Interfaith dialogue , also known as interreligious dialogue , refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
120-399: [REDACTED] The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was an interfaith charitable foundation established in May 2008 by former British prime minister Tony Blair . Since December 2016 its work has been continued by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change . The Foundation was launched in May 2008 in New York at the headquarters of the media group Time Warner . In his speech, Blair outlined
240-476: A "long history of interfaith dialogue". However, a 2014 article in The Huffington Post stated "religious intolerance is still a concern that threatens to undermine the hard work of devoted activists over the decades". Nevertheless, the article expressed hope that continuing "interfaith dialogue can change this". A PhD thesis Dialogue Between Christians, Jews and Muslims argues that "the paramount need
360-626: A body of teachings incorporating esoteric tantric techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna. The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , and Cambodia . The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of Tiantai , Chan , Pure Land , Zen , Nichiren , and Tendai
480-469: A book Sons of Abraham: A Candid Conversation about the Issues That Divide and Unite Jews and Muslims . Schneier and Ali write about the importance of civil interfaith discussions. Based on their experience, Schneier and Ali believe that other "Jews and Muslims can realize that they are actually more united than divided in their core beliefs". Interests in interfaith relations require an awareness of
600-610: A great deal of interfaith work throughout his life. He believes that the "common aim of all religions, an aim that everyone must try to find, is to foster tolerance, altruism and love". He met with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. He met with Pope John Paul II in 1980 and also later in 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 2003. During 1990, he met in Dharamsala with a delegation of Jewish teachers for an extensive interfaith dialogue. He has since visited Israel three times and met during 2006 with
720-543: A large scale, something which is new in a political sense. The declaration A Common Word of 2007 was a public first in Christian-Islam relations, trying to work out a moral common ground on many social issues. This common ground was stated as "part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour". The declaration asserted that "these principles are found over and over again in
840-621: A major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha ( lit. ' suffering or unease ' ). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging ,
960-405: A particular religion, interconnection, empathy, and hospitality". In full, they include the following: Breaking down the walls that divides faiths while respecting the uniqueness of each tradition requires the courageous embrace of all these preconditions. In 2016, President Obama made two speeches that outlined preconditions for meaningful interfaith dialogue: On February 3, 2016, he spoke at
1080-525: A phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism . An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra . The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander , after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana. Some scholars have questioned
1200-537: A radiant future between Jews and Christians." Moravian born Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise , who founded the Reform movement in the United States, sought close relations with Christian church leaders. To that end, he published a series of lectures in 1883 entitled "Judaism and Christianity: Their Agreements and Disagreements". Wise emphasized what he believed linked the two religions in an inextricable theological and human bond:
1320-594: A satellite television channel MTA International Live Streaming, on its internet website, and by its Islam International Publications. A 2010 story in the BBC News said that the Ahmadi "is regarded by orthodox Muslims as heretical", The story also reported persecution and violent attacks against the Ahmadi. According to the Ahmadiyya understanding, interfaith dialogues are an integral part of developing inter-religious peace and
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#17328456765761440-550: Is Christocentric , meaning that Christ is held to be the sole full and true revelation of the will of God for humanity. In a Christocentric view, the elements of truth in other religions are understood in relation to the fullness of truth found in Christ. God is nevertheless understood to be free of human constructions. Therefore, God the Holy Spirit is understood as the power who guides non-Christians in their search for truth, which
1560-549: Is an issue of debate. Friar James L. Heft, in a lecture on "The Necessity of Inter-Faith Diplomacy," spoke about the conflicts among practitioners of the three Abrahamic religions ( Judaism , Christianity and Islam ). Noting that except for the Convivencia in the 14th and 15th centuries, believers in these religions have either kept their distance or have been in conflict, Heft maintains, "there has been very little genuine dialogue" between them. "The sad reality has been that most of
1680-478: Is for barriers against non-defensive dialogue conversations between Christians, Jews, and Muslims to be dismantled to facilitate development of common understandings on matters that are deeply divisive". As of 2012, the thesis says that this has not been done. Interfaith and multi-faith interactivity is integral to the teachings of the Baháʼí Faith . Its founder Bahá'u'lláh enjoined his followers to "consort with
1800-492: Is held to be a search for the mind of Christ, even if "anonymously", in the phrase of Catholic theologian Karl Rahner . For those who support this view, anonymous Christians belong to Christ now and forever and lead a life fit for Jesus' commandment to love, even though they never explicitly understand the meaning of their life in Christian terms. While the conciliar document Nostra aetate has fostered widespread dialogue,
1920-461: Is important to many, underpinning their systems of thought, their behaviour and the behaviour of many of the world's progressive movements, and that 2) the great religions share values of respect, justice and compassion. But the statement also recognised that faith can be divisive, too; this is viewed by the Foundation as being based on distortions of faith rather than being intrinsic to it. The aim of
2040-614: Is predominantly practised in Nepal , Bhutan , China , Malaysia , Vietnam , Taiwan , Korea , and Japan . Tibetan Buddhism , a form of Vajrayāna , is practised in the Himalayan states as well as in Mongolia and Russian Kalmykia . Japanese Shingon also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to China . Historically, until the early 2nd millennium , Buddhism was widely practiced in
2160-400: Is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas . Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". According to Vetter, the description of
2280-640: Is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools. Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I ) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c. 783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha ), and
2400-474: Is vast, with many different textual collections in different languages (such as Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , and Chinese ). Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation ( mārga ) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various Buddhist texts , and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda ( lit. ' School of
2520-517: The Daily Telegraph , six-figure salaries to its top officials. An implied criticism was that these pay scales were in line with much larger charitable organisations. However, the wages were also reported to be the result of external recommendations and a strategy of hiring a small number of capable senior staff to co-ordinate a variety of efforts. A former editor of a Foundation website, Martin Bright ,
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#17328456765762640-809: The Dharmaguptaka school. The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions. The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include
2760-684: The Islamic Society of Baltimore and on February 4, 2016, at the National Prayer Breakfast . The eight principles of interfaith relations as outlined by Obama were as follows: The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative to prevent violence and support social cohesion by promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue. The UNAOC was proposed by the President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at
2880-531: The Journal of Interreligious Studies and Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology . Religious sociologist Peter L. Berger argued that one can reject interfaith dialogue on moral grounds in certain cases. The example he gave was that of a dialogue with imams who legitimate ISIS , saying such discussions ought to be avoided so as not to legitimate a morally repugnant theology. The theological foundations of interreligious dialogue have also been critiqued on
3000-673: The Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks. The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school
3120-465: The Pali canon . The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism ), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism , Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age". According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to
3240-659: The Tarim Basin . The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang , between 178 and 189 CE. From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam ( c. 1st –2nd centuries). During
3360-555: The Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist . Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva 's Bodhicaryāvatāra , and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from
3480-468: The emerging church , these doctrinal constraints have largely been cast off. Many theologians, pastors, and lay people from these traditions do not hold to uniquely Christocentric understandings of how God was in Christ. They engage deeply in interfaith dialogue as learners, not converters, and desire to celebrate as fully as possible the many paths to God. Much focus in Christian interfaith dialogue has been put on Christian–Jewish reconciliation . One of
3600-581: The epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti . According to Dan Lusthaus , Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana ( c. 590 –647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak. Buddhism also flourished under
3720-584: The Śramaṇa traditions. New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements. The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion , including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika . Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before
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3840-504: The 1200s. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question. The first documented translation efforts by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of
3960-681: The 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . In 2008, Anwarul Karim Chowdhury said: "Interfaith dialogue is absolutely essential, relevant, and necessary. ... If 2009 is to truly be the Year of Interfaith Cooperation , the U.N. urgently needs to appoint an interfaith representative at a senior level in the Secretariat." The Republic of
4080-563: The 65th UN General Assembly and proposed the idea for a ' World Interfaith Harmony Week ' to further broaden his goals of faith-driven world harmony by extending his call beyond the Muslim and Christian community to include people of all beliefs, those with no set religious beliefs as well. A few weeks later, HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad presented the proposal to the UN General Assembly, where it
4200-556: The 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre- Mahavira ), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy . According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these. Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas, but
4320-593: The Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, where a significant minority of Arabs are Christian. The Modern Orthodox movement allows narrow exchanges on social issues, while warning to be cautious in discussion of doctrine. Reform Judaism , Reconstructionist Judaism and Conservative Judaism encourage interfaith dialogue. Building positive relations between Jews and members of other religious communities has been an integral component of Reform Judaism's "DNA" since
4440-487: The Baháʼís, issued a letter to the religious leadership of all faiths in which it identified religious prejudice as one of the last remaining "isms" to be overcome, enjoining such leaders to unite in an effort to root out extreme and divisive religious intolerance. Buddhism has historically been open to other religions. Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda stated: Buddhism is a religion which teaches people to 'live and let live'. In
4560-664: The Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence
4680-406: The Buddha , a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE . It is the world's fourth-largest religion , with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists , who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played
4800-608: The Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming . Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , and the doctrines of dependent origination , karma , and the three marks of existence . Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem , the taking of monastic vows , and the cultivation of perfections ( pāramitā ). The Buddhist canon
4920-484: The Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question
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5040-621: The Chief Rabbi of Israel. In 2006, he met privately with Pope Benedict XVI . He has also met the late Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Robert Runcie , and other leaders of the Anglican Church in London, Gordon B. Hinckley , late President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), as well as senior Eastern Orthodox Church , Muslim , Hindu , Jewish , and Sikh officials. In 2010,
5160-504: The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion. Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan. It
5280-737: The Dalai Lama was joined by Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, and Islamic scholar Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr of George Washington University when Emory University 's Center for the Study of Law and Religion hosted a "Summit on Happiness". Traditional Christian doctrine
5400-648: The Elders ' ) and Mahāyāna ( lit. ' Great Vehicle ' ). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of nirvāṇa ( lit. ' extinguishing ' ) as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth ( saṃsāra ), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the Bodhisattva ideal , in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, Vajrayāna ( lit. ' Indestructible Vehicle ' ),
5520-658: The Foundation "inspires ridicule". He noted that Professor Michel Schooyans of the Catholic University of Leuven and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences "accused Blair and his wife of supporting a messianic US plan for world domination." The criticism's focus was that the Foundation's approach amounted to reducing the religions to the same, predetermined common denominator. This meant "stripping them of their identity". Schooyans arguing that "(t)his project threatens to set us back to an age in which political power
5640-630: The Foundation was to use the tools of modern communication to "educate, inform and develop understanding" about various faiths, and the relationships between them. It aimed to do this in such a way as to address global poverty and conflict. The Foundation had several projects: Faith and Globalisation Initiative, Face to Faith (later Generation Global), Faiths Act (an activist group), and Faith Shorts (for short religious films). Faith and Globalisation Initiative launched in Yale University in September 2008
5760-414: The Foundation's aim that "idealism becomes the new realism", and that one of its goals was to "counter extremism in all six leading religions" (i.e., according to the Foundation, Buddhism , Christianity , Islam , Hinduism , Judaism , and Sikhism ). Blair said that while in office, he feared being exposed as a "nutter" if he had talked about his religious views. Former US president Bill Clinton attended
5880-493: The Foundation, given Blair's foreign-policy record. On 2 April 2009, sceptic and secularist Richard Dawkins mocked the Foundation in a spoof letter, published in the New Statesman . In it, Dawkins ridiculed the idea that faith is not a divisive force, and attacked religion's record on promoting dialogue and equality. Between April 2008 and April 2009, the foundation raised more than 3.5 million pounds, and paid, according to
6000-711: The Indian subcontinent before declining there ; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely Afghanistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan . The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit : बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय , literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines". The Buddha ("the Awakened One")
6120-454: The Philippines will host a Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development from March 16 to 18 in Manila. During the meeting, to be attended by ministers of foreign affairs of the NAM member countries, a declaration in support of interfaith dialogue initiatives will be adopted. An accompanying event will involve civil society activities. In 2010, HM King Abdullah II addressed
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#17328456765766240-416: The Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines. Richard Salomon , in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times
6360-444: The United States became more numerous, especially in the suburbs, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism , URJ) created a department mainly to promote positive Christian-Jewish relations and civic partnerships. Interfaith relations have since been expanded to include Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and members of other faith communities. In 2013, Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali coauthored
6480-422: The Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas . While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka. Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who
6600-406: The age of 80 in Kushinagar , India. The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought , each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in
6720-690: The ancient religion Jainism , is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers. ) According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering ( dukkha ) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth . He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as " nirvana "). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly
6840-433: The biblical "Sinaitic revelation" as "... the acknowledged law of God". Rabbi Leo Baeck , the leader of the German Jewish community who survived his incarceration in the Terezin concentration camp , offered these words in his 1949 presidential address to the World Union for Progressive Judaism in London: "...as in a great period of the Middle Ages, [Jews and Muslims] are ...almost compelled to face each other... not only in
6960-495: The challenge of conflicting passages in the Qur'an some of which support interfaith "bridge-building", but others can be used "justify mutual exclusion". In October 2010, as a representative of Shia Islam , Ayatollah Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad , professor at the Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran , addressed the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Catholic Bishops. In the address he spoke about "the rapport between Islam and Christianity" that has existed throughout
7080-471: The declaration Dominus Iesus nevertheless reaffirms the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ in the spiritual and cultural identity of Christians, rejecting various forms of syncretism . Pope John Paul II was a major advocate of interfaith dialogue, promoting meetings in Assisi in the 1980s. Pope Benedict XVI took a more moderate and cautious approach, stressing the need for intercultural dialogue, but reasserting Christian theological identity in
7200-467: The development of different schools with their different positions". The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha . However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on
7320-562: The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya , which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in
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#17328456765767440-475: The early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , Nirvana , the three marks of existence , the five aggregates , dependent origination , karma and rebirth . According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra . A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that
7560-448: The ending of the mental defilements ( asavas ), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra . This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha , he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving " final nirvana ", at
7680-586: The establishment of peace. The Ahmadiyya Community has been organising interfaith events locally and nationally in various parts of the world in order to develop a better atmosphere of love and understanding between faiths. Various speakers are invited to deliver a talk on how peace can be established from their own or religious perspectives. In her 2008 book The Im-Possibility of Interreligious Dialogue , Catherine Cornille outlines her preconditions for "constructive and enriching dialogue between religions". In summary, they include "doctrinal humility, commitment to
7800-441: The existence of the believer" but instead is a "profound and indispensable expression ... [of] faith [that] is not intransigent, but grows in coexistence that respects the other." In traditional Christian doctrine, the value of inter-religious dialogue had been confined to acts of love and understanding toward others either as anonymous Christians or as potential converts. In mainline Protestant traditions, however, as well as in
7920-458: The faith have encouraged this, including specific verses in the Quran, such as: "O people! Behold, we have created you from a male and a female and have made you into nations and tribes so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware" [Qur'an 49:13]. In recent times, Muslim theologians have advocated inter-faith dialogue on
8040-518: The films rated highest. Angela Salt was the executive director of the foundation, which was registered as charity in the UK with Tony Blair as its Patron. The trustees were Robert Clinton , Robert Coke and Jeremy Sinclair . The Foundation was also registered as a charity in the US with the following directors: Alfred E. Smith IV , Linda LeSourd Lader , Ruth Turner, Timothy C. Collins and Tony Blair . Ruth Turner , formerly Director of Government Relations within Tony Blair's Prime Ministerial office,
8160-418: The followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship". Baháʼís are often at the forefront of local inter-faith activities and efforts. Through the Baháʼí International Community agency, the Baháʼís also participate at a global level in inter-religious dialogue both through and outside of the United Nations processes. In 2002 the Universal House of Justice , the global governing body of
8280-415: The founding of the Interfaith and Interreligious Studies Group at the American Academy of Religion , Office of Religion and Global Affairs at the United States Department of State , and a call for an interfaith studies field was published by Eboo Patel , founder of Interfaith Youth Core , who subsequently helped the funding of academic programs at U.S. universities. Academic journals were started, including
8400-411: The grounds that any interpretation of another faith tradition will be predicated on a particular cultural, historical and anthropological perspective Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma , is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to
8520-445: The historicity of this event. However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings. The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha . Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify
8640-599: The history of Islam as one of "friendship, respect and mutual understanding". In 2013, Rabbi Marc Schneier (Jewish) and Imam Shamsi Ali (Muslim) coauthored a book Sons of Abraham with the subtitle A Candid Conversation about the Issues That Divide and Unite Jews and Muslims . As Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali show, "by reaching a fuller understanding of one another's faith traditions, Jews and Muslims can realize that they are actually more united than divided in their core beliefs". By their fuller understanding, they became "defenders of each other's religion, denouncing
8760-502: The history of the world, there is no evidence to show that Buddhists have interfered or done any damage to any other religion in any part of the world for the purpose of introducing their religion. Buddhists do not regard the existence of other religions as a hindrance to worldly progress and peace. The fourteenth century Zen master Gasan Joseki indicated that the Gospels were written by an enlightened being: The 14th Dalai Lama has done
8880-434: The idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement. The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema . (2nd century CE). Some scholars have traditionally considered
9000-626: The launch, describing Blair as "a good man as well as a great leader". In an interview with Time magazine , Blair said the Foundation was "how I want to spend the rest of my life". The foundation listed several goals: "The foundation provides the practical support required to help prevent religious prejudice, conflict and extremism. At school, university and professional level the foundation provides various education programmes. The foundation encouraged interfaith initiatives to tackle global poverty and conflict." The Foundation's basic premises, as listed in its initial mission statement, were that 1) faith
9120-610: The maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE ( Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Cambodia and coastal Vietnam ). Theravada Buddhism
9240-412: The meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter. Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism , which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control . This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to
9360-573: The meditative practice of dhyana . He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree —in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" ( Bodhi ). According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta , on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving
9480-478: The modern era are Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation" , marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of
9600-509: The movement was founded in Germany during the early 19th century, according to Rabbi A. James Rudin. It began with Israel Jacobson, a layman and pioneer in the development of what emerged as Reform Judaism, who established an innovative religious school in Sessen, Germany in 1801 that initially had 40 Jewish and 20 Christian students. "Jacobson's innovation of a 'mixed' student body reflected his hopes for
9720-579: The name interbelief dialogue , while other proponents have proposed the term interpath dialogue , to avoid implicitly excluding atheists, agnostics, humanists, and others with no religious faith but with ethical or philosophical beliefs, as well as to be more accurate concerning many world religions that do not place the same emphasis on "faith" as do some Western religions. Similarly, pluralistic rationalist groups have hosted public reasoning dialogues to transcend all worldviews (whether religious, cultural or political), termed transbelief dialogue . To some,
9840-522: The ninth and tenth centuries. Córdoba was "one of the most important cities in the history of the world". In it, "Christians and Jews were involved in the Royal Court and the intellectual life of the city". Thus, there is "a history of Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other religious traditions living together in a pluralistic society". Turning to the present, Hussain writes that in spite of Islam's history of "pluralism and interfaith dialogue", Muslims now face
9960-596: The oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts. The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout
10080-737: The oldest successful dialogues between Jews and Christians has been taking place in Mobile, Alabama . It began in the wake of the call of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) of the Roman Catholic Church for increased understanding between Christians and Jews. The organization has recently moved its center of activity to Spring Hill College , a Catholic Jesuit institution of higher learning located in Mobile. Reconciliation has been successful on many levels, but has been somewhat complicated by
10200-627: The origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava. According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson , various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism . Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially
10320-639: The precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate. Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini , present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu , a town in the Ganges Plain , near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Some hagiographic legends state that his father
10440-412: The present has been bluntly presented: "We human beings today face a stark choice: dialogue or death!" More broadly, interfaith dialogue and action have occurred over many centuries: The United States Institute of Peace published works on interfaith dialogue and peacebuilding including a Special Report on Evaluating Interfaith Dialogue Religious intolerance persists The above section recounts
10560-812: The range of Jewish views on such subjects as mission and the holy land. Islam has long encouraged dialogue to reach truth. Dialogue is particularly encouraged amongst the People of the Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims) as the Quran states, "Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]" [3:64]. Many traditional and religious texts and customs of
10680-516: The religions" was formulated by Hans Küng , a Professor of Ecumenical Theology and President of the Global Ethic Foundation. Interfaith dialogue forms a major role in the study of religion and peacebuilding . The Archdiocese of Chicago 's Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs defines "the difference between ecumenical , interfaith, and interreligious relations", as follows: Some interfaith dialogues have more recently adopted
10800-509: The rest of his life, Muhammad was "engaged in interfaith dialogue" and "pluralism and interfaith dialogue" have always been important to Islam. For example, when some of Muhammad's followers suffered "physical persecution" in Mecca , he sent them to Abyssinia , a Christian nation, where they were "welcomed and accepted" by the Christian king. Another example is Córdoba, Andalusia in Muslim Spain, in
10920-422: The revelation of Jesus of Nazareth in a book published with Marcello Pera in 2004. In 2013, Pope Francis became the first Catholic leader to call for "sincere and rigorous" interbelief dialogue with atheists, both to counter the assertion that Christianity is necessarily an "expression of darkness of superstition that is opposed to the light of reason", and to assert that "dialogue is not a secondary accessory of
11040-435: The sacred texts of Islam and Christianity". A 2003 book called Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism contains a chapter by Amir Hussain on "Muslims, Pluralism, and Interfaith Dialogue" in which he shows how interfaith dialogue has been an integral part of Islam from its beginning. Hussain writes that "Islam would not have developed if it had not been for interfaith dialogue". From his "first revelation" for
11160-402: The same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not. Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance. However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which
11280-593: The schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts). In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas. The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about
11400-467: The society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts. Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya . ( Mahavira , whose teachings helped establish
11520-530: The sphere of policy [the State of Israel in the Middle East], but also in the sphere of religion; there is the great hope... they will ...meet each other on joint roads, in joint tasks, in joint confidences in the future. There is the great hope that Judaism can thus become the builder of a bridge, the 'pontifex' between East and West." In the 1950s and 60s, as interfaith civic partnerships between Jews and Christians in
11640-639: The support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras . This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas . The question of
11760-497: The term interreligious dialogue has the same meaning as interfaith dialogue. The World Council of Churches states: "Following the lead of the Roman Catholic Church, other churches and Christian religious organizations, such as the World Council of Churches, have increasingly opted to use the word interreligious rather than interfaith to describe their own bilateral and multilateral dialogue and engagement with other religions. [...]
11880-565: The term interreligious is preferred because we are referring explicitly to dialogue with those professing religions – who identify themselves explicitly with a religious tradition and whose work has a specific religious affiliation and is based on religious foundations." History records examples of interfaith initiatives throughout the ages, with varying levels of success in establishing one of three types of "dialogue" to engender, as recently described, either understanding, teamwork, or tolerance: The historical effectiveness of interfaith dialogue
12000-680: The third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE. According to the edicts of Aśoka , the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring Seleucid Empire , and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries. In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes,
12120-509: The three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct. The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman , the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads . Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so. Early Buddhist positions in
12240-543: The time Jews, Muslims and Christians have remained ignorant about each other, or worse, especially in the case of Christians and Muslims, attacked each other." In contrast, The Pluralism Project at Harvard University says, "Every religious tradition has grown through the ages in dialogue and historical interaction with others. Christians, Jews, and Muslims have been part of one another's histories, have shared not only villages and cities, but ideas of God and divine revelation." The importance of Abrahamic interfaith dialogue in
12360-478: The twin threats of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and promoting interfaith cooperation". In the book, regarding the state of Jewish-Muslim dialogue, although Rabbi Schneier acknowledges a "tremendous growth", he does not think that "we are where we want to be". The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889. Its members "exceeding tens of millions" live in 206 countries. It rejects "terrorism in any form". It broadcasts its "message of peace and tolerance" over
12480-411: The use of unpaid interns. Interfaith dialog Throughout the world there are local, regional, national and international interfaith initiatives; many are formally or informally linked and constitute larger networks or federations. The often quoted statement "There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among
12600-563: The Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines. Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas. For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to
12720-647: Was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan -s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India. Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha , although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists. Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and
12840-468: Was a king named Suddhodana , his mother was Queen Maya. Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about
12960-615: Was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut ), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple ) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka . During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which
13080-652: Was adopted unanimously as a UN Observance Event. The first week of February, every year, has been declared a UN World Interfaith Harmony Week. The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre released a document which summarises the key events leading up to the UN resolution as well as documenting some Letters of Support and Events held in honour of the week. In the emerging field of Interreligious studies , historians, sociologists, and other scholars have conducted research on interfaith dialogue activities, methods, and outcomes. Notably, in 2013, there were several academic initiatives, including
13200-491: Was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia . Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for
13320-481: Was an attempt to build a "global conversation" between an "elite group" of universities. As part of this attempt, Blair was to be the Howland Distinguished Fellow at Yale and was one of the professors for the course. Face to Faith was a programme for schoolchildren (12–17 years) which allowed via videoconferencing international interaction where cross-faith discussions may take place. The proclaimed aim
13440-905: Was apparently mutual". Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas , the Pratiharas , the Rashtrakutas , the Pandyas and the Pallavas . This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism , is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent . The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by
13560-551: Was ascribed the mission of promoting a religious confession, or of changing it. In the case of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, this is also a matter of promoting one and only one religious confession, which a universal, global political power would impose on the entire world." The director of the Muslim charity Forward Thinking , Huda Jawad was reported by the BBC as raising doubts about levels of support from many Muslims for
13680-550: Was critical of the organisation and its style. He mentioned the problems associated with the need to tiptoe around some of Tony Blair's business interests in Kazakhstan, Romania and the Gulf, his advising of the new government of Egypt being "a nightmare", the organisation's use of "ritzy offices in a West End tower block", the employment of five people in a communications department "whose sole aim seemed to be to say as little as possible" and
13800-480: Was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE). Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes. Buddhism spread to Khotan , the Tarim Basin , and China, eventually to other parts of the far east. Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts , dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to
13920-478: Was represented by eighteen separate schools." However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism. The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position. Likewise, there
14040-584: Was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too. Following (or leading up to)
14160-635: Was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552). It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr. ) used as a translation for
14280-566: Was the first Chief Executive. The Foundation had an International Religious Advisory Council made up of members of what the Foundation considered to be the six major religions. Its role was to advise Tony Blair on the work of the Foundation. Its members were: Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Judaism Islam Sikhism A major contributor was Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk through his Victor Pinchuk Foundation . Hugh O'Shaughnessy in The Guardian stated that
14400-614: Was to break down religious and cultural differences and thereby reduce conflict. Faiths Act was a project of the Foundation described as an attempt to build a global movement to both "inspire and mobilise" those who believe, in a faith, to address the Millennium Development Goals . The project focused on deaths from malaria . The project known as Faith Shorts was announced in March 2010 for short-length movies which increase "understanding between religions". Awards were presented for
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