WATCH THE VIDEOS: The Second Way of Peace Fellowship Dialogue
The Way of Peace grew out of the 1995 John Main Seminar – The Good Heart – in which the Dalai Lama commented on the Gospels and had a dialogue with Laurence Freeman and other Christian teachers. The Way of Peace includes dialogue in spiritual practice, collaboration for the common good of humanity and pilgrimage as well as meetings among scholars.
It has recently inspired the Way of Peace Fellowship which formed among students of Georgetown University and Catholic University of America in Washington DC. The Fellowship held a dialogue at Georgetown University on 18 April with students and three teachers from different traditions: Brahmachari Vrajvihari Sharan (Director of Hindu Life at Georgetown University), Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, (co-founder and Director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership) and Fr. Laurence Freeman OSB (Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation). Sean Hagan (member of the Executive Committee of WCCM) was the moderator.
The three main themes of the panel concerned contemporary spirituality and religion: the role of meditation; dogma, doctrine, and scripture; and education and values.
This was the second Way of Peace Fellowship Dialogue, sponsored by The John Main Center at Georgetown and The Catholic University of America, The World Community for Christian Meditation, and The Meditatio Foundation.
A Way of Faith and Common Ground
The Sunday, May 22nd edition of The Spirit of Things podcast on Australia’s ABC Radio featured an interview with Fr. Laurence Freeman and host Rachel Kohn. Fr. Freeman spoke about the hope that different faiths can be brought together in meditation. Fr. Freeman said, “I think it is possible that if we meditate with people of different beliefs we can create a community of faith among people of different beliefs.”
The 54-minute podcast is available as a link from ABC’s The Spirit of Things website here.
Meditatio Seminar in Prague: Spirituality for a Secular Society
The Meditatio Seminar Spirituality for a Secular Society was held in Prague, Czech Republic, on 11 and 12 May. The event had about 220 participants and the speakers were: Prof Charles Taylor (Philosopher), Prof Tomas Halik (Philosopher), Prof Ivana Noble (Ecumenical theologian) and Laurence Freeman (Benedictine monk, Director of WCCM). After the seminar, a retreat was led by Laurence Freeman with about 70 participants. The talks from the seminar will be available soon in video from our Meditatio Store.
The Way of Fellowship meeting in Washington DC
The Catholic University of America will host The Way of Fellowship meeting on 4 April. The Way of Peace Fellowship consists of over 60 young adults from both Catholic University of America and Georgetown University. At this meeting, they will have the chance to ask questions of an expert panel on spirituality among the millennial generation. A meditation, group discussions, and Dalai Lama and Laurence Freeman OSB videos will be a part of the seminar.
Participants at the Panel: Fr Laurence Freeman OSB (Director of the WCCM), The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi (Director of the Dalai Lama Center at MIT); Rev. Jim Wiseman (Emeritus Professor at CUA and Abbot of St. Anselm’s Abbey); Dr. Bill Dinges (CUA Professor); and Dr. Leo Lefebure (Georgetown Professor).