A seminar on buddhism organized by the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE) will be held in Strasbourg from 19 to 22 September. The aim of the seminar is to reflect on a form of spirituality now widespread in Western countries. “In the 1990s, the European media points out Father Hans Vöcking, responsible for interreligious dialogue within the CCEE secretariat discovered the buddhists, and declared buddhism the religion of the future”, forgetting that it had already been present “for over 150 years” in Europe. During the colonial period, in fact, the teachings of southern buddhism (Theravada) had been imported by English and French scholars and administrators. Zen buddism arrived in Europe in the 1950s, with the establishment of the European branch of the order “Arya Maitreya Mandala” and the Japanese movements of the Shin buddhists and the “Soka Gakkai”. In the 1980s numerous buddhist schools were set up in European countries, and there was growing public interest in Tibetan buddhism. “At the present time explains Father Vöcking two main movements can be distinguished in Europe: the Asian buddhists, who place the emphasis on devotional forms; and the Western buddhists, who focus on fidelity to buddhist sacred texts and on a meditative approach to buddhist doctrine”. Dialogue with buddhism forms part of the CCEE’s agenda for interreligious dialogue. Previous experiences include the meeting on buddhism, held in cooperation with the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue in Rome from 19 to 22 May 1999. “Communicating the faith in the media culture in Europe” is the theme to be discussed at the annual colloquium promoted by the European episcopal committee for the media (CEEM) which will be held in Aix-en-Provence in France from 19 to 22 September. The participants will include the bishops responsible for the media in their respective episcopal conferences, scholars and experts: among others, Cardinals Godfried Danneels (Brussels), Jean Marie Lustigier (Paris) and Alain Bookbinder, director of the “Ethics and Religion” department of the BBC.
