Rev. Danny Fisher

This past week saw the third major monastic interreligious dialogue held at the Abbey of Gethsemani, outside of Lousiville, KY. Dubbed “Gethsemani III”, the event brought monks and nuns from Buddhist and contemplative Catholic traditions together to explore the theme of “Monasticism and the Environment.”

The abbey, home and final resting place of Thomas Merton, has previously hosted two such encounters between Buddhist and Christian monastics. Gethsemani I was chronicled in Donald W. Mitchell and James A. Wiseman’s book The Gethsemani Encounter: A Dialogue on the Spiritual Life by Buddhist and Christian Monastics, and Gethsemani II in their book Transforming Suffering: Reflections on Finding Peace in Troubled Times.

You can hear MP3s of each presentation from Gethsemani III’s program at http://www.Gethsemani3.info. Some video clips are also available at the conference’s YouTube page here. And the great Ajahn Punnadhammo (who was a presenter at the conference) offers his reflections on the event at Bhikkhu Blog.

Gethsemani III concluded with a collective statement from the monastic men and women who participated in the conference. Here’s what they said:

We live in a time of environmental crisis and calamity, but also in a time when more and more people are coming together to respond to the suffering of the world. Our monastic interreligious dialogue has brought us to a new awareness of the social and spiritual relevance of ancient monastic traditions that have been sustained for millennia by Buddhist and Catholic communities.

Together we celebrate our common monastic values of reverence for the sacredness of all things, contemplation, humility, simplicity, compassion and generosity. These virtues contribute to a life of nonviolence, balance, and contentment with sufficiency.

We recognize greed and apathy as the poisons at the heart of ecological damage and unbridled materialism. Throughout the centuries, monastic life has inspired generous personal, social and spiritual effort for the good of others. We give and receive in the spirit of gratitude.

We acknowledge our complicity in damaging the environment and will make a sincere and sustained effort to reduce our negative impact on the planet. We are committed to take more mindful, universal responsibility for the way we use and manage the earth’s resources. We resolve to develop our hearts and minds in ways that will contribute to a sustainable and hopeful future for our planet. We renew our commitment to the sacredness of the earth, relating to it as a community, not a commodity.

May our love for all beings and this world sustain our efforts and may our earth be revitalized. This is our prayer and commitment.