Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre met recently with a Tibetan Buddhist leader and teacher to discuss their shared values and efforts to work for the common good.
The 13th Kundeling Tatsak Rinpoche was in town to visit Louisville’s Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion, the North American seat of the monastery where he resides in southern India. He was accompanied by monks who currently reside in Louisville.
Archbishop Fabre said he welcomed the visit.
“We discussed those values that we share, like meeting the needs of the poor, and how we can do those together. It was wonderful to visit with him.
“The church’s effort with regard to interfaith dialogue and interfaith activity is something we’re always seeking to expand,” the archbishop added. “The opportunity to work with the monks, to work for the common good in Louisville, is something I look forward to.”
The Rinpoche, who represents a 600-year-old lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, presented Archbishop Fabre with a Tibetan-style butter lamp that signifies the light of wisdom and a white scarf, called a khata, a sign of welcome and honor, according to Anne Walter, the director of the Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion.
Walter said the monks wanted to formally welcome the new archbishop and establish a relationship with him.
Currently, three Tibetan Buddhist monks reside in Louisville at the center on Hubbards Lane. The center provides programs on peacemaking and nonviolence, the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, interfaith dialogue and human rights issues.
The center is the North American seat of the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Karnataka, India.
Interfaith dialogue and interfaith activity have rich potential for an ethically vibrant world-building.