spirituality

ORGANISED INTER-MONASTIC DIALOGUE

Organised inter-monastic dialogue began as a response to a letter in 1977 from Cardinal Pignedoli, who was head of the Roman Catholic Secretariat for Relations with Other Religions, to the Benedictine Abbot Primate urging Christian monks and nuns to be ‘a bridge and contact-point’ for promoting mutual understanding between Christians and people of other faiths. The world’s Benedictine abbots had already sponsored their first Asian East-West Intermonastic Conference in Bangkok in 1968. It was this conference that brought Thomas Merton of the Trappist monastery at Gethsemani in Kentucky, USA, to Asia and to a meeting with the Dalai Lama. It was also during the Bangkok conference that Merton died, soon after he had given his presentation.

Two other Asian conferences, sponsored by Aide Inter-Monastères (AIM), were held in Bangalore in 1973 and in Sri Lanka in 1980. Following Cardinal Pignedoli’s letter, two meetings of monks and nuns were convened by AIM. As a result, a North American organisation for Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID) (see photo left) and a European group, known as Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique (DIM) were set up - both of which produce newsletters. Tibetan monks, encouraged by the Dalai Lama, have been particularly active in the dialogue. In 1995 a meeting, of which the papers have been published, was held at the Gethsemani Trappist Monastery in the USA, to review the progress made.
Some of the discoveries made in inter-monastic dialogue are relevant more widely to those engaged in interfaith activity.

In his book By Faith and Hospitality, Pierre-François de Béthune, Secretary General of the Commission for Monastic Interfaith Dialogue, points out some of the lessons which have been learned:

 

Contents |Introduction |Religious Goals |Mystical Experience |Testing the Theory |Cave of the Heart | Inter-monastic Dialogue | Interfaith Worship | Is interspirituality possible| Questions | Inspiration | Resources | Weblinks