Universal Responsibility as a Key Concept for an Interreligious Dialogue with the Mahāyāna Geluk Tradition

Abstract

Abstract:In a world polarized by politics, social injustice, identity issues, and gender-based violence, it is difficult to promote interreligious dialogue. While there has been a rise in attempts to promote dialogue, they typically still occur between a small group of religions, leaving others aside. Even though the fourteenth Dalai Lama was invited to take part in interreligious dialogue with the Holy See two decades ago, it seems that this now is only part of a fading memory, probably connected to political issues regarding Chinese backlash. This article proposes the use of discernment as a basis for an interreligious dialogue, starting with the discussion of discernment from Buddhist and Christian views, but not limiting the dialogue between these two. The scope of the article is to present universal responsibility (Tib. སྤྱི་སེམས་; Wyl. spyi sems) as a key concept to understanding and dialoguing with Mahāyāna Geluk Buddhism, and the reasons why it is important, not only from an interreligious perspective, but because of the importance of building bridges between religious and nonreligious sectors.