Carola Roloff

One of the aims of the international and interdisciplinary 5 -year-project „Religion and Dialogue in Modern Societies“ is to develop an approach of dialogical theology. The growing religious pluralization of modern societies has placed the question of religions and dialogue at the center of public and academic attention, along with great expectations for the peaceful coexistence of people from different faiths and cultures tied to it. But how can dialogue in the sense of an interreligious hermeneutics actually work? To find out about it more, a multi-religious and interdisciplinary team of researchers in Hamburg conducted a dialogical experiment centered on key religious texts. Instead of exclusively reconstructing existing theory, theory was mainly developed from an empirical analysis of practice.

Disziplin kann man nicht in äußeren Dingen finden, wie in der Erde, den Steinen oder Bergen, sondern nur im Inneren fühlender Wesen. Als gewöhnliche Menschen — Frauen wie Männer — sind wir uns darin gleich, Fehler und Qualitäten zu haben. Unter dem Einfluß von Leidenschaften — sogenannten klesas (nyon mongs) — wie Begierde, Wut oder Zorn, Stolz und Neid schaden wir anderen durch die zehn unheilsamen Handlungen von Körper, Sprache und Geist: Töten, Stehlen, Sexuelles Fehlverhalten, Lügen, Verleumden, grobe Rede, unsinniges Geschwätz, Habgier, Übelwollen und verkehrte Ansichten. Ab und zu entwickeln wir Vertrauen, liebevolle Zuneigung oder Mitgefühl und führen, davon motiviert, einige heilsame Handlungen durch, stehen anderen hilfreich zur Seite und nützen sogar der Gesellschaft

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In this paper I analyze how to understand and deal with the challenge of religious pluralization and diversity from a Buddhist perspective. I argue that the different beliefs and convictions we encounter in Europe today pose a challenge which has to be dealt with. Social cohesion and peace in contemporary societies not only require basic principles such as equality and religious freedom to be respected, but also a readiness to take responsibility and accept certain rules in order to live and act together harmoniously. In the case of Europe, taking gender equality and religious education at school as examples, this framework has to be the European rule of law. In this context I question the dichotomous division between the secular and the religious, and whether our European understanding of the secular needs to be adjusted in order to include rather than exclude practitioners of religion.

Das Konzept „Spiritual Care“ (spirituelle Fürsorge) oder „Buddhist Care“ (buddhistische „Seelsorge“ [b.S.]) als professionalisierte b.S. ist eine sehr junge Bewegung, die ihre Anfänge in den 1950er bis 1980er Jahren nahm und heute weltweit anzutreffen ist. Die traditionelle Fürsorge/ →Sorge für andere (to care for others) geht auf den Buddha selbst zurück und findet sich schon in den kanonischen Texten des Buddhismus. Mitgefühl oder Fürsorge (sanskrit/pāli: karuṇā) ist eine zentrale ethische Grundhaltung des Buddhismus. Man versteht darunter nicht nur den Wunsch, dass alle Lebewesen frei sein mögen von →Leid und den Ursachen des Leids, sondern auch das Engagement, selbst anderen Menschen in physisch und psychisch leidvollen Krisensituationen wie Alter, Krankheit und Tod beizustehen. In Deutschland erreichen b. Zentren und Dachverbände zunehmend Anfragen, Menschen in schwierigen Lebenssituationen beizustehen. Zum b.n Beistand gehört je nach Tradition, Kranke zu besuchen, mit ihnen zu meditieren, sie mit→Gebeten bzw. speziellen→Ritualen (Pūjās) zu begleiten, ihnen in Vorbereitung auf den Sterbeprozess Anleitung für die Meditation zu geben, b. Bestattungsfeiern auszurichten und auch nach dem Tod Rituale für den Übergang in einen sogenannten „Reinen Bereich“ oder für eine gute Wiedergeburt durchzuführen. In Asien wurde z. B. bereits 1998 mithilfe der Buddhist Lotus Hospice Care Foundation (LHCF) in Kooperation mit der Palliative Unit des National Taiwan University Hospitals und des b.n Dharma Drum Institute of the Liberal Arts ein „Clinical Buddhist Chaplain“-Trainingsprogramm eingeführt. Die Absolventen arbeiten danach in Hospizen oder engagieren sich in ihren Gemeinden. Sie sind verpflichtet, regelmäßig an Fortbildungen teilzunehmen. Aus b.r Sicht ist es wichtig, die Schulung in Achtsamkeit mit dem b.n Geistestraining in Liebe (sanskrit: maitrī, pāli: metta) und Mitgefühl zu verknüpfen. Dieses bezieht sich auf alle fühlenden Wesen – ohne Ausnahme und ungeachtet ihrer →Religionszugehörigkeit, ihrer Nationalität oder ihres Geschlechts. Kernkompetenz b.r Fürsorge-/Umsorge-Praxis sind: Mitgefühl, Zuhören (deep listening), rituelle Kompetenz, kulturelles Verständnis und Selbstreflexion. Je nach Kontext und Rechtslage finden zwei unterschiedliche Care-Modelle Anwendung: intrareligiös (d. h. Buddhisten kümmern sich um Buddhisten) oder →interreligiös-säkular (d. h. Buddhisten kümmern sich gemeinsam mit Seelsorgerinnen oder Seelsorgern anderer Konfessionen undWeltanschauungen um alle). Spirituelle Fürsorge, die „Dharma-basiert“ und somit b. ist, basiert auf den Lehren des historischen Buddha und/oder den drei b.n Haupt-Traditionen: Theravāda, Ostasiatischer und Tibetischer Buddhismus. Allen Traditionen gemeinsam ist Mitgefühl und „[d]ie Aufforderung mit dem Tod zu leben, hinter die Fassade des Lebens in den Spiegel des Todes zu blicken“ (Heller 2012: 62).

Taking women's ordination—a main gender issue debated in Buddhism—as an example, I reason why discrimination against women in religion not only violates women's human rights but also basic Buddhist principles such as non-violence. I question whether from a Buddhist perspective religion and rights are two mutually exclusive terms, and then discuss two areas of tension: a tension between religious and secular law, on the one hand, and a tension between religious freedom and gender equality, on the other. Based on this, I analyse how the dynamics of these areas of tension and gender issues could become a driving force for interreligious dialogue and for dialogue between religions and secular societies.

I. The Gurudharma On Bhiksunl Ordination in Different Vinayas According to tradition, the gurudharmas, "principles to be respected," were stipulated by the Buddha as a pre-condition for granting his foster mother Mahaprajapati Gautami the higher ordination. The different Vinaya texts report that by accepting these principles to be respected Mahaprajapati Gautami became the first bhiksuni (nun), marking the starting point for the coming into being of an order of bhiksunis. While the different Vinayas agree in mentioning a set of eight such gurudharmas, the sequence in which these principles are listed varies considerably, as does their actual formulation. (3) The themes broached by these eight principles to be respected concern matters of monastic etiquette, such as stipulating that a bhiksuni should behave respectfully even towards a junior bhiksu (monk), and the carrying out of legal acts. One legal act mentioned in all Vinaya lists of the eight gurudharmas is the procedure for conducting bhiksuni ordination. As a starting point for subsequent discussion, in what follows the different versions of this gurudharma that appear in the canonical Vinayas are translated from the Chinese, Sanskrit and Pali originals; (4) the Tibetan version is taken up in more detail in the second part of the present paper. The translations below are given in alphabetical order according to the school affiliation of the respective Vinaya. The numbering given in brackets reflects the position of this particular gurudharma within the whole set of eight. I.1 Translation Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (no. 4): "A siksamana (probationer) who has trained in the precepts should request the higher ordination from the community of bhiksus." (5) Lokottaravada-Mahasamghika Vinaya (no. 2): "A girl of eighteen years, having been instructed in the training and having completed this training for two years, should seek the higher ordination from both communities." (6) Mahasamghika Vinaya (no. 2): "Having trained for two years in the precepts, she receives higher ordination in both communities." (7) Mahisasaka Vinaya (no. 4): "A siksamana who has trained in the precepts for two years should receive the higher ordination in both communities." (8) Mulasarvastivada Vinaya (no. 1): "The bhiksunis should seek from the bhiksus the going forth and the higher ordination, the becoming of a bhiksuni ." (9) Sarvastivada Vinaya (no. 2): "A bhiksunishould request the higher ordination from the community of bhiksus." (10) Sammitiya Vinaya (1): "A bhiksunishould certainly seek the gaining of the higher ordination from the community of bhiksus." (11) Theravada Vinaya (no. 6): "A siksamana who has trained for two years in six principles should seek for higher ordination from both communities." (12) I.2 Comparative study Comparing the canonical Vinaya versions of the gurudharma stipulation concerning how bhiksuni ordination should be carried out brings to light two significant differences. One of these two differences concerns the period to be observed as a probationer, or siksamana. While the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya version simply speaks of a siksamana who has trained in the precepts, the Mahasamghika, Mahisasaka, and Theravada Vinaya versions note that her probationary period lasts for two years. The Lokottaravada-Mahasamghika Vinaya also indicates that she should be eighteen years old. The Theravada Vinaya provides still further detail, as it mentions that during these two years the siksamana has to observe six rules. Alongside these variations in the degree to which the details of the probationary training are introduced, perhaps the most prominent difference among these versions is that the formulations of this gurudharma in the Mulasarvastivada, Sarvastivada, and Sammitiya Vinayas do not mention the need to observe a probationary period at all. …

... Möglichkeiten von Religionen:„In allen heu-te noch lebendigen Religionen besteht das Gebot des Friedens, auch im Chris-tentum und im ... ermutigt Buddhisten, den großen Gestaltungsspielraum, der sich in der Geschichte des Buddhismus hier im Westen nun biete, ...