Pope Francis welcomed a delegation of Buddhist monks from Bangkok’s Wat Phra Chetuphon (also known as Wat Pho), one of the most important Buddhist temples in Thailand, and encouraged them to continue to foster dialogue and cooperation for a better world.
Lisa Zengarini
Pope Francis on Monday reiterated the importance of close cooperation between the Church and Buddhists to address the pressing challenges facing today’s fractured world.
Welcoming a delegation of about 100 Buddhist monks from Wat Phra Chetuphon in Bangkok, Thailand, His Holiness expressed his deep gratitude and appreciation for their “enduring friendship” and willingness to work together to “bring a ray of hope” to hurting humanity.
Healing the wounded humanity and the earth together
In his address to the friars, Pope Francis reflected on the “extraordinary welcome and hospitality” he received during his apostolic visit to Thailand in 2019 and, more recently, on the Seventh Buddhist-Christian Colloquium held in Bangkok last November, which brought together more than 150 participants from across Asia to reflect on the theme “The Dialogue of Karuna and Agape for the Healing of a Wounded Humanity and Planet.”
He specifically mentioned the conference’s final statement in which participants, “deeply rooted in their own religious traditions,” committed to “working together” to “bring a ray of hope to a desperate humanity” amid the “dark clouds” that hang over the world today.
No one can be saved alone
Pope Francis noted three key points emphasized during the colloquium, the first of which was that “no one can be saved alone. We can be saved together precisely because we are interconnected and interdependent.”
With that truth in mind, the Pope called on the clergy to “continue to work with all – with civil society, followers of other religions, governments, international organizations, the academic and scientific community and all other stakeholders – to preserve peace and fraternity and promote friendship for a more inclusive world.”
Caring for each other and the environment
The colloquium in Thailand also stressed the importance of educating everyone, especially young people and children, “to have compassion and sharing in our relationships with each other and with the environment”, as well as the importance of prayer and meditation, “which can turn things around by purifying our hearts and minds; where there is hatred and vengeance, we can create mercy, compassion and forgiveness, and a spirit of respect and compassion for others and the earth”.
Continue to foster dialogue and cooperation with the Catholic Church
In this regard, Pope Francis praised a prayer event taking place on Tuesday in Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Finally, the Pope thanked the Thai Buddhist monks heartily for their visit and encouraged them to “continue to foster dialogue and cooperation, especially with the Catholic Church in Thailand, in a spirit of lasting friendship.”