MESSAGE TO BUDDHISTS FOR THE FEAST OF VESAKH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 4, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was the message from Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, on the occasion of the Vesakh, the annual Buddhist feast that commemorates the main events of the life of Buddha.

Theravada Buddhism, widespread in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Timor, celebrates this feast on the day of the full moon of the sixth lunar month (Vesakh).

Given below are extracts from the message entitled: "Christians and Buddhists: In Renewed Solidarity for the Good of the Humankind."

"On this occasion, the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God made man and our Lord and Saviour, we invite you to share in our joy. The Catholic Church also takes this opportunity to renew her friendship and commitment to dialogue with the various religious traditions of the world so that, working together for the good of humankind, we may all experience greater purification and conversion of heart. ... In spite of the differences which exist between Buddha dharma and the Christian faith, there are many possibilities and potentialities for dialogue, and the results so far recorded are not inconsiderable."

"Our world can legitimately boast of many achievements: Scientific, technological and especially medical progress in the service of human life, a greater awareness of our responsibility for the environment, efforts to restore peace and justice wherever they have been violated, a desire for reconciliation and solidarity among different peoples, particularly in the complex relationship between the North and the South of the world."

"But our world is also marked by numerous painful and alarming conditions. ... Denial of objective moral norms of right and wrong, moral decadence, erosion of family values, ... discrimination based on sex, race, religion, etc., are just a few expressions visible in our society which are contrary to the teachings of our respective traditions. They tarnish the very image of religion. Building on the friendly relations which already exist between our two religious traditions both at the global and the local level, cannot Buddhists and Christians collaborate more closely and work in solidarity to alleviate these problems?"

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