Message to Buddhists for Vesak: Compassion is the antidote to global crises
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue hopes that Buddhist karuna and Christian agape can work together to heal the wounds of humanity and the Earth. Let us “work together to build a more just, peaceful and united world.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has released its annual message to Buddhists on the occasion of Vesak, the Buddhist festival that celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha, which this year falls on May 5.
The prefect of the dicastery, Miguel Ángel Cardinal Ayuso Guixot, and its secretary, Mgr Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage penned the message, titled “Healing Wounded Humanity and the Earth through Karuna and Agape”.
In it the two note that humanity’s great vulnerability today calls on Christians and Buddhists to develop “new forms of solidarity shaped by our respective religious traditions, to which we look for ‘answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition which deeply stir the hearts of men’ (cf. Nostra Aetate 1).”
“[I]ncreased communication in today's globalized world has made us aware that the problems we face are not isolated; they are the result of tensions and evils that entangle all of humanity. The wounds afflicting the world are many: poverty, discrimination and violence; indifference towards the poor, enslavement resulting from models of development that fail to respect the human person and nature; hate motivated and fueled by religious and nationalistic extremism; and above all, a despairing attitude towards life expressed through various types of anxiety and addiction. All these realities painfully expose our shared vulnerability.”
Experiences that highlight the potential of religious traditions can “offer remedies capable of healing our grievous wounds, and those of our families, our nations, and our planet.”
In fact, “Dear Buddhist friends, you offer healing when you embody karuna - compassion towards all beings, taught by the Buddha (Sutta Nipata 1.8, Sutta Nipata 2.4)” and “when you act selflessly as did the Bodhisattva, who renounced entering Nirvana and remained in the world to work for the alleviation of the suffering of all beings until their liberation.”
The message quotes the Buddha from the Abhidhamma Pitakaya Vibhanga, which says that the person fully informed by karuna performs this action of alleviating suffering in “a second direction. Also, a third direction. Also, a fourth direction.”
Thus, “Those who dwell with mind accompanied by compassion offer an antidote to the global crises we have mentioned, offering comprehensive compassion in response to widespread and interconnected evils.
“Similarly, for Christians, there is no more effective remedy than the practice of agape (selfless love), the great legacy that Jesus left to his followers. Jesus gives his disciples the gift of divine love – agape – and teaches them to love one another.”
Lastly, the message ends focusing on the parable of the Good Samaritan. “May we all strive to live with greater love and compassion, and work together to build a more just, peaceful and united world. May you ‘radiate boundless love towards the entire world - above, below, and across - unhindered, without ill will, without enmity’ (Karaniya Metta Sutta, Sn. 1.8). And may you enjoy, dear Buddhist brothers and sisters, abundant blessings and the joy of contributing to the healing of the wounds of society and the earth, our common home.”
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02/05/2022 15:23
