WelCom May 2022
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interfaith Relations (NZCBCIR) received a letter late last year from the Buddhist Council of New Zealand, wishing everyone the very best for Christmas.
Robert Hunt, chair for the Executive Committee of the NZ Buddhist Council, wrote:
“Dear Catholic Sisters and Brothers,
For our Buddhist communities we write to wish you an auspicious Christmas season. Even as we collectively transition through a period of societal difficulty, our hope is that the wonderful Advent themes of love, hope, joy and peace will be strengthened for all. We appreciate deeply the teachings that Jesus of Nazareth as bringing forth in the world universal loving regard for others, compassion and the spreading of peace.
In spiritual friendship we encourage in each other the cultivation of goodness, and do our best to show ourselves as we are – so in that way we share with you for this season, from our Buddhist style of prayer:
May all your good deeds now and to come, accord you and your families’ harmony and well-being over Christmas and throughout the coming year. May you all be happy. May you all be free from suffering.
As mutual participants in Interfaith it is our wish that we continue to work together for the realisation of understanding in the world around us.
With aroha.”
NZBCIR chair Colin MacLeod said, ‘For many years it has been [our] tradition to write to communities of other faiths wishing them well as they celebrate significant religious days and times in their own faith traditions. It is an opportunity to acknowledge the rich diversity of faith among those with whom we share this earth. This letter is a wonderful example of a community initiating an outreach to us with the same sentiment.’