Buddhism on International Stage-5th Interfaith Dialogue

From 28th to 30th October, the Fifth Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue was held in Perth of Australia. The three day conference consisted of keynote addresses from guest speakers and a series of plenary sessions as well as working group discussions. Out of the 160 delegates, ten delegates represented the faiths of New Zealand which included Maori, Catholic, Christian, Anglican Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhism.

Under the recommendation of Venerable Abbess Manshin, YAD member Seeshen Lee was chosen by Honourable Pansy Wong to represent the Buddhist faith in New Zealand, becoming one of ten New Zealand delegates who attended the Dialogue. FGS South Island was deeply honoured to have been bestowed this rare opportunity to represent Buddhism in the international arena.

Along with those delegates, two officials from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Honourable Pansy Wong also attended. In total, delegates from fourteen Asia-Pacific countries participated in the Interfaith Dialogue.

Seeshen Lee was gratitude for Venerable Abbess providing her the chance to walk onto the big stage, and reported that the contents of Hon. Pansy Wong’s speech at the Dialogue closely reflects the ideals of humanistic Buddhism which Fo Guang Shan’s founder Venerable Master Hsing Yun advocates.

The purpose of the Interfaith Dialogue is to bring together communities of different culture and religion to cultivate understanding of beliefs and practices; promoting good relations and respect among the diverse faiths and communities in the world. With many conflicts and outbreak of tensions between nations, news of terrorist attacks almost on a daily basis, the Interfaith Dialogue seeks out to address the fundamental underlying issues that are causing these problems and to discourage extremism.

The main theme of this year’s Interfaith Dialogue was “Future Faith Leaders: Regional Challenges and Cooperation”. Throughout the final two days, the plenary sessions were dedicated to discussions of topics such as: “Building relationships among future faith leaders: fostering networks and practical partnerships amongst future faith leaders”, “Youth and education: preventing the radicalisation of vulnerable youth”, “Conflict prevention and peace-building: combating misinformation, prejudice and bigotry about faith groups” and “Faith and the media/internet: combating religious stereotypes”.

Honourable Pansy Wong, who led the strong team of New Zealand delegates, became one of the subjects during a press conference with Asia media, expressed during the closing reception of the Interfaith Dialogue; “the Interfaith Dialogue provided us with a platform to provide an insight into our multicultural, interfaith and inter-generational practices that ensure followers of all New Zealanders can not only stay true to their religion, but also participate in all aspects of Kiwi life”.