One World—Many Paths to Peace

One World—Many Paths to Peace One World—Many Paths to Peace Inter-faith symposium with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Hosted by the ANU College of Law. Published in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. edited by Venerable Alex Bruce Published by ANU eView The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://eview.anu.edu.au/ National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Bruce, Alex, 1968- Title: One world-many paths to peace [electronic resource] : inter-faith symposium with His Holiness the Dalai Lama / Alex Bruce. ISBN: 9780980728415 (pdf) 9780980728408 (pbk.) Subjects: Religious tolerance--Congresses. Religions--Relations--Congresses. Globalization--Religious aspects--Congresses. Social conflict--Religious aspects--Congresses. Other Authors/Contributors: Australian National University. Faculty of Law. One World-Many Paths to Peace (2007: Canberra, A.C.T.) Dewey Number: 201.5 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by Teresa Prowse, www.madebyfruitcup.com Cover image: Printed by University Printing Services, ANU This edition © 2009 ANU eView Table of Contents Introduction. .7 Venerable Alex Bruce 1 ..Welcome. 13 Professor Michael Coper, Dean, ANU College of Law 2 ..Opening.address. 15 Venerable Alex Bruce, Buddhist Monk, Senior Lecturer, ANU College of Law 3 ..The.Buddhist.tradition. 19 Address by His Holiness the Dalai Lama 4 ..The.Catholic.tradition. 25 Address by Most Reverend Christopher Prowse, Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne 5 ..The.Jewish.tradition . 29 Address by Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black 6 ..The.Islamic.tradition . 35 Address by Professor Abdullah Saeed 7 ..Are.religions.to.blame?. 39 Venerable Alex Bruce 8 ..Introduction.to.Christianity. 63 Professor Raymond Canning, Australian Catholic University 9 ..Introduction.to.Buddhism. 85 Professor John Powers, The Australian National University 10 ..Introduction.to.Judaism. 103 Rabbi Paul Jacobsen 11 ..Introduction.to.Islam. 121 Professor Abdullah Saeed, University of Melbourne 12 ..The.position.of.Tibet.in.international.law . 139 Venerable Alex Bruce, The Australian National University Appendix:.Summary.of.the.Memorandum.on.Genuine.Autonomy.. for.the.Tibetan.People . 161 Participants’.details. 167 v Introduction VENERABLE.ALEX.BRUCE In June 2007, The Australian National University’s College of Law hosted an extraordinary symposium in Canberra of religious leaders to discuss the issue of religion and world peace. The inspiration for this symposium was Cardinal Francis Arinze’s impassioned defence of the world’s religious traditions in his inspiring text Religions for Peace. In a world torn by violence and intolerance in the name of religion, the visit to Australia of His Holiness the Dalai Lama represented an ideal opportunity to bring together representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions to further the fundamental message that the world’s religions are really causes for peace and harmony. In the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic spiritual traditions explained why their respective traditions embodied the highest ideals of wisdom and compassion and thus were not the principal cause of war and dissention within society. For more than two hours, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bishop Christopher Prowse, Professor Abdullah Saeed and Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black shared their views on the lived experience of peace and wisdom within each of their spiritual traditions. Designed and moderated by Venerable Alex Bruce, himself a Buddhist monk and senior lecturer in law at The Australian National University, the symposium, titled One World—Many Paths to Peace, provided a message of hope, reassuring the almost 6000-strong audience that there was no reason why the world’s great spiritual traditions should be a source of violence and conflict. To the contrary, each speaker carefully returned to the basic tenets of his spiritual tradition and explained how those tenets embodied the highest aspirations of humanity. In previous addresses, the Dalai Lama has identified fundamental differences between Buddhism and other religions but has also identified the numerous similarities between many of the religious traditions, particularly in their teachings of non-violence, tolerance and spiritual development. The speakers demonstrated that despite the differences between religions there were ways forward—through respect, compassion, friendship and tolerance— 7 One.World—Many.Paths.to.Peace to achieve peace in our diverse and conflicted world. The dialogue therefore emphasised the fundamental message of peace, compassion and wisdom at the heart of the world’s great religious traditions. His Holiness the Dalai Lama warned, however, against what he called ‘mischievous people’ in all religions—people who did not have much interest in religion, but sought to manipulate religion in order to gain political or economic power. All of the speakers recognise that the real trouble occurs when religion is allied to nationalism, ethnic hatred and economic imperialism or simply exploited for baser motives. These counterfeit forms of religion drive deep wedges between people, tribes and nations. They prevent us from forming enduring friendships. On this theme, Bishop Christopher Prowse notes that ‘friendship is surely the ultimate answer to the misuse of religion as a false pretext for war and terror. If the perception is that religion only causes world problems and creates enemies, then friendship between us is an urgent priority.’ Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that in times past, religion itself has been employed as a means of destruction and oppression. In his address, Professor Abdullah Saeed noted that while one’s religion could be likened to a garden with beautiful flowers, splendid colours and wonderful trees, the garden also had some ugly aspects hidden beneath the beauty: dead trees, weeds, thorns and the like. In addressing those ‘ugly bits’, Professor Saeed noted that religious practitioners had become increasingly aware of the fundamental interconnectedness of humanity. We cannot hurt others without hurting ourselves. This is why all religions emphasise the value of peace making. In his address, Rabbi Jonathan Keren-Black quoted rabbinical writing confirming that, ‘[i]n God’s eyes, the person stands high who makes peace between people— between husband and wife, between parents and children, between management and labour and between neighbour and neighbour’. In the text Global Responsibility, noted Christian theologian Professor Hans Kung remarked:| ‘there can be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There can be no peace among the religions without dialogue between religions. There can be no dialogue between the religions without research into their theological foundations.’ All of the speakers at the symposium reinforced the need for continuing dialogue between the world’s spiritual traditions in order to understand each other and to grow in friendship and love. His Holiness the Dalai Lama outlined his ‘four-point strategy for inter-religious harmony’: 8 Introduction 1. meeting scholars from different traditions and discussing similarities and differences in approach 2. meeting people from different traditions who are not necessarily scholars but to exchange their deeper spiritual experiences 3. going on pilgrimage to different holy places 4. leaders of different traditions coming together to speak the same message of love, compassion and peace. The approach of His Holiness is very similar to the approach of the Catholic Church. In its 1991 document Dialogue and Proclamation, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue outlined similar strategies: • dialogue of life, in which people strive to live in an open and neighbourly spirit • dialogue of action, in which Christians and others collaborate for the integral development and liberation of people • dialogue of theological exchange, in which specialists deepen understanding • dialogue of religious experience, in which people grounded in their own traditions share their spiritual riches. All of the speakers at the symposium reinforced the urgency of open, respectful and honest dialogue between the world’s religious traditions and saw their participation at the symposium as contributing to that task. Another crucial aspect of this dialogue involves practitioners of all traditions sharing with each other at a fundamental level. To do this requires that we understand each other’s tradition. The idea is to communicate with each other and not just talk to each other. As part of that process, this volume includes chapters that explain the basic tenets of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. Experts in their fields have written these chapters for the sole purpose of presenting their spiritual tradition in as transparent and accessible a form as possible. For example, it should be possible for a Buddhist, knowing nothing about Islam, to read the chapter written by Professor Abdullah Saeed and come away with an appreciation of the basic tenets of Islam. Likewise, a Muslim, knowing little or nothing about Christianity, can read

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