Interfaith & Inter-Buddhist Relations

Interfaith and Inter-Buddhist
relations

by Sean Hillman
Religion Department
University of Toronto
March 2008

[based on "The Compassionate Life" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama]

In the context of exhorting the necessity and means of developing compassion, a quality of such great importance in Buddhist practice that many texts start off with the words "Homage to Great Compassion" rather than to a deity, teacher or even Lord Buddha Himself, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tib: Kundun, "The Presence") devotes some time exploring how religious pluralism can be used to aid this process. There are many and ongoing attempts to positively address the reality of religious diversity in our world today, particularly in our city of Toronto, one of the most multicultural and multireligious cities in North America. One such activity is the occurrence of interfaith dialogue. Often positive and well-intentioned events, there are also instances of gatherings in the guise of interfaith dialogue which actually result in widening the gap between faith communities by being self-serving and divisive. There is such vast diversity in our local area that there is even pluralism to be found within Buddhism itself. One might assume everlasting good relations between people who follow the same teacher, especially one who gave methods to pacify negative emotions, but in reality there are some major difficulties in bringing Buddhists together at all, let alone to band together to act constructively. Let's explore the challenges and triumphs in both interfaith and inter-Buddhist relations.

“Multifaith” is a decent term which represents the mere multiplicity of religions, but it is “interfaith” which, although often used interchangeably with the former term, better lends a sense of a dynamic exchange between them. Kundun’s approach of utilising this exchange to “learn new ideas,..practices,..methods or techniques that [He] can incorporate into [His] own practice” I also personally find very powerful. The Jewish practice of refraining from certain actions one day per week during the observance of Shabbat is one that I have been exposed to since childhood and which more and more I see as a very effective means of increasing mindfulness, a practice which does not belong exclusively to Buddhism, of course, but is heavily emphasised. Kundun has also noticed that “some of [His] Christian brothers and sisters have adopted certain Buddhist methods.” One area I have found useful for Christian monastics from the Buddhist teachings are the extensive means for combating desire, such as the scores of textual meditations which break up the body into its component parts and highlight the body’s many impurities. I hold that this type of mutual exchange is in fact beyond simply practicing tolerance for other faith systems and practitioners, but in fact is a way of temporarily becoming the other which naturally leads to developing a feeling of closeness and empathy for them. This is not to discredit mere tolerance for others. Some, perhaps out of fear, are not willing to engage in practices of faiths unfamiliar to them. Bridging in this way is made particularly difficult if one holds the view that there is only one religious system that reaps good fruit. In such cases, willingness to even be in the presence of other faith practitioners and learning more about their religion is praiseworthy. To be sure, if we reached a ‘critical mass’ of this type of behaviour, never mind the mutual sharing of inner methods, I feel that it would systemically alter our planet and tip it towards peace. The dark side of multifaith gatherings is rooted in these problematic views: 1) there is only one system, 2) all other systems are ineffective or harmful, and 3) it is of utmost importance to convince everyone that there is no choice but to practise the one and only effective system. Here, Kundun’s statement that “without compassion, even religious beliefs can become destructive” plays out. It is of grave concern when, during supposedly interfaith events, our sameness is shown by the statement that "all of us worship and/or have been created by the same G-d." Although hard to imagine in the information age, it might be possible for a person or group to not know about the existence of non-theistic religions like Jainism and Buddhism. However, if someone makes such proclamations in full awareness of the existence of non-theistic systems, interfaith dialogue has been destroyed by the conscious exclusion of millions of spiritual practitioners who do not embrace a creator deity. It has then become a intertheist dialogue. This itself is fine, but it cannot accurately be called interfaith dialogue.

As in Christianity, there is great diversity within the umbrella of "Buddhism" as a whole, and in Toronto it shows. After 2500 years of the Buddhadharma entering new societies, different Buddhist cultural groups influencing each other as well as isolated regional development, the result is so many lineages that even Buddhist historians’ heads spin. We find ourselves living in an area where numerous such sects are in an historically unprecendented proximity. Boldly, and perhaps brazenly at times, Westerners can be found making their way into ethnically non-Western Buddhist congregations. Also, Westerners have their own congregations which are either affiliated with (and often under the auspices of) a particular ethnic manifestation of Buddhism, or a conglomerate which sometimes incorporates non-Buddhist elements. The landscape of Buddhism in Toronto is excitingly rich and relations between groups are constantly in flux. In my experience of organising events aimed at bringing Toronto Buddhist groups together, it takes great energy to break through the distance between some groups and convince them of the benefits of coming together to talk and eat, never mind celebrating! I cannot say with confidence that the Theravada-Bodhisattvayana divide is to blame for the resistance. It appears to me to be the impasses found between strong leaders of different groups, each equally concerned with distribution of control over the aim of the collective. At one event planning meeting, I remember being told emphatically what (from our own unique texts) our group would chant at an upcoming event. This imposition led to some groups leaving. On the other hand, an unforgettable moment that transcended the boundaries of sect was achieved at one such gathering, a Buddhist Celebration for Canada and World Peace held at Nathan Phillip’s Square. The chanting of the Heart Sutra by leaders from several Mahayana traditions was done together, simultaneously, in their respective languages! Remarkable. Kundun recommends that “a close relationship among religions is essential…for the benefit of humankind.” As a tradition that is renowned for its emphasis on harmony within and with others, it is perhaps even more incumbent for Buddhists to ensure good relations between their different groups.