After meeting online during the pandemic, the Buddhist Studies and Dialogue Group met in person at the Seven Fountains Jesuit Retreat Center in Chiang Mai in the first days of June. Chiangmai was the site of the group’s first meeting in 2010, so it was meaningful to gather there again after the pandemic.
Fourteen past participants joined the meeting, including Marist priest, Fr Hermes Sabud, and Maryknoll priest, Fr Lo Dam. Also present was Ven Vy Sovechea, a Cambodian Buddhist monk who serves as the President of the Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Battambang Branch. A lay Korean graduate student, Teresa Kwon Yohn-Dam, also joined the gathering.
Among the new participants were members of Focolare in Chiang Mai: George Pierluigi Vencato and Dina Yutitham, who are Catholics, and Buddhist Tom-taem Preeyanoot. They facilitated the group’s visit to a meditation centre, and it was through their efforts that the renowned Thai monk, Ven Pittaya, was able to participate fully in the meeting.
The gathering was also enriched by the presence of lay coordinators of interreligious dialogue, namely Gerald Kong of Singapore and Yuthachai NgernLa of Chiang Mai, who shared valuable insights about the programmes in their dioceses.
Jesuit participants from Asia-Pacific and South Asia affirmed the importance of the group for deeper sharing and companionship in a ministry that is often “lonely” and open to various misunderstandings in their local communities. The fellowship, apart from what is learned in formal presentations and dialogue activities at temples, has been a key motivation for the annual meeting since 2010.
The presentations this year included introductions to the Jesuits in Thailand by Fr Miguel Garazaibal SJ and Buddhism in the Thai context by Dr Boonchuay Doojai and Fr Daniele Mazza PIME. Fr Petrus Puspobinatmo SJ, an Indonesian missionary in Myanmar gave an update on the situation in the country.
The group felt specially privileged to have the presence and participation of Fr Leo Lefebure of Georgetown University. His overview of issues in Buddhist-Christian dialogue in the United States was quite enlightening for the participants who are all working in Asia.
All the presentations were followed by lively discussions. As in the past, the annual workshop always includes dialogue experiences with local Buddhists. The Focolare members arranged a visit to the Wat Ram Poeng, a meditation centre renowned for its long-standing practice of welcoming foreigners to experience vipassana mediation for periods ranging from 10 to 26 days. The Abbott, Ajahn Supan, personally met the group and patiently answered questions, working through Fr Paolo Kriangyot SJ who served as the interpreter.
The group also visited the famous Doi Suthep mountain temple, where a relic of the Buddha’s hair is kept. The visit happened to fall on the feast of Vesak (the Buddha’s birthday), and the sight of hundreds of pilgrims walking up the mountain to join the evening services was a moving experience for everyone involved.
After the official meeting ended on 3 June, most of the group stayed on to visit more temples and travel to Chiang Rai to see the Xavier Learning Center. The superior, Fr Tom Michel, along with the local Jesuit community, graciously hosted the group.
One of the most memorable reflections at the workshop came from Tom-Taem, a Thai Buddhist member of Focolare who shared how she came to understand the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism better by learning about the suffering of Jesus on the cross. It is not the differences in beliefs that stand out, but the power of love. Dialogue helps people of different faiths to live in mutual love, she said, and that is the spirit that animated this year’s gathering.