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Something written for an Inter-religious magazine…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It is a common and\u00a0idealistically beautiful notion,\u00a0that all the religions of the world essentially practise and preach the same teachings for the betterment of the world. In fact, this forms part of the spirit that makes harmonious inter-religious dialogue possible – when we choose to focus on the similarities of compassion and wisdom. If we are to harp on the differences to\u00a0one another instead, there would be inter-religious conflict.<\/p>\n But are all religions exactly the same upon closer look? Realistically, of course not –\u00a0this is\u00a0why there are different religions in the first place, even though\u00a0there might be certain\u00a0teachings which overlap in between.\u00a0If we truly wish to deeply comprehend\u00a0various religions, we need to not only look at the similarities, which many tend to prefer to stop at, but to look at the differences too. However, this should be done for greater understanding and acceptance, not for debate.<\/p>\n In this ever-shrinking global village called the world, there is increasing interaction\u00a0between adherents of various faiths. Depending on how this happens, it can be for better or\u00a0worse. Rub shoulders in a friendly way and mutual understanding is fostered. Rubbed the wrong way, enmity is stirred up instead.<\/p>\n The most common problem in inter-religious dialogue is disagreement on perspectives of Truth. But disagreement is not the real problem if there is mutual agreement to disagree. The true problems arise from insisting to others that one’s disparaging view of their religion is correct, and the imposing upon them that one’s own religion is the only true one worth\u00a0following.<\/p>\n There is nothing wrong though, with sincere personal belief that one\u2019s faith is the best. That would be \u201cmaking peace\u201d with oneself. However, when one insists others to agree likewise, that would be \u201cmaking war\u201d with others. Asoka, the great Buddhist emperor (circa 304 B.C.) had this to say –<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGrowth in essentials can be done in different ways, but all of them have as their root restraint in speech, that is, not praising one’s own religion, or condemning the religion of others without good cause. And if there is cause for criticism, it should be done in a mild way. But it is better to honor other religions for this [or that] reason. By so doing, one’s own religion benefits, and so do other religions, while doing otherwise harms one’s own religion and the religions of others.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There is a diversity of religious beliefs in our world simply because there is a corresponding diversity of mindsets.\u00a0Even two random adherents of the same faith are unlikely to have totally identical views. We need to respect this worldly reality – before arguing\u00a0on any spiritual reality. If not, there would be no harmony but only conflict. Surely, a religion that\u00a0is pro-conflict is not one\u00a0we need. What if it is\u00a0a central tenet of\u00a0a religion that it cannot agree to disagree with others? Thankfully, there is no such religion in practice today,\u00a0or there would be inter-religious\u00a0chaos. With all orthodox religions advocating peace, this implies that those who cannot agree to disagree might not really be religious at heart.<\/p>\n When any inter-religious dialogue is not so much to learn, but to be preachy, there is\u00a0no\u00a0true dialogue. One will notice that those truly interested in understanding others\u00a0ask and listen more than\u00a0they speak. Sadly, those uninterested in\u00a0dialogue are usually\u00a0the close-minded ones too sure and proud of themselves, while belittling others\u2019 religions. This itself is potential for conflict.<\/p>\n During inter-religious dialogues, it is wise to discuss in a “monkly” manner – in a way calm, kindly, harmonious, rational\u00a0and gentlemanly \u2013\u00a0a manner similar to the Buddha\u2019s, as opposed to rude and impatient name-calling or ridicule – which often happens\u00a0anonymously in cyberspace.\u00a0We need to be mindful that this virtual tension can spill over into the real world.<\/p>\n When we lose our compassion and wisdom\u00a0while\u00a0sharing or defending the beliefs we profess to represent, surely, we are misrepresenting\u00a0our faiths with our very loss of compassion and wisdom –\u00a0which are undoubtedly virtues\u00a0universal to all respectable\u00a0religions, and even to free-thinkers. The basic ethics of free speech (or any other form of expression) with responsibility should\u00a0be\u00a0followed both offline and online, by sticking to the\u00a0so-called golden rule found in many religions – to not do to\u00a0others what you do not want others to do to you.<\/p>\n In sincere dialogue,\u00a0there is gentle\u00a0nudging to reflect, instead of proselytising with threats of\u00a0spiritual damnation. Real dialogue\u00a0never insists on acceptance of one\u2019s beliefs, but merely offers them respectfully for rational consideration.<\/p>\n When learning about a certain faith, we need to be wary of its misrepresentations by those not\u00a0of that faith – since\u00a0outsiders\u00a0often\u00a0generalise\u00a0other faiths in inaccurate ways, albeit accidentally.\u00a0While\u00a0being open-minded\u00a0to hear outsiders’ views, the insiders’ should be heard too – for balanced and right understanding.<\/p>\n The Buddha himself actively engaged in much skilful inter-religious dialogue with great compassion and wisdom. As there were more than 60 different stems of religious thought in his time, the feat of being able to engage in harmonious dialogue is most remarkable. His is the example that Buddhists aspire to follow.<\/p>\n The Buddha\u2019s timeless advice on critical-thinking is still valid. Buddhists are first and foremost encouraged to self-reflect, to be critical and even doubtful about their own faith before accepting it, and to always balance faith with sound reason.<\/p>\n Which makes more sense on the path to Truth? To engage in\u00a0harmonious dialogue with an open\u00a0heart and mind, or to refuse dialogue, while insisting others are totally wrong, that only\u00a0oneself is totally correct? We all already know the answers. Since religions exist\u00a0to benefit\u00a0humankind, may all religions co-exist harmoniously\u00a0in the light of true\u00a0mutual-understanding!<\/p>\n