Buddhists and Christians: 

Promoting a Culture of Care and Solidarity  

Dear Buddhist Friends,

On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, I am writing to you on the occasion of the feast of Vesakh to offer my heartfelt greetings. It is my prayer that this annual feast of the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of Gautama Buddha may bring joy, serenity, and hope to the hearts of Buddhists throughout the world. 

The current world situation, tragically marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges the followers of all religions to collaborate in new ways at the service of the human community. In his Encyclical Fratelli tutti, signed in Assisi on 3 October 2020, Pope Francis reiterated the urgency of a universal solidarity that allows humanity to overcome together the difficult crises that threaten it, because “no one is saved alone” (Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 32). 

The Vesak greetings, of which we celebrated the 25^th anniversary last year, have highlighted many of the values we hold in common and the wisdom that supports the collaboration we foster, especially in addressing times as hard as the present one. The suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has made us aware of our shared vulnerability and interdependence. We are called to discover and practice the solidarity enshrined in our respective religious traditions. As Pope Francis says, “ancient stories, full of symbolism, bear witness to a conviction which we today share, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationship with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.” (Pope Francis, Message for the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2021). 

The Buddhist teaching on Brahma Viharas (Four Heavenly Abodes or Virtues) offers us a timeless message of solidarity and active care.  In speaking about mett? (loving kindness), it exhorts followers to extend boundless love to all. “As a mother even with her life protects her only child, so let one cultivate immeasurable loving-kindness towards all living beings” (Mett? Sutta). As the Buddha taught, practitioners are equally encouraged to “make haste in doing good deeds; one should restrain one’s mind from evil; for the mind of one who is slow in doing good tends to take delight in doing evil” (Dhammapada, 116).

May this dramatic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic strengthen our bonds of friendship and further unite us in service to the human family, adopting “a culture of dialogue as the path, mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard” (Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, 285).

Dear Buddhist friends, these are the thoughts that I wish to share with you this year. Let us look forward to the future with hope and serenity. Happy Feast! 

Miguel Ángel Card. Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ

President

Msgr. Kodithuwakku K. Indunil J.

Secretary

Message for the Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri 2020
Buddhists and Christians: 
Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity

Dear Buddhists Friends,

1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we extend our heartfelt greetings and good wishes to you and to all Buddhist communities around the world as you celebrate the feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri. For the last twenty-four years, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has sent greetings to you on this happy occasion. Since this year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of this traditional message, we would like to renew our bond of friendship and collaboration with the various traditions you represent.

2. This year, we would like to reflect with you on the theme “Buddhists and Christians:Constructing a Culture of Compassion and Fraternity”. We are mindful of the high value our respective religious traditions give to compassion and fraternity in our spiritual quest and in our witness and service to a wounded humanity and a wounded earth. 

3. The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together states: “Authentic teachings of religions invite us to remain rooted in the values of peace; to defend the values of mutual understanding, human fraternity and harmonious coexistence”. Meeting the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch in Thailand last November, His Holiness Pope Francis expressed that “we can grow and live together as good “neighbors” and thus be able to promote among the followers of our religions the development of new charitable projects, capable of generating and multiplying practical initiatives on the path of fraternity, especially with regard to the poor and our much-abused common home. In this way, we will contribute to the formation of a culture of compassion, fraternity and encounter, both here and in other parts of the world” (cf. Visiting the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch, Bangkok, 21 November 2019). 

4. The Feast of Vesakh/ Hanamatsuri prompts us to recall that Prince Siddhartha set out in search of wisdom by shaving his head and renouncing his princely status. He traded his garments of Benares silk for the simple robe of a monk. His noble gesture reminds us of Saint Francis of Assisi: he cut his hair and traded his fine clothes for the simple robe of a mendicant because he wanted to follow Jesus, who “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:7) and had “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Their example and that of their followers inspire us to a life of detachment in view of what is most important. Thus, in consequence, we may more freely devote ourselves to fostering a culture of compassion and fraternity for the alleviation of human and ecological suffering.

5. Everything is related. Interdependence brings us back to the theme of compassion and fraternity. In a spirit of gratitude for your friendship, we humbly ask you to accompany and support your Christian friends in fostering loving kindness and fraternity in the world today. As we, Buddhists and Christians, learn from one another how to become ever more mindful and compassionate, may we continue to look for ways to work together to make our interconnectedness a source of blessing for all sentient beings and for the planet, our common home.

6. We believe that to guarantee the continuity of our universal solidarity, our shared journey requires educational process. To this end, a global event will take place on 15 October 2020 on the theme “Reinventing the Global Compact on Education”. “This meeting will rekindle our dedication for and with young people, renewing our passion for a more open and inclusive education, including patient listening, constructive dialogue and better mutual understanding” (Pope Francis, Message for the Launch of the Global Compact on Education,12 September 2019). We invite you to work together with all to promote this initiative, individually and within your communities, to nurture a new humanism.  We are also happy to see that Buddhists and Christians are drawing on deeply held values and working together to uproot the causes of social ills in various parts of the world.

7. Let us pray for all those who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic and for those who are caregivers. Let us encourage our faithful to live this difficult moment with hope, compassion, and charity.

8. Dear Buddhist friends, in this spirit of friendship and collaboration, we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri.

Miguel Ángel Card. Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ

President

Msgr. Kodithuwakku K. Indunil J.

Secretary     

MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF VESAKH  2019
Buddhists and Christians: Promoting the Dignity and Equal Rights of Women and Girls

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1.       On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, I extend warm greetings and prayerful good wishes for your celebration of Vesakh.  May it bring joy and peace to all of you, and to your families and your communities.

2.       This year our message is inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed in Abu Dhabi on 4 February 2019 by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.  That document includes an important call for people everywhere to promote the dignity of women and children.

3.       The teachings of Jesus and the Buddha promote the dignity of women.  Both Buddhism and Christianity have taught that women and men are equal in dignity, and both have played an important role in the advancement of women.   Buddhist and Christian women have made significant contributions to our religious traditions and to society as a whole.   On the other hand, it cannot be denied that all too often women have also experienced discrimination and maltreatment.  At times, religious narratives were used to present women as somehow inferior to men. 

4.       In our day, violence against women and young girls is a global problem, affecting as much as a third of the world’s female population.  Situations of conflict, post-conflict and displacement favour such violence.  Women and young girls are especially vulnerable to human trafficking and modern slavery, and these forms of brutality negatively and often irreversibly affect their health.  To counter these injustices, it is vital to provide young women and girls access to education, to guarantee them equal pay for equal work, to ensure the recognition of their inheritance and property rights, to overcome their under-representation in politics, government and decision-making, to address the issue of dowries, and so forth.  The promotion of women’s equal dignity and rights should also be reflected in interreligious dialogue: more women need to have a place at the table, where they are still outnumbered by men. 

5.       Dear friends, urgent action is needed to protect women and to defend their fundamental rights and freedom.   As the Document on Human Fraternity states: “It is an essential requirement to recognize the right of women to education and employment, and to recognize their freedom to exercise their own political rights.   Moreover, efforts must be made to free women from historical and social conditioning that runs contrary to the principles of their faith and dignity.  It is also necessary to protect women from sexual exploitation and from being treated as merchandise or objects of pleasure or financial gain.  Accordingly, an end must be brought to all those inhuman and vulgar practices that denigrate the dignity of women.  Efforts must be made to modify those laws that prevent women from fully enjoying their rights”.

6.       Those in authority and positions of leadership have a special responsibility to encourage their followers to uphold the dignity of women and young girls, and to defend their fundamental human rights.  We are likewise called to alert our brothers and sisters to the dangers inherent within gender ideology, which denies the differences and the reciprocity of men and women.  In promoting the dignity and equality of women and young girls, may we also promote and protect the institution of marriage, motherhood and family life.

7.       Dear Buddhist friends, let us make every effort to foster within our families, communities and institutions a renewed appreciation of the central place of women in our world and work for the definitive rejection of every form of unjust discrimination against the human person.  In this spirit, I wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh!

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J.
Secretary

Message for the Feast of Vesakh 2018

Christians and Buddhists: Preventing and Combatting Corruption Together

1.    On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we extend our warmest greetings and prayerful good wishes on the occasion of Vesakh. May this feast bring joy and peace to all of you, your families and your communities throughout the world.

2.    We wish to reflect this year on the pressing need to promote a culture free of corruption. Corruption involving the abuse of positions of power for personal gain, both within the public or private sectors, has become such a pervasive scandal in today’s world that the United Nations has designated 9 December  as International Anti-Corruption Day. As the phenomenon of corruption becomes more widespread, governments, non-governmental organizations, the media, and citizens around the world are joining together to combat this heinous crime. As religious leaders, we too must contribute to fostering a culture imbued with lawfulness and transparency.

Message for the Feast of Vesakh - 2016
Buddhists and Christians:
Together to Foster Ecological Education

Dear Buddhist Friends,

In the name of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we are pleased to extend once again our best wishes on the occasion Vesakh, as you commemorate three significant events in the life of Gautama Buddha – his birth, enlightenment and death. We wish you peace, tranquillity and joy in your hearts, within your families and in your country.

This year we write to you inspired by His Holiness Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter, Laudato Sì, On the Care for Our Common Home. His Holiness notes that “the external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. For this reason, the ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion” (n. 217). Moreover, he states that “our efforts at education will be inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature” (n. 215). “Only by cultivating sound virtues will people be able to make a selfless ecological commitment” (n. 211). In response, Pope Francis proposes that “ecological education can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere” (n. 213).

Dear Buddhist friends, you have also expressed concern about the degradation of the environment, which is attested to by the documents The Time to Act is Now: A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change and Buddhist Climate Change Statement to World Leaders. These evidence a shared understanding that at the centre of the eco-crisis is, in fact, an ego-crisis, expressed by human greed, anxiety, arrogance and ignorance. Our lifestyles and expectations, therefore, must change in order overcome the deterioration of our surroundings. “Cultivating the insight of inter-being and compassion, we will be able to act out of love, not fear, to protect our planet” (Buddhist Climate Change Statement to World Leaders). Otherwise, “When the Earth becomes sick, we become sick, because we are part of her” (The Time to Act is Now).

As the crisis of climate change is contributed to by human activity, we, Christians and Buddhists, must work together to confront it with an ecological spirituality. The acceleration of global environmental problems has added to the urgency of interreligious cooperation. Education in environmental responsibility and the creation of an “ecological citizenship” require virtue-oriented ecological ethics such as respect and care for nature. There is a pressing need for the followers of all religions to transcend their boundaries and join together in building an ecologically responsible social order based on shared values. In countries where Buddhists and Christians live and work side by side, we can support the health and sustainability of the planet through joint educational programmes aimed at raising ecological awareness and promoting joint initiatives.

Dear Buddhist friends, may we cooperate together in liberating humanity from the suffering brought about by climate change, and contribute to the care of our common home. In this spirit, we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
President

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ 
Secretary

Messasge for the Feast of Hana Matsuri
8 April 2015
Buddhists and Christians: Working Together for a World Without Nuclear Weapons

Dear Buddhist Friends in Japan,

1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue joyfully greets all of you as you commemorate the Buddha’s Birthday, Hana Matsuri, on the 8th of April. We wish you peace, tranquillity and joy in your hearts, your families and your country.

2. Since Japan prepares to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we wish to reflect with you this year on the theme Buddhists and Christians: Together Working for a World Without Nuclear Weapons. Your country is especially aware how important and urgent peace is and has offered so much to the world for the cause of peace, especially through the struggle of nuclear disarmament. The words of Sachiko Masaki, a Hibakusha, survivor of the brutal and horrible day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki remind us of our common mission to work together for a more secure world. “I feel an urgent need to pass on to others what happened. I want to stand before each and every person on the face of the earth and tell the madness and horror of war” (Hibakusha Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, p. 147). This testimony and that of all Hibakusha survivors, whether spoken or unspoken, sends a message to the whole world: “No one else should ever suffer as we did.” To all of them, we also wish to extend our warmest greetings and gratitude.

3. Pope Francis notes that “Nuclear weapons are a global problem, affecting all nations, and impacting future generations and the planet that is our home. A global ethic is needed if we are to reduce the nuclear threat and work towards nuclear disarmament” (Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, On the Occasion of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 7 December, 2014). He further emphasizes that “‘A world without nuclear weapons’ is a goal shared by all nations and echoed by world leaders, as well as the aspiration of millions of men and women. The future and the survival of the human family hinges on moving beyond this ideal and ensuring that it becomes a reality” (ibid.).

4. The cornerstone of Buddhist ethics is “loving kindness to all beings”. The Buddha taught: “Never by hatred is hatred appeased, but it is appeased by kindness. This is an eternal truth” (Dhammapada I, 5). Jesus’ teachings can be summed up by the precept commonly called the Great Commandment: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbour as yourself"(Cfr. Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34).
5. Sadly, new hotbeds of tension, the arms race, terrorism and various forms of fundamentalism and fanaticism all threaten the integrity of the human family
and the peaceful coexistence of individuals and nations. Yet, peace remains the yearning of every human heart. Therefore, in the spirit of the Assisi and Mount Hiei meetings, let us continue to collaborate tirelessly to foster a climate of trust and fraternal dialogue and look for ways that we might work together toward the formulation of a global ethic that, in the words of Pope Francis, “is needed if we are to reduce the nuclear threat and work towards nuclear disarmament “
6. Dear Buddhist friends, it is in this spirit once again allow us to express our cordial greetings and to wish Happy Hana Matsuri to you all!

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. President

Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ Secretary

Message for the Feast of Vesakh 2014
Buddhists and Christians: Together Fostering Fraternity

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1.   In the name of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we wish to once again extend to all of you, throughout the world, our heartfelt best wishes on the occasion of Vesakh.

2.   Our cordial greetings this year are inspired by Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Peace 2014, entitled Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace. There, Pope Francis observes that “fraternity is an essential human quality, for we are relational beings. A lively awareness of our relatedness helps us to look upon and to treat each person as a true sister or brother; without fraternity it is impossible to build a just society and a solid and lasting peace…” (n. 1).

3.  Dear friends, your religious tradition inspires the conviction that friendly relations, dialogue, the sharing of gifts, and the respectful and harmonious exchange of views lead to attitudes of kindness and love which in turn generate authentic and fraternal relationships. You are also convinced that the root of all evil is the ignorance and misunderstanding born of greed and hatred, which in turn destroy the bonds of fraternity. Unfortunately, “daily acts of selfishness, which are at the root of so many wars and so much injustice”, prevent us from seeing others “as beings made for reciprocity, for communion and self-giving” (Message for World Day of Peace 2014, n. 2). Such selfishness inevitably leads to seeing others as a threat.

4.  As Buddhists and Christians, we live in a world all too often torn apart by oppression, selfishness, tribalism, ethnic rivalry, violence and religious fundamentalism, a world where the “other” is treated as an inferior, a non-person, or someone to be feared and eliminated if possible.  Yet, we are called, in a spirit of cooperation with other pilgrims and with people of good will, to respect and to defend our shared humanity in a variety of socio-economic, political and religious contexts.  Drawing upon our different religious convictions, we are called especially to be outspoken in denouncing all those social ills which damage fraternity; to be healers who enable others to grow in selfless generosity, and to be reconcilers who break down the walls of division and foster genuine brotherhood between individuals and groups in society.

5.  Our world today is witnessing a growing sense of our common humanity and a global quest for a more just, peaceful and fraternal world. But the fulfilment of these hopes depends on a recognition of universal values. We hope that interreligious dialogue will contribute, in the recognition of the fundamental principles of universal ethics, to fostering a renewed and deepened sense of unity and fraternity among all the members of the human family. Indeed, “each one of us is called to be an artisan of peace, by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths to dialogue and not by constructing new walls! Let us dialogue and meet each other in order to establish a culture of dialogue in the world, a culture of encounter!” (Pope Francis, To Participants in the International Meeting for Peace, Sponsored by the Community of "Sant' Egidio", 30 September 2013).

6.  Dear friends, to build a world of fraternity, it is vitally important that we join forces to educate people, particularly the young, to seek fraternity, to live in fraternity and to dare to build fraternity. We pray that your celebration of Vesakh will be an occasion to rediscover and promote fraternity anew, especially in our divided societies.

Once again allow us to express our heartfelt greetings and to wish all of you a Happy Feast of Vesakh.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
President

Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ 
Secretary

Message for the Feast of Vesakh 2013

Christians and Buddhists: Loving, Defending and Promoting Human Life

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1.   On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings and good wishes to all of you, as you celebrate the feast of Vesakh which offers us Christians an occasion to renew our friendly dialogue and close collaboration with the different traditions that you represent.  

2.  Pope Francis, at the very beginning of his ministry, has reaffirmed the necessity of dialogue of friendship among followers of different religions. He noted that “The Church is […] conscious of the responsibility which all of us have for our world, for the whole of creation, which we must love and protect. There is much that we can do to benefit the poor, the needy and those who suffer, and to favour justice, promote reconciliation and build peace” (Audience with Representatives of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities and of the Different Religions, 20 March 2013). The Message of the World Day of Peace in 2013 entitled “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” notes that “The path to the attainment of the common good and to peace is above all that of respect for human life in all its many aspects, beginning with its conception, through its development and up to its natural end. True peacemakers, then, are those who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions, personal, communitarian and transcendent. Life in its fullness is the height of peace. Anyone who loves peace cannot tolerate attacks and crimes against life” (Message for the World Day of Peace in 2013, n. 4).

3.  I wish to voice that the Catholic Church has sincere respect for your noble religious tradition. Frequently we note a consonance with values expressed also in your religious books: respect for life, contemplation, silence, simplicity (cf. Verbum Domini, no. 119).  Our genuine fraternal dialogue needs to foster what we Buddhists and Christians have in common especially a shared profound reverence for life.

4.  Dear Buddhist friends, your first precept teaches you to abstain from destroying the life of any sentient being and it thus prohibits killing oneself and others. The cornerstone of your ethics lies in loving kindness to all beings. We Christians believe that the core of Jesus’ moral teaching is twofold; love of God and love of neighbour. Jesus says: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” And again: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 1823).The  fifth Christian Commandment, “You shall not kill” harmonizes so well with your first precept.  Nostra Aetate  teaches that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions” (NA 2). I think, therefore, that it is urgent for both  Buddhists and Christians on the basis of the genuine patrimony of our religious traditions  to create a climate of peace to love, defend and promote human life.

5.  As we all know,  in spite of these noble teachings on the sanctity of human life, evil in different forms contributes to the dehumanization of the person by mitigating the sense of humanity in individuals and communities. This tragic situation calls upon us, Buddhists and Christians, to join hands to unmask the threats to human life and to awaken the  ethical consciousness of our respective followers to  generate a spiritual and moral rebirth of individuals and societies in order to be  true peacemakers who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions.

6.  Dear Buddhist friends, let us continue to collaborate with a renewed compassion and fraternity to alleviate the suffering of the human family by fostering the sacredness of human life. It is in this spirit that I wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh.

 Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President

Rev. Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
Secretary