Richard A. Marker

The view of the Pacific Coast from the mountain top was mesmerizing.  The Monastery at the top was thoroughly modern and thoroughly imbued with the gentle and thoughtful spirit of the Buddhist Dharma Master Hsin Tao Shih’s charismatic persona. This setting, 2 hours outside of Taipei in Taiwan, was our meeting place for the better part of a week. 

The occasion was the second meeting of the Board of World Religions.  Our first meeting, in Seville two years ago, was an eye opener for me.  While I had continuously been involved in inter-religious dialogue and efforts going back to my JTS  days in the late 60’s, and subsequently in Providence, Chicago, and Washington, the Seville meeting made me aware how Western [Jewish and Christian] my understandings and perspectives had been.  Adding Moslems, the other Abrahamic tradition to the mix was one thing; but Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs were quite another.  Their vocabulary, world views, governance structures, and religious traditions were entirely different.  My prepared paper at the time was full of cultural references and assumptions which were accurate for those of us in the Abrahamic Traditions; its words, I learned at that time, didn’t resonate with those whose robes, practices, and cosmology differed so.

I was in Seville and Taiwan [and in several other places around the world] as a representative of IJCIC [International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations] – the official representative body of organized Jewry on the international interreligious front.  It is comprised of representative of the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements; it also includes the WJC, the 2 AJC’s, B'nai B'rith, ADL, IJCIR, itself a consortium of several Israel based organizations.  I am one of the RA members on IJCIC, but at the meeting in Taiwan, I was the only American Rabbi present.  The other Jewish representation included 2 current chief rabbis, one past Chief Rabbi, and one representative of a Chief Rabbi.  Our group of about 40 official leaders also included Buddhists from 4 continents, Christian Bishops from 3, Moslem Imams from 3, and Hindus and Sikhs from the Eastern and Western parts of the world.   There were religious leaders from world renowned Ashrams and from urban headquarters of major adjudicatories.  The Board of World Religions is the brainchild of Rabbi Alon Goshen Gottstein.  His Jerusalem based Elijah Institute convenes a multi-religious think tank of scholars who prepare the background papers for our biennial retreats.

At our first meeting in Seville, our shared language was English; our shared mission was in-depth understanding, and our shared experience extraordinary.  There were, though, few commonalities in dress and cultural backgrounds, and, except for a few carefully selected moments of joint silence, no commonality in religious expression.    But, we did share a conviction:  At our first meeting, we dealt with the challenges each of our traditions has with the concept of “the other” – addressing the authentic dialectic within each religion between with the affirmation of the universal and the celebration of the particular.   At that meeting, the leaders present insisted that, while our meetings may have the flavor of a think tank, we must carry forth to our disparate constituents the message about the parameters of discourse and the legitimacy of difference.

Our meeting in Taiwan dealt with “the crisis of the Holy” – and examined challenges common to all religions in a post-Modern world– that of youth, gender, secularity, technology, and education.  We found that we face common challenges – and even shared understandings, but, so as to keep our discourse from having political overtones, we refrained from public statements and a joint plan of action.  We agreed, though, that the world needs to learn how one has such a discourse.  So, we committed ourselves, as we prepared to descend the mountain, to model this discourse and behavior at home throughout the world.  There is no corner of the globe which has been exempt from interreligious strife – just as we demonstrated that there is no corner of the globe which cannot be ennobled and made more sacred by the best of our religious traditions. 

As in Seville, UNESCO lent its name and support to our gathering. There were many local sponsors of the meetings in Taiwan and a few international foundations as well.  But the primary host of these meetings was the Dharma Master Hsin Tao Shih.  He is a well known figure in Taiwan and by Buddhists throughout the world.  On our last day, we traveled from his monastery to another of his institutions – this one in Taipei.  There he has established a Museum of World Religions – an impressive educational center featuring descriptions and religious objects of 13 of the world’s religions. As we were walking around the exhibitions, the Moslem participants asked me to spend some time with them explaining about the Jewish ritual objects and the traditions they represented.  We were soon joined by several of the Museum guides who listened intently – and who expressed the wish that they could learning more about Judaism – not an easy thing to do in Taiwan.  It was moving how sincere their interest was, and how limited the opportunities to learn about us.
 
Our meetings were purposely behind closed doors, away from the glare of public scrutiny.  Honesty and openness prevailed, and none shied away from disagreement or challenge, knowing that there were no outside observers to misconstrue our intentions.  The closed doors of our sessions were opened twice: once at the Museum for a public presentation about a new national initiative of the Dharma Master and the city of Taipei to counter a growing epidemic of teen and young adult suicide.  We heard from academics and social service leaders who spoke effectively about the world wide statistics and variety of approaches to reducing the incidence of suicide.  Much more moving were the impassioned stories of young people telling of the suicide of friends or family members – and the impact it had on their own lives.  The Dharma Master has a huge following among young people – and one suspects that it is his willingness to provide a setting for such honest discussion combined with his seemingly authentic spirituality which has made him such an effective religious leader.  There is much to learn from his example, and much to be reminded how effective we can be as leaders of communities.

The other public event was a formal state banquet in our honor sponsored by the regional government and attended by national leaders throughout Taiwan.   The 20 course strictly vegan meal was accompanied by classical Chinese entertainment.  Looking around at the crowd of Taiwanese leaders all wearing Western suits, who would look in place on Wall Street, I was touched as many of them had moist eyes. They seemed nostalgic for a tradition still cherished but seen only on special and state occasions.   As religious leaders who had indeed come down from the mountain top for this wonderful evening, I wondered:  During our days together, we honored the uniqueness and distinctiveness of each of our religions; we had earnestly and honestly engaged with each other about what our religious traditions could teach about the challenges of the contemporary world; we had shared visions and models of leadership; and we committed ourselves to model this extraordinary experience to a broader world.  Yet I wondered:  did those who came to celebrate with us perceive us as nostalgic relics appropriate for specials occasions or as visionaries who could effectively bridge the everyday and spiritual worlds?   As hundreds of magic lanterns floated up in the sky at the conclusion of our banquet, I could only hope that we, the Board of World Religious Leaders, would similarly illumine a world so in need of the best of our religious teachings. 

Richard Marker currently serves as a philanthropy advisor to families and foundations around the country and as Senior Fellow at NYU’s Center for Philanthropy.  He spent close to 30 years with Hillel, ultimately as its International Vice President, and then several years as CEO of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation. He has lectured in 24 countries and around the United States.