A Buddhist Muslim dialogue on the topic “Addressing Violence: Religious Resources for Conflict Resolution” was held at the Mahabodhi International Meditation Center (MIMC) in Leh/Ladakh, India from June 28-30, 2010. This dialogue was the 12th in a series of dialogues organized by the Global Family for Love and Peace (gflp.org) and the Museum of World Religions, this time in collaboration with the Mahabodhi Center (mahabodhi-ladakh.org) and its founder, Ven. Sanghasena Mahathera.

The series was initiated soon after 9/11 by Dharma Master Hsin Tao, founder and abbot of the Wu-sheng Monastery and founder of the Museum of World Religions in Taiwan. The dialogues seek new perspectives of Buddhist and Muslim co-operation in facing the challenges brought on by political, religious, economic and ecological crisis of the 21st century.

The first dialogue took place at Columbia University, followed by dialogues in Malaysia, Indonesia, the UNESCO in Paris, Iran, Spain, Morocco, China, the UN in New York, Taiwan and Australia. The dialogue in Ladakh consisted of three panels addressing the following topics: 1) Aspects of Buddhist-Muslim relations in History and Present Times 2) Buddhist and Muslim Vision for Global Peace 3) Tasks and Challenges for our Contemporary World Since the arrival of Islam in Ladakh at the end of the 14th century, Buddhists and Muslims there have maintained a predominantly non-conflictual kind of co-existence, both communities deeply connected by intermarriages and cultural ties. But political and economic tensions that led to a boycott of Muslim businesses by the Buddhists in the 1980s still have repercussions today. Nevertheless, Ladakh is regarded as a model of peaceful co-existence and cooperation between the religious communities, very different from the neighboring crisis region, Kashmir.

For a report on this Dialogue please see the article authored by Maria Reis Habito in JIRD 6 http://irdialogue.org