A vision for interreligious dialogue by Ven. Bhiksuni Chuehmen Shih*, 9 June 2005

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The inter-religious relationship in the future will embrace the concept of "Oneness and Coexistence".

Taking our sense organs as an example; every one of us has a pair of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch, and they coexist with one another. One would not say these ears are not mine; let me be deaf. These eyes are not mine; let me be blind. This nose is not mine, let it stop breathing and so on. The five sense organs are part of flesh on my body. The whole universe also has connections with me. Even there are so many ethic groups, countries and spiritual traditions in our world; we should all establish the relationship of "Oneness and Coexistence." As we all know, the 9/11 disaster was suffered by not only Americans. All beings also suffered due to the economic and security issues. I would like to elaborate a little about the idea of "Oneness and Coexistence" –

Oneness

The key words of equality, tolerance, harmony and compassion have been mentioned many times in Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s keynote speeches during the general conferences of the Buddha’s Light International Association. I just appended a few:

Equality

1. Equality among people depends on their having mutual respect for one another.
2. Equality among people depends on their being able to understand each others’ points of view.
3. Equality comes out of causes and conditions.
4. The deepest significance of equality lies in the truth that there is no difference between the one and the many.

Peace

1. Compassion will aid us in creating peace.
2. We must rid ourselves of selfishness and self-grasping in order to truly promote peace in this world.
3. We must use broad-mindedness and tolerance to promote peace.
4. We must increase our sense of community to bring peace into the world.

We as spiritual beings should have high regard that the inter-religious relationship be "Unity in Diversity, and Diversity in Unity." We should therefore:
embodies the meaning of equality and tolerance.Although there are differences in nations, cultures and spiritual traditions,we all dependent on the earth to exist.While there are differences in gender, age, strength and intelligence,all beings still live as one.This is like the equality and purity of Buddha nature.Coexistence embodies the meaning of compassion and harmony.The society we live in depends on the contribution of people of all walks of lifeso as to build a harmonious and commonly owned society.The sun, moon and stars in the vast sky shine on each other regardless of their brightness. The mountains and gullies on earth link up with each other regardless of their height.The rare species in the universe complement each other regardless of differences.For these reasons, the universe has never stopped being a complete world of Oneness and Coexistence.Buddhism talks about causes and conditions. It tells us that we are all one,that living beings are combinations of causes and conditionsand they are all different parts of the same unity. Extracted from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s teaching – The Practice and Enlightenment of Bodhisattvas.

1. tolerate other religions, spiritual teachings, believers and take an impartial, respectful and open-minded attitude, provided they are serious and not perverse.
2. absorb the essence, special features and methods of others with a positive, cautious and moderate style, provided it is beneficial to humanity and other sentient beings.
3. nourish the world and humanity, be an interdependent universal oneness and support a rich inner culture, provided we possess a pure and wholesome aspiration.
4. be respectful of modern civilization, its messages and information; be self-awakened and to enlighten others with harmonious, interflowing and wholesome actions, provided we have a pure heart and sincere mind.

We will coexist with all beings in the world in harmony. Harmony includes acceptance, equality and respect. Harmony is essential between countries, people of different ethnic origins, all sectors of society and political parties. People on this earth can only survive if we live in harmony with each other.

When we accept and respect the differences of other spiritual traditions, we in our mission of propagating human world teachings will not criticize others or say that our belief system is superior to theirs. In this way, "unethical conversion" will not exist within our relationship of "Oneness and Coexistence."

It may not be easy to accept the concept of "Oneness and Coexistence" or to manifest it universally, but we have to dedicate our efforts to develop this dream in order that healthy life will be sustainable on earth.

We are in the "high-tech" era. Science is so developed, and everything is so convenient including transportation, telecommunications, television, internet and so forth. Nevertheless, there are pros and cons in all aspects of human intelligence. Though high-tech has brought wealth and happiness, it has also distanced the interpersonal relationships among people. Also, the development in transportation had caused a lot of traffic accidents, and information technology has created opportunities for many crimes. Though high-tech development may be an essential, what is most important is for people in our present world to have dialogue and concern for each other. Only when people are in direct communication with one another and building positive friendships, understanding, cooperation and assistance can our world will have peace, and all living beings will be joyful and safe. Therefore, people in this world should not shut their door but to coexist with one another, showing respect and tolerance for each other.

*Ven. Bhiksuni Chuehmen SHIH is presently the South Asian coordinator of Buddha’s Light International Association.