SBCS Members Travel to Taiwan

In February and March 2024, Kunihiko Terasawa and I visited Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei and Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan. On February 29, Kuni gave a very engaging presentation on the thought of Kitaro Nishida, and we had a lively discussion of Nishida's contributions and his relation to Japanese nationalism, followed by lunch with members of the faculty of Fu Jen. The next day, Professor Su-an Lin, who teaches Buddhism at Fu Jen, and graduate student Su-chen Huang accompanied Kuni and me to Fo Guang Shan Monastery, where we received an informative tour of the monastic community, a delicious lunch, and then a guided tour of the Buddha Museum, including the remarkable exhibit on the discoveries at Dunhuang, including full-scale replicas of the statues and murals in the Mogao Caves. To conclude our visit, we were treated to tea and were given Lewis Lancaster's book on The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road and a book of Buddhist meditations for each day of the year.

On March 3, we received a guided visit to the Museum of World Religions in Taipei, founded by Dharma Master Hsin Tao. Two days later, together with Paulin Batairwa, Under-Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and Raphael Ling, vice president of Fu Jen University for mission and chaplaincy, I visited Master Hsin Tao at his monastery, situated on a high spot dramatically overlooking the ocean. We had an extended discussion of interreligious activities, and the Dharma Master told us of his project to found a Buddhist university in Myanmar and sought our support. On March 5, Paulin, Raphael, and I visited Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery outside of Taipei, where we were graciously welcomed by the Ven. Guo Hei, who gave us copies of books by their founder, the late Chan Master Sheng-yen.

I delivered two lectures at Fu Jen; our SBCS colleague Jonathan Seitz, who teaches in Taipei, came to meet me for lunch and attended my second lecture on spirit, law, and wisdom in interreligious encounters. Together with Paulin, I also met with leaders of the Daoist Temple in Taipei and participated in a Vatican-led discussion of Catholic–Confucian relations.