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Fifty delegates from fifteen religious traditions and from
seventeen countries gathered at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas May 2-6,
2004 for the annual Global Council meeting of the United Religions
Initiative (URI). The URI is a San Francisco based, global interfaith
organization. The topic of the meeting was strategic planning around URI’s
ongoing efforts to create global peace among religions and to end
religiously motivated violence. In hosting the Global Council, the City of
Ten Thousand Buddhas furthers one of its missions, to foster interfaith
dialogue and understanding.
● Interfaith Stories of Hope
On Tuesday evening, May 4, in the Confucius Hall at the CTTB,
the public was invited to a program entitled “The Surprise of Friendship:
Interfaith Stories of Hope.” Guests from the many religious denominations
in the Ukiah Valley joined with the residents of the CTTB to meet the
members URI’s Global Council and to learn more about the work of the URI.
Over 300 people attended the program. Bhikshu Heng Lyu, the Abbot of the
CTTB welcomed the guests with gift packets that included wrist rosaries
and a photo view book of the Buddhist Center.
Rev. Heng Sure, Ph.D., himself a URI Global Councillor
representing Buddhism, began the program with a slide show documenting the
history of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association’s activities in
Interfaith, including the plans for the International Institute for
Philosophy and Ethics the purpose of which will be to host similar
conferences in the future. The audience listened to moving stories from
URI delegates.
Mohammed Mossad, a Sufi Muslim from Cairo, Egypt, spoke
about his gradual transformation in understanding of Islam as a result of
reading sacred texts aloud for a blind teacher. Joyce N’oma, a Christian
radio show host from Malawi, described her method for breaking through
religious sectarianism in her hometown. Kay Lindal, a Catholic author from
Laguna Nigel, Southern California commented on her experiences in
Interfaith around the world. Hamed Ehsani, a Bah’ai from Nairobi, Kenya
spoke movingly of his childhood in Iran, and the religious persecution he
encountered, including the imprisonment of his mother and the death in
prison of his father and uncle. He came to interfaith because of his
determination that nobody should ever again be discriminated again or made
to suffer because of their beliefs. Maria Crespo from Buenos Aires,
Argentina described her appreciation of the schools at the CTTB, and
explained that she teaches Catechism classes in a school in Argentina, and
she recognizes children who know right from wrong, and felt at home in the
education system at the Buddhist center.
● What Is the URI?
The URI was founded in 1993 in San Francisco by Rt. Rev.
William E. Swing, Episcopal Bishop of California and religious head of
Grace Cathedral, in response to the lack of daily and enduring cooperation
between religions. The URI has grown rapidly and now has over 35,000
actively participating members from all the worlds’ religions and
indigenous faith traditions in 50 countries around the world. The
organization provides a forum for unprecedented interfaith dialogue to
counteract the growing tensions and turmoil, often fueled by religious
differences and rivalries.
At the heart of URI are self-organizing groups that are
locally rooted and globally connected. Members of these Cooperation
Circles unite in responsible actions to bring the wisdom and values of
their spiritual beliefs to bear on the economic, environmental, political
and social challenges facing the international community. The Cooperation
Circles must have at least seven members and include people from at least
three different religions, spiritual expressions or indigenous traditions.
Influenced by the latest thinking of business experts in organizational
design, the URI’s non-hierarchical, inclusive grassroots structure has
proven highly successful in enabling groups of people worldwide to
overcome theological differences-- and often conflicting opinions-- and
take radically significant steps for peace.
Bishop Swing explains, “The United Religions Initiative is a
global commitment by local people everywhere to create new kinds of
relationships among people of opposing faiths, cultures and ethnicities.
Every society wants peace and security. No society will enjoy peace and
security unless its peoples of faith discuss fresh ways of interacting and
common goals that benefit all.” The Founder of the CTTB, Master Hsuan Hua,
made interfaith dialogue a priority in his introduction of Buddhism to
America. The first major religious gathering at the CTTB was held in 1987,
and brought together leaders and spokespersons from Mendocino and Humboldt
County, including the late Rev. Tom MacMillan, Ukiah Baptist minister and
educator, and the late Fr. John Rogers, head of the Newman Center and
Professor of Philosophy at Humboldt State University, among others.
● Vegetarian Food, School Visits Highlighted
The religious leaders spent five days discussing business
and making plans for the next Global Assembly in Seoul, Korea, in 2005.
Many of the representatives expressed their pleasure and surprise at the
variety and the flavor of the vegetarian food served at the CTTB’s Jun
Kang restaurant. On Tuesday the boys and girls of Instilling Goodness and
Cultivating Virtue Schools on campus at the CTTB convened a program called
”Adopt A Global Councillor,” in which students selected one from among the
fifty religious visitors to talk to. They studied the country of origin
and the religion of the guests and then met face to face, to ask questions
and to share about their experience in a Buddhist-sponsored school. Both
the students and the URI members expressed their enjoyment with the
opportunity to learn about each other experiences and points of view.
● Peace Among Religions Sought
Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the URI and a Reverend
Canon of the Episcopal Church, explained the significance of the meeting
at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. He said, “Catholic theologian Hans
Kung said that there can be no peace among nations until there is peace
among religions. And there can be no peace among religions until there is
dialogue among religions. Today we have taken steps towards peace among
religions and I believe that if the peaceful spirit of this beautiful
campus and these graceful, generous Buddhists friends can become better
known in the world, then we can expect a more peaceful world as well.”
More about United Religions Initiative can be found at
www.uri.org. |
