Intercultural Dialogue Trip to Turkey 2012:
Buddhists and Muslims Together
The Anatolia Cultural & Dialogue Centre in Hong Kong (ACDC) invited and hosted two delegations from HKU - Centre for Buddhist Studies Alumni Association (CBSAA) during July and August this summer. The ACDC is a non-governmental Turkish cultural organization that promotes cultural & interfaith dialogue exchange to promote understanding between different communities.
The Buddhist groups toured cities in Turkey, visited historical monuments, schools, media offices, charitable foundations, and private homes. The local Turkish hosts shared their hospitality, cultural heritage and Muslim practices of daily life in this secular modern society. Numerous discussions were shared throughout the travels, and reciprocally the Turkish people learned more about Buddhism and Chinese values.
Buddhists and Muslims both came away with new appreciation of common virtues, shared human kinship, and mutual desire for peaceful societies in the world today. Please enjoy reading some of the reflective essays on the experience in Turkey from the Buddhist perspective:
“Fethullah Gülen – a Special Movement”
“Planting Seeds of Understanding”
“Love and Compassion: Rumi’s Seven Advices”
“An Initial Experience of Sufi Mysticism”
“Rupa and Form Manifestations Encountered in Turkey”
“My Personal Experience of Ramadan”
“Do Buddhists do Good Things to be Rewarded?”
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