Held in Bangkok in May 2012 and organised by The Pure Land Learning College Association Inc. of Australia and the World Fellowship of Buddhists and attended by Wilma Viswanathan, member of the Uniting Church in Australia Assembly Working Group on Relations with Other Faiths.
I was invited by the Pure Land Learning College and Graeme Lyall (an old friend of the Uniting Church) to attend this summit. The Pure Land College was founded in Toowoomba by the Venerable Master Chin Kung in 2001, to provide a good learning environment for students who aspire to learn and practice Pure Land Buddhism and the teaching of the sages, and to train and nurture successors to continue the propagation of Buddhism - see www.purelandcollege.org.au/
The Summit was preceded by a 2-day event organised by the World Fellowship of Buddhists to celebrate 2,600 Years of the Buddha’s Enlightenment as well as the celebration of the birthdays of the King and Queen of Thailand. As part of this event we were invited to the palace. Those taking part in the Interfaith Summit were from the following countries: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Canada, USA, Vietnam, Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sweden, Netherlands, Mongolia, Laos, Japan, Cambodia, Germany, Costa Rica and the host country, Thailand.
Some of the topics discussed were: Religious Harmony; Morality and Virtues; Building Trust for a Better Tomorrow; Interfaith Engagement; Interfaith Relations – Opportunities & Initiatives and Peace & Harmony – the Multicultural Initiatives.
The Venerable Master Chin Kung’s thoughts were greatly appreciated as he is practicing his teachings in Toowoomba with the College he founded. I urge you to visit this Centre and see his work. The team (volunteers included) that organised the Summit should be congratulated for their good work – not just for the programme – but also for their kindness and graciousness at all times, as inspired by their leader – Master Chin Kung.
By Wilma Viswanathan