The Kumamoto interreligious dialogue group

    On February 11th, the Kumamoto Interreligious Dialogue Group will carry out the first of its annual activities in the current year (2013) meeting at the Aira Kannon Temple of Kikuchi, a temple belonging to the Tendai School of Buddhism.

   This group was founded by Shinmeizan in 1991 on the occasion of a study meeting, held at the Tettori Parish Church of Kumamoto, in which both Fr. Franco and Ven. Tairyu Furukawa spoke on interreligious dialogue. Among the almost one hundred people who attended the meeting, about forty accepted the invitation to join a permanent group which would promote interreligious dialogue in the area of Kumamoto Prefecture. 
   After four years of preparation, two of which spent in studying the directives on interreligious dialogue given by the Catholic Church right at that time (1991) and two in listening to representatives of the main religious traditions of Japan, we started our activity. 
   The members of the group are mostly Catholic, but the group is opened to anyone, and actually also non Christians have joined it. The group meets four times a year and its activity consists especially in arranging visits to Buddhist and Shinto Temples, or to the local headquarters of other religions, trying to built friendship among the followers of the different religions, especially by fostering a better mutual knowledge, built by actually meeting one another and listening to one another's explanation of one's own faith. One meeting every year is dedicated to reflect on the issues raised by the practice of interreligious dialogue and to give information on what is happening in Japan and in the world at large in the field of interreligious dialogue. 
    The visit set for Feb. 11th at the Aira Kannon Tendai Buddhist Temple of Kikuchi will be the 69th such meeting of the "Interreligious dialogue group of Kumamoto". 
   After this meeting, this year program will continue with a visit to the the Shinto Shrine of Eitate at Kami Mashiki, on April 29th, then with the visit to the Buddhist Temple of Sogaku, situated in Kumamoto city and belonging to the Soto Zen tradition, planned for June 9th. The last meeting of the year will be held on October 20th and will be dedicated to information on the main events concerning interreligious dialogue occurred during the year in Japan and around the world. 
   In organising the activities of this group Shinmeizan relies upon the precious cooperation of Mr. Uemura, recently joined also by Mr. Nagahama, who take care of all the secretarial work necessary to keep in touch with the members of the group and planning the various events.