margo Kitts, and Michael Jerryson, which offers intersections between religion and violence throughout history and around the world. The editors challenge the thesis that religious violence is not religious, but is rather a distortion of an essential element of religious teaching. The scholars they chose to author the essays in this volume argue that since “it is precisely foundational religious teachings that are claimed to sanctify violence by many of its perpetrators,”[13] religion and violence are therefore inextricably intertwined.

In one of the essays in this book entitled “Religion and Violence from a Sociological Perspective,” John Hall defines violence as “actions that inflict, threaten, or cause injury” and specifies that injury may be “corporal, written or verbal.” [14] He identifies two arenas in which religious involvement with violence can take place: within a given religious group and among its participants, and secondly, in situations where religious groups engage in actions connected to broader social processes, mainly relationships between religious groups, political power, and hegemonic culture.[15]

            In another book on the relation between religion and violence, this one entitled The Myth of Religious Violence, William T. Cavanaugh argues that

The idea that religion has a tendency to promote violence is part of the conventional wisdom of Western societies. […] What I call the “myth of religious violence” is the idea that religion is a transhistorical and transcultural feature of human life, essentially distinct from “secular” features such as politics and economies, which has a peculiarly dangerous inclination to promote violence. Religion must therefore be tamed by restricting its access to public power. The secular-state appears as natural, corresponding to a universal and timeless truth about the inherent danger of religion. […] In this book, I challenge this piece of conventional wisdom, not simply by arguing that ideologies and institutions labelled “secular” can be just as violent as those labelled “religious,” but by examining how the twin categories of religious and secular are constructed in the first place”[16]

Although he does not directly deal with the thesis that “religious violence is not religious,” William T. Cavanaugh does point out the ways secular-violence can provoke so-called religious violence.

Identity Conflicts as Cultural Conflicts

If religion does not directly incite violence, how can we account for the apparent relationship between religion and violence? The reason religion is often instrumentalized is that religious, cultural, and ethnic identities tend to coincide when there are cultural conflicts.

By cultural conflicts we mean those domestic, inter-state or transnational political conflicts in which the actors involved focus on issues relating to religion, language and historicity. […] Three groups of actors can be identified in cultural conflicts: (i) anti-regime wars, inspired by left-wing actors and this type of domestic conflicts are dwindling or are related to other two groups below; (ii) ethnic conflicts among communal groups or against the central government to win cultural and political self-determination and the redistribution of economic rights; (iii) religious conflicts often shaped by transnational groups. [17]

The result of the confluence of religious, cultural, and ethnic identities is that “People and countries with similar cultures are coming together. Peoples and countries with different cultures are coming apart.”[18] Accordingly, “Political boundaries increasingly are redrawn to coincide with cultural ones: ethnic, religious, and civilizational.”[19] Moreover, the cold war question, “Which side are you on?” has been replaced, today by “Who are you? The answer comes from one‘s cultural identity.

A serious problem that confronts us today is how to manage the losers of the global system.[20] Moreover, the dislocation, exclusion, and discontent caused by globalization contribute to “stimulate the revitalization of indigenous identities and culture.”[21] Affirming the religious, ethnic, tribal, and linguistic identities of one group at the expense of an “other” contributes to social divisions. The marginalised and discontented members of social systems often give vent to their resentments through cultural resistance. In recent years, religious political parties and religious rhetoric have become dominant features of the political scene in many countries. This situation is further aggravated when one cultural group seeks to seize the territory, wealth, and resources of another group by imposing its own values, culture, and institutions. If one group does not consider another group to be a part of its ethnic or religious world, it will be easier to have no regrets about committing violence against the “other” who is different. In such a situation, those who perpetrate violence will not see themselves as perpetrators because, in their minds, their acts of violence are not directed against real human beings. Socio-cultural particularisms thus contribute to the weakening of the universalistic roles of religion.

How can we prevent violence?

   Violence goes well beyond physical harm. It causes depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Violence can contribute to an early death and lifelong physical and mental ill health. In addition, since violence has a high economic cost, preventing it can promote economic growth.

However, we need to ask if it is indeed possible to overcome fear and hatred between different groups of people. What does it take to change one‘s image of a perceived enemy and thus begin to break the vicious circle of violence? What kind of dialogue is needed if we are to create a social climate in which people can live together in peace?

The good news is that while violence is predictable, it can be prevented if we commit ourselves to the following practices:

    1.    Developing safe, stable and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers;
    2.    Developing life skills in children and adolescents;
    3.    Reducing the availability and harmful use of alcohol;
    4.    Reducing access to guns and knives;
    5.    Promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women;
    6.    Changing cultural and social norms that support violence;
    7.    Identifying victims and making available to them programmes of care and support;[22]
    8.    Deconstructing the image of the enemy and reconstructing the image of the other;
    9.    Eradicating poverty, injustice, inequality, exploitation and discrimination, which are the underlying causes of conflicts;
    10.    Promoting dialogue at all levels to build inclusive societies.

Conclusion

William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony says, “The evil that men do lives after them” (Act III, scene 2). Many people experience the truth of this statement because of the devastating and destructive impact of violence on individuals, families, communities, and nations. As we have already indicated, violence is socially constructed, and therefore we need to address the conditions that give rise to violent behaviour. In our interreligious context, we can find answers in the Axial Age, as well as in the post-Axial Age of Jesus and Mohammad. Many of the world ‘s great philosophers and religious leaders, among them Confucius, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Zarathustra, the Palestinian prophets, and the major Greek philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, emerged between the years 800 -200 B.C.E, the period that Karl Jaspers called Axial Age. The new forms of consciousness they fostered gave birth to great civilizations of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The idea that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us, known as the Golden Rule, is an ethic that emerged almost universally during the Axial Age. Karl Jaspers in his book, Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, describes these personages as “paradigmatic individuals” and asserts that their understanding of love (loving your neighbour) is universal.

Today, some scholars suggest that we are witnessing the dawn of the Second Axial Age in the emerging energy and passion of so many people and organizations that strive to bring forth a better world. This new self-consciousness is also open to the reality of the spiritual dimension, to the sanctity of life, and to care for our Common Home. Today, dialogue and collaboration with these individuals and organizations is not an option but is a necessity.

The founders of the world’s great religions all understood that humanity’s core challenge was to overcome the egoism that gives rise to violence. In order to curb aggression, they taught their followers to cultivate compassion and hospitality for all human beings. What we need to do is redefine the inclusive universalistic claims of Axial Age so that men and women of our time can draw on them to develop and direct their yearning for a new humanism.
————————
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/20/armed-conflict-deaths-increase-syria-iraq-afghanistan-yemen
[2] The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, p.2.
 http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Reports/UNDP-GVA-violence-2014.pdf
[3] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/there-are-now-more-refugees-than-the-entire-population-of-the-uk/
[4] "World report on violence and health", World Health Organization, 2002.
[5] Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year—one person every 40 seconds. Many more attempt suicide. http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/

[6] Elder abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. This type of violence constitutes a violation of human rights and includes physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse; financial and material abuse; abandonment; neglect, and serious loss of dignity and respect. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs357/en/

[7] http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/approach/definition/en/
[8] In 2011, the WHO Global Burden of Disease project estimated that 6.3% – or 86 307 – of all deaths due to violence were directly due to war and civil conflict.
[9] The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, p. vii.
[10] Ibid, p.viii.
[11] Ibid, p.viii.
[12] The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, p.viii.
[13] M. Juergensmeyer et al., The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013,  p. 2.
[14] John R. Hall in “Religion and Violence from a Sociological Perspective”, in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Violence, p. 364.
[15] Ibid, p. 366.
[16] William T. Cavanaugh, The Myth of Religious Violence, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009, p. 3.
[17] Aurel Croissant – Christoph Trinn, Culture, Identity and Conflict in Asia and South Asia, ASIEN 110, (January 2009),  pp.13 and 21.
[18] Samuel P. Huntington, Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Simon & Schuster, Rockefeller Centre, New York 1996, p. 126.
[19] p. 126
[20] Peter L. Berger, “Introduction, The Cultural Dynamic of Globalization”, p. 16.
[21] Ibid, 129.
[22] The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, p. viii.

Closing Remarks
His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
Pronounced at the Closing Ceremony
of the Sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium
Taipei, 16 November 2017

Closing Remarks for the Sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium His Eminence Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Taipei, 16 November 2017

Dharma Master Ven. Hsin Tao,
Eminence,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Buddhist and Christian leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen

We have reached the end of the 6th Buddhist-Christian Colloquium. Even though, I was not present at the beginning, I was told that it has been a great success. I would like to thank all of you for participating actively in this Colloquium as well as for the quality and variety of your presentations. I also take this opportunity to greet the distinguished authorities who honour us with their presence today. I am sure that your minds and hearts are filled with joy and happiness for the opportunity to make new friends and renew old acquaintances as well as to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences related to a culture of peace.

After three days of enriching exchanges on the general theme Christians and Buddhists Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence, we are about to go back to our respective countries and institutions. At this point, we need to ask how can we go beyond the exterior surface of our interfaith encounters and use the knowledge and experiences we received at this Conference to fashion a world that is free of violence.

In my Vesakh Message for 2017, I mentioned that:

“Though we recognize the uniqueness of our two religions, to which we remain committed, we agree that violence comes forth from the human heart, and that personal evils lead to structural evils. […]” (n. 6).

Violence, in other words, is manifested not only at the individual and social levels; it is also manifested structurally through socio-economic, political, cultural, and media forces. We are, therefore, called to work together to dismantle the evil that operates in us as well as in our social structures by:

    •     Speaking truth to power;
    •    Speaking truth in charity;
    •    Overcoming a ‘culture of indifference’ and building a ‘culture of encounter’;
    •    Moving from a ‘culture of reaction’ to a ‘culture of prevention’;
    •    Ending a culture of impunity and promoting ‘a culture of respect’; and
    •    Social peace through inner peace.
 

Speaking truth to power
Speaking truth to power means that we speak out in defence of the powerless, calling for justice, and denouncing the situations that perpetuate injustice. We do so because of our inner conviction that the religious truths we profess call us to speak out on behalf of the victims of the misuse of power. When Lord Buddha spoke truth to power, there were attempts on his life. Speaking the truth to power cost Jesus Christ his life. As followers of Buddha and Jesus, we must have the courage to decry the evils we see. Such words and deeds comfort the afflicted; they also afflict the comfortable.

During the Vietnam War, the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh was judged a traitor by both sides in his country’s conflict because he had called for peace in Vietnam. Thomas Merton called him “My Brother”. Their interfaith friendship strengthened their determination to speak with one voice, the voice of love and compassion. In so doing, they became a voice for the voiceless. The example of this remarkable interfaith friendship and solidarity can inspire us as we face situations of injustice, oppression, and exclusion.

Speaking truth in charity
When we speak the truth, how we say it matters? We need to learn how to speak the truth of nonviolence with charity. Angulim?la was a ruthless serial killer, but Buddha was able to redeem him, and he later became an arahant, a saint. Mathew was a tax collector who was despised by his fellow Jews because he was collaborating with the Roman occupation force. Yet, when Jesus invited him to be his follower, Mathew not only became one of the twelve close disciples of Jesus but also one of the four Evangelists who preserved the teaching and deeds of Jesus. These transforming experiences show us that the human person has the capacity for spiritual progress, regardless of his or her past. In other words, we can and should judge evil deeds, but we must do so without condemning the evildoer.

Overcoming a ‘culture of indifference’ and building a ‘culture of encounter’

Pope Francis warned that we have fallen into a globalisation of indifference that is causing individuals and communities to withdraw into themselves, closing out the “other” (Cf. Message for Lent, 2015). As a remedy, he invites us to work for a culture of encounter, as Jesus did. He emphasizes how different a culture of encounter is from a culture of indifference when he says that it involves “not just seeing, but looking; not just hearing, but listening; not just passing people by, but stopping with them; not just saying “what a shame, poor people!”, but allowing yourself to be moved with compassion; “and then to draw near, to touch and to say: ‘Do not weep’ and to give at least a drop of life” (Morning Meditation in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, 13 September 2016).

I am well aware that the Lord Buddha and many of his disciples in the past and in our own time have worked to foster a culture of encounter in place of a culture of indifference. Moving from a ‘culture of reaction’ to a ‘culture of prevention’.

When faced with violence, people often react violently and seek freedom from discrimination and oppression. Violence only perpetrates more violence, creating a vicious circle. In many parts of the world, there are political situations that lead to untold acts of revenge. The 21st century has been marked by identity-based conflicts, conflicts that are related to ethnic, cultural, and religious affiliations and identifications.

Jesus opposed use of violence when he said, “All who will take up the sword, will die by the sword.” Buddha said, “Hate is never ended by more hate, but by friendship; that is an eternal law.” They were promoters of a culture of prevention, a culture that addresses the socio-economic and political roots of conflicts and tension and seeks to provide protection for the afflicted and vulnerable parties. It opposes indiscriminate offensive military actions; tackles self-directed, interpersonal, and collective violence; averts verbal, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; develops safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers; promotes gender equality to prevent violence against women; safeguards the environment, our common home; and fosters dialogue at all levels to build inclusive societies.

Ending of a culture of impunity and promoting a culture of respect
In the Vesakh Message for 2017, I noted that “many of our societies grapple with the impact of past and present wounds caused by violence and conflicts” (n. 5). Majoritarianism, that is, rule by a majority at the expense of minorities, leads to relentless violence. In time of conflicts, when the state sanctions discriminatory laws, when it convicts and subsequently carries out arbitrary executions, it breaks the rule of law and creates a culture of impunity. In such a culture, people come to believe that they are free to do whatever they want, without having to face any consequences for their actions.

Pope Francis notes that “War ruins everything, even the bonds between brothers. War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying.” (Military Memorial in Redipuglia, Saturday, 13 September 2014). Wars and conflicts have huge human, economic, social, and political costs. In post-conflict situations, the wounds of wars and conflicts often continue. Therefore, the social, economic, and political realities in our respective countries call upon all of us to engage in a spiritual battle within ourselves, within our religions, and within our societies. We need to reconcile our polarized societies. Violent conflicts inflict wounds on everyone, and therefore all are in need of healing. The victim suffers from being treated as less than human, while the perpetrator often suffers from guilt.

The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” lays the foundation for a culture of respect. Such a culture flows from an inner disposition that calls us to look upon and treat the “other” as a true sister or brother, not as an enemy or rival.

Social peace through inner peace
Pascal, the French philosopher, used to say; “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Abba Moses, one of the great Desert fathers, would counsel his monks: “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” ‘Cell’ means ‘self’ or ‘heart’. Violence that is present in our hearts is also manifested in our society. By changing our inner worlds, we can positively influence our outer world. Through prayer, silence, and meditation, let us cultivate inner freedom, purity of heart, compassion, forgiveness, and the gift of self, all of which are essential conditions for the inner peace of the individual as well as for social peace.

Conclusion
Because violence shatters human lives, our common task is to heal a fractured world. Interreligious dialogue is the antidote to today’s violence. Our reactions to violence must avoid contradictions and inconsistencies. Sometimes, we have a tendency to be vigorous in condoning the violence that was perpetrated in one incident, and then are equally passionate about condemning the violence in another incident. Our reaction to violence must be based on the dignity of the human person and not on our cultural identities and prejudices. What is needed today to foster a nonviolent world is a socially engaged Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Let us commit ourselves to cultivating within our families and within our social, political, civil, and religious institutions a new style of living where violence is rejected and the human person is respected!

I thank you once again for your presence at this important dialogue. I value strong and friendly relations between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and our Buddhist friends. I express my sincere gratitude to all those who made this event a reality, in particular, the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference (CRBC), Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and also its embassy to the Holy See. It is very important today to disseminate the message of nonviolence to a wider audience. Let us do it together while walking on the path of nonviolence.

Keynote Address
H. E. Msgr. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
6th Buddhist-Christian Colloquium
Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, Taipei
13-16 November 2017

Dharma Master Venerable Hsin Tao,?Your Eminence,?Excellencies,?Distinguished Buddhist and Christian leaders,?Ladies and Gentlemen.

 1. GREETINGS

 On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and in the name of His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who will join us on the 16th for the closing ceremony, it gives me great pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to all the participants of the Sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium entitled “Buddhists and Christians Walking Together on the Path of Nonviolence”. I also greet H.E. Mr. François Chih-Chun Wu, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the distinguished members of his Delegation, who honour us with their presence here today.

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) was created in 1964 as the central office of the Catholic Church for the promotion of interreligious dialogue. Its task is to foster mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of other religions based on common values. Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, has inspired the members of the Catholic Church for over half a century to promote relations of respect and dialogue with their religious neighbours. I would like to seize the occasion to thank you, dear Buddhist friends, for your long-lasting relationship with the Catholic Church. It is my fervent hope that this Colloquium may provide us with an opportunity to renew and expand our mutual respect, friendship, and cooperation.

2. BUDDHIST-CHRISTIAN COLLOQUIA

For more than fifty years, the PCID has been involved in dialogue and collaboration with Buddhists throughout the world. This Colloquium is the sixth in a series promoted by this Pontifical Council. The first formal Buddhist-Christian Colloquium was organised at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1995; the general theme was Buddhism and Christianity, Convergence and Divergence. The second meeting was held in 1998 at the Catholic monastery of Asirvanam near Bangalore, India, under the theme “Word and Silence in Buddhist and Christian Traditions”. The third formal colloquium took place in Tokyo, Japan, in 2002 at the headquarters of Rissho Kosei-kai with the theme “Sangha in Buddhism and Church in Christianity”. The fourth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium, entitled “Inner Peace, Peace among Peoples” was held in Rome, in 2013. The fifth Colloquium under the theme “Buddhists and Christians Together Fostering Fraternity” was held at Bodh Gaya, India, in 2015. Today, we hold the sixth Colloquium at Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, Taipei. It has been 22 years since we held the first Colloquium in 1995 at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery. We are very happy to be back in Taiwan, and I warmly greet all Buddhists monks, nuns, and lay people of this Country, particularly the members of Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery present here. I also wish to express my gratitude for your generous cooperation to make this event a reality.

 3. OBJECTIVES

 Dear friends, the general theme for our dialogue is drawn from the Vesakh Message that the PCID issued on April 22 of this year. It emphasizes the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence. Allow me to read an excerpt from that message.

           Religion is increasingly at the fore in our world today, though at times in opposing ways. While many religious believers are committed to promoting peace, there are those who exploit religion to justify their acts of violence and hatred. We see healing and reconciliation offered to victims of violence, but also attempts to erase every trace and memory of the “other”; there is the emergence of global religious cooperation, but also politicization of religion; and, there is an awareness of endemic poverty and world hunger, yet the deplorable arms race continues. This situation requires a call to nonviolence, a rejection of violence in all its forms” (n. 2).

Terrorism is on the rise, as is the number of people killed in terrorist attacks. It appears that most of the victims of the increasing number of terrorist attacks and violent conflicts throughout the world are women and children. These forms of violence affect civilians who are forcibly displaced or become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). In most cases today, conflicts cross borders, and prolonged conflicts keep countries poor. In addition to the harm caused by violent conflicts within and between nations, domestic violence, especially violence against women, remains a pressing concern. All these forms of violence take a tremendous toll—financial, human, physical, and emotional.

           It is gratifying to note that the programme of our Colloquium covers a wide range of topics directly related to the main theme under study:

    •    Why do we have so much violence in our world?
    •    How do we end violence? Violence has its source in the human heart;
    •    Violence in our society: Listening to voices from the margins;
    •    Redeeming the past: Going beyond the wounds; Healing historical, physical, psychological and spiritual wounds;
    •    The role of living stories of nonviolence;
    •    Walking together on the path of non-violence: Stories of Christian-Buddhist solidary;
    •    Where do we go from here? Emerging orientations for future Buddhist-Christian engagement.
 

It is thus very clear that ours is not a mere academic exercise. It is a question of life and death. If the future of humanity is to be safeguarded, we need to walk and work together to eliminate and prevent the pressing problem of violence in its all forms. Some of us come from war-torn and conflict-ridden societies. Still others experience the long-term or short-term effects of past wars and conflicts. Some of us are victims or witnesses of unspeakable atrocities. In many of our own countries, we daily hear the cry of the victims of violence. Unfortunately, however, it is also possible that unbridled nationalism, sexism, racism, casteism, ethnicism, and religious fundamentalism could numb our hearts and blind our eyes to the suffering of so many people in our world.

 

In response to the Vesakh Message for 2017, we are embarking on a common journey for the next three days

 

to study the causes of violence: to teach our respective followers to combat evil within their hearts; to liberate both victims and perpetrators of violence from evil; to bring evil to light and challenge those who foment violence; to form the hearts and minds of all, especially of children, to love and live in peace with everyone and with the environment; to teach that there is no peace without justice, and no true justice without forgiveness; to invite all to work together in preventing conflicts and rebuilding broken societies; to urge the media to avoid and counter hate speech, and biased and provocative reporting; to encourage educational reforms to prevent the distortion and misinterpretation of history and of scriptural texts; and to pray for world peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence” (n. 6).

 

I fervently hope that this Colloquium will offer us an occasion to come to a deeper awareness of the burning problem of violence and to search together for ways to defeat and prevent it.

4. GRATITUDE

 Finally, before we officially begin our dialogue, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the co-organizers of the sixth Buddhist-Christian Colloquium, namely the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference (CRBC) and Ling Jiou Buddhist Monastery, under the leadership of His Excellency Bishop John Hung Shan-Chuan and Dharma Master Venerable Hsin Tao respectively. They have done an outstanding job in offering us excellent organization and gracious hospitality. I also wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Monsignor Sla?an ?osi?, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Apostolic Nunciature, Taipei, and his staff for helping us in countless ways to organise this dialogue. My special thoughts go to His Excellency Bishop Thomas An-zu Chung, the President of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenical Cooperation and his staff for the yeoman service they rendered in organizing this event. It was a pleasure to work with all of you and we look forward to continuing our mutual collaboration with you in the future.

I also wish to express my deep sense of appreciation to all our participants, especially His Eminence Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, His Excellency Bishop Felix Machado, Chairman, Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (OEIA) of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), His Excellency, Bishop Emmanuel Fernando from Sri Lanka, Rev. Father William Skudlarek OSB, Secretary General of Inter-monastic Dialogue and his delegation, and to all our speakers for having accepted our invitation to attend this meeting. Special thanks go to the Reverend Doctor Peniel Rajkumar, the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for participating in this dialogue. The PCID has an ongoing relationship with the corresponding office in the World Council of Churches, and we deeply appreciate your presence among us. My thanks also go to His Excellency Matthew S.M. Lee, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See and the staff of the embassy for their friendly relationship and mutual collaboration with the PCID and also for their generous contribution to organise this event.

It is no exaggeration to say that the participants are the lifeblood of a conference. Thus, I express my sincere thanks to all of you who have come from over 18 countries to participate in this important dialogue. I thank you for your concern and interest in fostering a culture of peace. Your presentations and active participation will ensure the success of this event.

Once again, I want to thank all of you for responding to our invitation. I wish you a fruitful three days of prayer, listening, reflection, discussion, and dialogue and a very pleasant stay in the Ling Jiou Mountain area and Taipei.