Vatican's message to Buddhists on Vesakh
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| Pope Francis with a Buddhist monk during an inter-faith audience in the Vatican,- ANSA |
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on
Saturday, issued a message on the occasion of the Buddhist feast of Vesakh on
the theme ‘Christians and Buddhists: Walking Together on the Path of
Nonviolence’.
The Message signed by Council President, Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran and Council Secretary, Fr Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ emphasizes the
urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence as both these values
were promoted by Jesus Christ and the Buddha.
The text reiterates how Jesus walked the path of nonviolence
to the very end, to the cross and calls his followers today to embrace
his teaching about nonviolence. Buddha also heralded the same message and
encouraged all to overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by
goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.
Therefore the message calls for a common enterprise,
to study the causes of violence, combat violence and to pray for world
peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence.
The full text of the message is here below:
MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF VESAKH
2017
Dear Buddhist Friends,
1. In the name 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, to your families, communities and nations.
2. We wish to reflect
this year on the urgent need to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence.
Religion is increasingly at the fore in our world today, though at times in
opposing ways. While many religious believers are committed to promoting peace,
there are those who exploit religion to justify their acts of violence and
hatred. We see healing and reconciliation offered to victims of violence, but
also attempts to erase every trace and memory of the “other”; there is the
emergence of global religious cooperation, but also politicization of religion;
and, there is an awareness of endemic poverty and world hunger, yet the
deplorable arms race continues. This situation requires a call to nonviolence,
a rejection of violence in all its forms.
3. Jesus Christ and the
Buddha were promotors of nonviolence as well as peacemakers. As Pope Francis
writes, “Jesus himself lived in violent times. Yet, he taught that the true
battlefield, where violence and peace meet, is the human heart: for ‘it is from
within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come’ (Mk 7:21)” (2017
Message for the World Day of Peace, Non-Violence: A Style of Politics for
Peace, no. 3). He further emphasises that “Jesus marked out the path of
nonviolence. He walked that path to the very end, to the cross, whereby he
became our peace and put an end to hostility (cf. Eph 2:14-16)” (ibid.).
Accordingly, “to be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his
teaching about nonviolence” (ibid.).
4. Dear friends, your
founder, the Buddha also heralded a message of nonviolence and peace. He
encouraged all to “Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by
goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.”
(Dhammapada, no. XVII, 3). He taught further that “Victory begets enmity; the
defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and
defeat.” (ibid. XV, 5). Therefore, he noted that the self-conquest is greater
than the conquest of others: “Though one may conquer a thousand times a
thousand men in battle, yet he indeed is the noblest victor who conquers
himself” (ibid, VIII, 4).
5. In spite of these
noble teachings, many of our societies grapple with the impact of past and
present wounds caused by violence and conflicts. This phenomenon includes
domestic violence, as well as economic, social, cultural and
psychological violence, and violence against the environment, our common home.
Sadly, violence begets other social evils, and so “the choice of nonviolence as
a style of life is increasingly demanded in the exercise of responsibility at
every level […] ” (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis on the Occasion of the
Presentation of the Letters of Credence, 15 December 2016).
6. Though we recognize the uniqueness
of our two religions, to which we remain committed, we agree that violence
comes forth from the human heart, and that personal evils lead to structural
evils. We are therefore called to a common enterprise: to study the
causes of violence: to teach our respective followers to combat evil within
their hearts; to liberate both victims and perpetrators of violence from
evil; to bring evil to light and challenge those who foment violence; to
form the hearts and minds of all, especially of children, to love and live in
peace with everyone and with the environment; to teach that there is no peace
without justice, and no true justice without forgiveness; to invite all to work
together in preventing conflicts and rebuilding broken societies;
to urge the media to avoid and counter hate speech, and biased and provocative
reporting; to encourage educational reforms to prevent the distortion and
misinterpretation of history and of scriptural texts; and to pray for
world peace while walking together on the path of nonviolence.
7. Dear friends, may we
actively dedicate ourselves to promoting within our families, and social,
political, civil and religious institutions a new style of living where
violence is rejected and the human person is respected. It is in this spirit
that we wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh!
Vatican City
Cardinal Jean-Louis Taura
President
Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ
Secretary
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