Contemplative Action and Active Contemplation:
Buddhist and Christian Nuns in Dialogue
During October 14 to 16,” the First International Buddhist-Christian Dialogue for Nuns” was held in Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery (佛光山寺) and was organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), in collaboration with the Association of the Major Superiors of Religious Women in Taiwan, and Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique ; in the theme of “Contemplative Action and Active Contemplation: Buddhist and Christian Nuns in Dialogue”.
Venerable Guo-Chan (果禪法師), from DDM Planning Team for UN NGO Affairs; Venerable Chang-Ji (常寂法師), from DDM International Relations Department; and Venerable Yan-Bo (演博法師) were also invited and participated to the in-depth dialogues with 70 other nuns representing 19 different countries such as Korea, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Norway, and the United States..
In his opening remarks, Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, the Secretary-General of PCID, shared that the interreligious dialogues would be focused on the ideals that could enable us to be contemplative in the midst of action, and share in the experience of each other’s spiritual practices;in the hope that the dialogue can facilitate mutual understanding, build up friendships and work together to benefit others.
At the committee’s invitation, Venerable Guo-Chan hosted the “Buddhist Meditation: Introduction, Discussion, and Practice” workshop. She underscored the importance of mind-purification, by pointing out that the images of the external phenomena are actually reflected from our inner thoughts. Venerable Vijithananda from Shi Lanka introduced the approaches of Vipassana Meditation, whereas Venerable Shundo Aoyama (青山俊董) brought in the meditative methods of “just sitting”. All of these methods were well explained to the attendees, so that they could experience the various forms of meditation.
In the symposium of “The origin, evolution and current situation of monastic religious life for women in Buddhism and Christianity”, Venerable Chang-Ji also shared the ideals, the practices, and the processes of propagation of
“Protecting the Spiritual Environment” initiated by Master Sheng Yen,the Founder of Dharma Drum Mountain.
All the attendees partook in the morning and evening Buddhist services as well as Mass evening prayers so as to build spiritual connections with their peers.
The participants acknowledged that all female practitioners were forged through the unanimity they made, so they can work better together and become more beneficial member to society.
Texts: Venerable Yan Bo (演博法師)
Photos: Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID)
Translation: Elenda Huang
Editing: DDM Editorial Team; Christine Huang