Is there anyone whose universal religious appeal can match that of St. Francis of Assisi? Dr. Bruce Davis, who founded and runs the East-West Retreat Center in Assisi, suggests that

In his poverty, Buddhists find new understanding of the gifts of emptiness.
In his devotion, Hindus feel at home in their love of God.
In his faith, Moslems find a living God, full of mystical presence.
In his caring of the poor, Jews share a path of good deeds.
In his praise of nature, Native Religions honor God in all the elements.
In his humanness, Christians are reminded of the simplicity, forgiveness, and peace which is the heart and essence of all religions
(From the Center’s website)

It was entirely fitting, therefore, that European Commissions of DIM/MID mark the 25th anniversary of their involvement in Monastic Interreligious Dialogue by meeting in the city that has become—thanks to the witness of Francis and the initiative of Pope John Paul II—a gathering place for the world’s religions. The meeting and the symposium that followed it took place September 17-21, 2003. The daily schedule revolved around the Liturgy of the Hours, the Eucharist and meditation, Lauds and Vespers were specially prepared and incorporated selections from the writings of Saints Francis and Clare.

Fr. Pierre-François de Béthune, OSB, DIM/MID’s General Secretary, presided at the meeting, which was chaired by Sr. Bruno Colin, OSB, Coordinator of the European Commissions. Participants included the heads of the seven European commissions of DIM/MID: the Italian Commission, the two French-speaking commissions (France and French-speaking Switzerland; French-speaking Belgium), the German commission (Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland), the Dutch commission, the English commission (England, Ireland, and Scotland), and the Iberian commission. A number of advisors and invited guests also took part. Sr. Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, and I went to Assisi to represent the North American Board of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, which is also completing 25 years of existence, and to report on our activities. The location for the meeting was the Cittadella, headquarters of Pro Civitate Christiana, but common prayer and meditation often took place in one of the city’s many churches.

During the first day and a half each commission presented a detailed summary of its history and activities. I was especially impressed by the large number of local and regional interreligious programs that DIM/MID has sponsored throughout Europe, and by the growing involvement of the commissions in a dialogue of spiritual experience with Muslims. The reports made it very clear that the nine spiritual exchanges held with Japanese Zen Buddhists between 1979 and the present have contributed greatly to the development of a culture of dialogue in Europe.

In his report the General Secretary spoke of his desire to promote a theology of interreligious spiritual dialogue that is based on experience. Ideally Sant’Anselmo is where such a theological course should be given, but the Athenaeum is not yet ready to undertake a program of this kind. One possibility might be to make the study of interreligious dialogue an integral element of Sant’ Anselmo’s Monastic Institute. This program draws people from all over the world, but still gives very little attention to non-western expressions of monasticism and spirituality.

The afternoon of day two was spent looking ahead. The participants decided that in the immediate future, DIM/MID should focus on spiritual exchanges (including exchanges with near-by communities of monks and nuns of other religions) and permanent formation. Over the long-term DIM/MID will attend to theological reflection and developing contacts with the local church. Formation—both initial and on-going—of monastic communities for interreligious dialogue is crucial. The participants stressed how important it is that those responsible for monastic formation obtain a positive experience of interreligious dialogue through spiritual exchanges.

The agenda for the last two days included a presentation by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Sunday Mass at San Damiano at which Archbishop Fitzgerald presided and preached, an interreligious prayer service at the Benedictine monastery of San Giuseppe, and a symposium concluding the Ninth Spiritual Exchange, during which seven Buddhist monks and one nun from Japan spent ten days living in different Italian monasteries.

All the participants in the spiritual exchange noted how deeply moved they were by the hospitality of the hosting communities. Buddhist monasteries in Japan are more like training centers than stable monastic communities, and they can have the character and atmosphere of a spiritual “boot camp,” where individual practice trumps the communal life. The spiritual exchange program provided most of the participants with their first experience of a monastery whose members had made a life-long commitment to monastic life in community, but who still maintained a relationship with the world outside. Reflecting on his experience, a Buddhist monk who stayed at the Abbey of Santa Maria della Scala in Noci said, “A Zen monastery is a place for intense practice, and the result tends to be that the practicing monk is not given very much guidance to help him relate with people outside the monastery. My experience in a Christian monastery, where, despite the cloister, there is a lot of relationship with other people, will be very helpful as a guide and model for me when I leave the monastery and move back into society.”

One of the Buddhist monks participating in the Spiritual Exchange was Thomas Kirchner, an American who has lived for thirty year in Japan. His skills as a translator and his ability to bridge the East/West cultural and religious divide were invaluable. In his report, he reflected on the ways in which the Western monastic tradition can help Buddhism as it begins to establish a monastic presence in the West. Buddhism, he suggested, might even learn from the way monastic architecture has developed in the West. But what Western Buddhists must especially pay attention to, he thought, was the sense of community that is so characteristic of Christian monasticism. As he put it, “Western Buddhist monasticism will also have much to learn from the equality and fraternity of the Christian monastery. Japanese society, though very hierarchical, is not rigid in this respect; the Japanese, having grown up in a culturally hierarchical environment, know how to operate within it in a natural and balanced way. This is not the case with Westerners, however, and we will have to develop new approaches. The Christian monastic approach provides an especially good model, I believe, combining a clear sense of social structure and yet retaining the quality of Western fraternity. At Camaldoli, for example, after dinner I saw the abbot carrying out the garbage with the lowest member of the community. So this sense of equality in the Catholic monastery is also something we need to reflect on.”

At the end of the meeting Gensho Hozumi Roshi, who has been involved in spiritual exchanges since their inception in 1979, emphasized that the program offers the participants an opportunity to deepen their own religious experience. “Without this spiritual deepening,” he said, “there will be no meaningful development in dialogue.”

As a sign of the enthusiasm of the Japanese participants for this kind of dialogue, he presented DIM/MID a Zen calligraphy that includes a drawing of Bodhidharma, the monk who brought the teachings of Zen Buddhism to China. The inscription, written by Hirata Roshi, reads: “All religions have the same root. All things return to the One.”

Hozumi Roshi noted that both Benedict and Bodhidharma lived in the sixth century, and both spent time meditating in solitude to deepen their religious experience: Benedict in the Sacro Speco, Bodhidharma at his monastery, Shaolin. “So let us,” he concluded, “increase the friendship between the monastic traditions started by Saint Benedict and Bodhidharma.”