Messengers of Interreligious Dialogue

2009-12-08T20:09:00.003+01:00

Next step after all these meetings with a religious communities - to create the workshop, which should have to share different religious questions. For it was not difficult, cause I have some abilities to run trainings and workshops. I was doing this kind of activities in Siberian Creative Group, also during of YTNF project (http://www.ytnf.org/)

Then me and Anna have decided to divide our duties. It was responsible for first half, and I for the second part. And thus we have begun our joint activity. It was interesting to work together - certainly there were disagreements. But as a result all has turned out well. But our the first workshop was not pleasant to me. We had a topic - Stereotypes in religion. Something has gone not how we would like. But it was our omission. But we knew the errors. And it was the first our joint experience. After the first workshop we have changed everything, we have changed all exercises. And it was only the beginning of our project. I have really felt that it is necessary to work.

Buddhism

2009-12-08T18:15:00.004+01:00

Being citizienship from one of the main centers of Buddhism in Russia I was wondering that Buddhism is a not religion. It was on the meeting with "Diamond way". I'm from Buryatia republic (Russia) and in my opinion evrey 2-nd person - is a buddhist. "Our" buddhists are realy sure in one, that Buddha - is a God and Buddhism - it's a religion.
What about exactly we're talking you can read Marina's post.
After meeting I had a different feelings. Sometimes, during of discuss I felt even some malice, cause I thought that people don't know nothing about religion.
I'm not a buddhist, but I was growing up in a buddhist family and from childhood I've got knowledges about some traditions and rituals. I knew who is Buddha. And whole my life I was living up to this rules.
After this meeting I understood that everybody have own imagination and I can't critisize another opinion. For me it was a good experience. I've got a lot new information.

Different people - different minds.

Meeting with the "Diamond Way" Buddhist community

2009-10-29T16:10:00.000+01:00

On 3rd July, our project kicked off with a visit to the "Diamond Way" Buddhist centre in Poznan. We were welcomed by six or seven members of the community and, after sitting down in a cozy little garden, we started asking questions and discussing their religious views. The result was a very interesting conversation which gave us more knowledge and new information about the topic (personally I am quite interested in Buddhism and Oriental religions in general, but until that day I didn't actually know so much about them...).

The first thing that struck me was to learn that, according to their view, Buddhism is not a proper religion - it's not even philosophy or psychology, but rather a combination of the three of them. They actually defined themselves as "atheists" because, unlike other religions, they don't believe in a traditional God-Creator, but they rather share the main belief that everything in the universe is connected and interrelated, so all beings are parts of the same whole (space is the only element which is independent from the others, because it cannot change). "Enlightenment" means achieving this final awareness, becoming able to perceive the universe as a whole.

"Buddhism" is a broad concept, encompassing many different branches which follow different teachers, but they all have something in common: they aim at achieving happiness and freedom, and in this search lies the real essence of Buddhism which unifies all the various currents. Each branch of Buddhism is independent from the others, there is no such thing as a supreme leader who stands at the top of a hierarchy. The "teachers" are people who managed to reach Enlightenment and are willing to help others showing them the path, but they don't have any political power and the Buddhist don't think it's good to mix religion with politics.

After this, the discussion shifted on their attitude towards other religions. Buddhist don't try to convert other people, because Buddhism is not for everyone: the important thing is that everybody can find their way to happiness, so all religions are equally important as long as they make people happy. Nevertheless, our interlocutors established a distinction between "good" and "bad" religions: according to them, some religions are bad in their essence because they don't give happiness, but they do the opposite, pushing people to kill, use violence, ill-treat women etc. In this respect, I realized that the image they have about such religions as Islam (for example) comes basically from the media, as it happens for most of Western people, and this made me reflect on how the lack of first-hand contact with real people can easily create stereotypes in our mind. In the light of this awareness, our project became even more significant to me as a means to promote dialogue and understanding between people of different faiths.

For more infos: www.diamondway-buddhism.org

Meeting with the Jews

2009-10-28T21:15:00.000+01:00

Our meeting with the Jewish community took place on a Saturday morning, and this gave us a wonderful opportunity to participate in their celebration of the Shabbat. Before that, we had time to visit their headquarters and have a chat with some of them, who explained how their community was founded in Poznan and gave us some information about what was going to happen next.

Then the celebration began, and we went with the members of the community to a small chapel in which they prayed for some time; after that we moved to the dining room, where one long table and a smaller one (for us) were laid out with all kinds of food and delicacies. Before sitting down and eating, we participated in the ceremony of hands washing: every one of us entered a small room where we washed our hands pouring water from a jug, three times for each hand. Then we took our places at the table and the Jews blessed the food with a prayer. Unfortunately I couldn't understand much about it, due to my ignorance of the Polish language, but nonetheless I found it very interesting to witness this moment of celebration. The food was delicious, but the best thing about this day was the kindness and openness with which the Jewish community welcomed us and shared with us this special day.

Meeting with the Muslims

2009-10-17T20:43:00.000+02:00

In the last of our meetings with the religious communities in Poznan, we visited the headquarters of the Muslims, where we sat down with two kind and smiling men talking about religion. They explained that the three main monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are closely connected to each other and came in a succession, in which each one accepted the prophets of its predecessors: as a result, Islam recognizes both Jesus Christ and the Jews' prophets as messengers sent by God, whereas the other two religions don't accept the prophets who came after. For the Muslims, Mohammed is the last and definitive prophet, come to complete the teachings of the previous ones: he is like the last brick which was missing to finish the wall of God's teachings to humanity. It was very interesting to learn about their faith, based on five basic principles (Allah is the only god and Mohammed his prophet; prayer; Ramadam; charity; pilgrimage to the Mecca) and on a series of rules which discipline every single moment of daily life. The importance of Ramadam lies in the fact that fasting allows more time for praying and thinking, and in this way they can feel always in touch with God. But the most interesting thing for me was probably to learn that, according to the Koran, it's forbidden to force other people to become Muslims: they have a tolerant actitude towards other religions and they believe that everyone should be free to choose their own faith. This is an important reminder of the fact that indirect knowledge can often lead to misunderstandings and stereotypes, as in our Western culture people usually have quite a different image about Islam. Meeting these people and enjoying their simple and genuine hospitality was another confirmation of how important it is to help direct contact between religious communities in order to promote dialogue and mutual respect.

Meeting with the Buddhists

2009-10-10T21:24:00.000+02:00

One week after visiting the "Diamond Way" Buddhist community, we were lucky enough to have a meeting with another group of Buddhists, who belong to different currents (Tibetan and Japanese in particular) but have a common meeting place in which they gather to meditate and celebrate their rituals, either separately or all together. We had a very nice chat with them, sitting around a low table and helping ourselves with tea, fruit and cakes.

They spoke about their beliefs and explained that for them "God" is not a creator, but it's the highest of the six levels of existance through which we pass during our life cycles, reincarnating more and more times after death. Nevertheless, they consider Buddhism a proper religion and not just a philosophy: a path of life which one decides to follow in a total way, accepting everything about it.
Since some of us (namely myself) had shown some interest in the subject of meditation, our hosts were so kind to show us their meditation room, where we even had a small meditation session all together.

The conversation became even more interesting when we started talking about other religions. One of our interlocutors, in particular, told us that he used to be a Christian, but his conversion to Buddhism was not a break with the past; on the contrary, it was a continuation of the same path, as for him "a good Buddhist is also a good Christian" and "becoming a Buddhist was a way to become a better Christian". Other members of the community didn't completely agree with this idea, stressing instead the major differences between the two religions (i.e., the Buddhists don't believe in God as the Christians do); however, I found this point of view very interesting and inspiring, because it goes deep to the very core of religions: no matter what people believe and how they pray or meditate, anyone will be "a good person" if they are able to follow their real nature and achieve harmony between their body and soul.

Meeting with the Catholics

2009-10-06T21:39:00.000+02:00

On the same day of our chat with the Mormons, we went to a Catholic church where a young and friendly priest was waiting for us, together with some other youngsters involved in the activities of the parish (not only Sunday masses but also evening activities, weekly meetings, trips, etc.)

Personally, I found very interesting to compare the religious situations in Poland and in Italy, my homeland: both are traditionally Catholic countries, with relatively little presence of other confessions, and this fact plays an important role in defining people's conscience and beliefs. All the young people we met grew up in Catholic families and have always lived in a society deeply influenced by Catholicism, without many opportunities of contact with - for example - Buddhists or Muslims, whom they have only seen on tv (in Italy the situation is pretty much the same); however, they do meet representatives of other religious groups sometimes, and we were told in particular about a meeting they had with the Jews, in which they enjoyed comparing views and praying together.
I couldn't help feeling this meeting in a different way compared to the other ones, because as a child I received a Catholic education and I used to be a Catholic myself: therefore, my purpose was not so much to gather information about their religious beliefs, but rather to understand their position about some issues which I consider important (the role of the Church, the supposedly unquestionable authority of the Pope, etc). Although personally I didn't learn anything new or unexpected about the subject, the discussion we had was significant in different and maybe more important ways: after this meeting I started to question the meaning of "tolerance" and I understood that sometimes it's easier for us to tolerate and respect something or someone totally different and far away from our lives, but paradoxically it's much more complicated when it comes to things we have to deal with everyday, which directly influence our daily lives and relationships. In this respect I discovered that I still have much to learn, and that my personal experiences had prevented me to listen in a really open and unprejudiced way. This meeting taught me something which goes beyond merely religious issues, and which proved itself really important both for my personal development and for the meaning of our project.

Meeting with the Mormons

2009-10-06T17:12:00.000+02:00

Our second meeting brought us to the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", the religious community whose members are known as the Mormons. We sat together and had a chat with a small group of young boys and girls (about 20 years old), all coming from the USA (except for one Mongolian girl). They told us they came to Poland on a mission and they will spend two years in the country. We were quite curious about their religious beliefs, and we found answers to all our questions. We learned that the Mormons are Christians who believe that the Church originally founded by Jesus Christ has lost its authority throughout the centuries; so, about 200 years ago, a Prophet came to restore the "real" Church, going back to the original teaching of Jesus. Other Prophets came after him, and now there is one alive, who is the messenger of God and is surrounded by 12 apostoles, like at the time of Jesus Christ. Most of these boys and girls come from Mormon families, but some of them got in touch with this faith later, thanks to other people.
During our conversation we could see how strongly they believe in the teachings of the Prophet, which concern many aspects of their daily life: for instance, they are not allowed to smoke, to drink alcohol and not even coffee or tea, they don't go to bed very late and all in all they try to live a very healthy life. So many rules may seem difficult to follow for such young people, but these guys seem to be truly happy and, despite the obvious difficult moments, they still hang on to their faith with a strong sense of service and of self-realization. They respect people who follow different religions, because they believe non-Mormons can also be good people and find their happiness, although "they could be even happier" if they discovered the Holy Truth which the Mormons feel so deeply within themselves.

This meeting left a nice memory inside me: the awareness that dialogue is often the best way to get to know someone who seems so different from ourselves. I had never spoken to a Mormon before and all my knowledge about them came from the stories I heard about their strict rules of behaviour and their missions around the world; now I can feel that, although we have different ways of living and thinking, a contact was established between us. However, the topic of "happiness" left a question buzzing inside my mind. If someone manages to find the way which gives them perfect happiness, would it be correct to presume the same way would make all the other people happy as well?
More infos about the Mormons: www.mormon.org

2009-08-19T21:55:00.013+02:00

We are volunteers for Interreligious dialogue. We are four, coming from Armenia, Georgia, Italy and Russia. We were divided in two groups: Tuyana and I in one group, Marina and Keti in the other group. We had a few workshops. The first workshop made by me and Tuyana took place in Zalesie. Zalesie is a
small town from one side near Terespol, and from other side near the border with Belarus. From Poznan (where we are living now) to Zalesie the distance by
train is 700 km. In Zalezie we met 6 volunteers, who were working with children from a refugee centre.
We were informed that in the refugee centre lived families from Chechenya and from Georgia (Caucas). Of course, we had a nice time and we spent two days with them.

Our second workshop was in Zabikovo. Zabikovo is a small town near Poznan. The volunteers in Zabikovo were working in a museum. They helped the organizers to find some important objects or memories from prisoners dating back to 1941-45.
We had our third workshop in Linin. Linin is near Warsaw. The volunteers of Linin also work with children from a refugee centre.
The fourth workshop (from 10th to 13th August) look place in Majdanek, near Lublin.
The volunteers of Majdanek were helping to clean
places and statues from 1941-45. We stayed in Majdanek 3 days, and we also worked with the volunteers. But before starting to work, we visited monuments and barracks which now serve as museums. Then we visited Krakow and Auschwitz. I wrote an article about our
visits to Majdanek, Krakow, Auschwitz and Birkenau. You can find it below.

In Majdanek we decided to go to the cinema and
watch the film "Lector". I think it was a good idea to visit Krakow and other places too, because to be in Poland and not to see this places, in my opinion, is a big mistake.

On 18th August I had my own workshop with people from the office. The topic of my workshop was "About speech therapy", because I'm a speech therapist, and I preferred to have a workshop about my specialty. The aim of this workshop was to be informed about our and our kids' speech development.

On 27th August, I and Marina will have our workshop in "Bom" in
Poznan.
On 28th August I am going to visit my best friend.
She is Armenian, but she lives in Barcelona.
She is an opera singer. I will spend one week
with my friend and I'll return to Poznan on 4th September.

From 8th September, we will go to Monar Marianowek, near the Baltic sea. We will stay there for 2 weeks, and it will be our last workcamp. After this workcamp on 24th and 25th September we have
Evaluation In The Office.
In the end I will go back to Armenia on 28th September.
I will start my work in the Pedagogical University with my students. I have worked there for about 6 years already.

ARTICLE

I had never imagined to be in Poland, especially in Krakow, Auschwitz...
Why never? For me this feeling was something new...
I am a normal person as all people, but as a young member of this generation,
when I was in Majdanek and Auschwitz I felt everything on my skin
witnessing those pictures, films, voices...
I am in Poland because I'm participating in an SCI project about
interreligious dialogue. We had many meetings with
volunteers, coming from other countries and participating in
different projects. We went to Zalesie, where volunteers were working with children from a refugee centre, and to Majdanek and Zabikowo, where they were
working in museums and helping to find some
important things dating back to 1941-45.
I was in Lublin and Krakow and I visited the barracks in
Majdanek, which now serve as museums. They saved everything they
could: clothes, shoes, beds, hairs, glasses, plates...
In Birkenau and Auschwitz they kept every detail from this
period. Nobody can be indifferent, everyone was crying. As for me, being in Majdanek and Auschwitz, I think that everyone felt pain on their
skin, of course not so strong as people who were living there during the
years 1941-45.
I am thinking that I can't comment, of course, I cannot blame anyone, but I'm a
usual person and I have eyes, ears, mind, so I have logic, mentality, so how
couldn't I say something after my visit.
Yes it is true, that my grandfather from my mother's side was fighting in this war, as every young people from the Soviet Union. He was in this war for 5 years and he also was taken captive with his four friends. After they could run away from the concentration camp. Because he was a good shooter, the German SS promised 5000 marks to find and catch my grandfather. My grandfather's name was Michele, but they called him "Carno". Fortunately they coulnd't find him. He died just 3 years ago.
And unfortunately many innocent people died. Why? Because one "person" doesn't like other nationalites and wants to exterminate Jewish, Polish, Gipsies and others. One person, in my opinion, can't realize thise kind of calamity and disaster. How can people be so simple-hearted and believe?
I want to ask who'll read this article at the present, can a large-scale murder of nations happen? Can people be so unconcerned and indifferent now?
But now Jewish people are living, they could survive thanks to their unity.
Why is this situation painful for me? I am Armenian, my country has just this kind of problem with Turkey. We had a genocide in 1912-15, and during those years millions of Armenian innocent people were murdered. But unlike German people, Turkish people don't admit the Armenian genocide. As well I have good imagination about a large-scale murder of nation, and not only me but all Armenian people. I want to say thank you to the Polish people, because they were among the first ones to publicly admit the Armenian genocide.
Yes, we know that every country has different problems and somewhere there are still assassins, murders. Where does this come from? Discrimination? Violation of human rights? Hatred, avversion? Violence?
Wheres, each of us can treat by conscious. It is not, that everyone of us can be favourable, generous, elevated. It is not, that each of us able to do admiration and be hummanist for our future, for our new generation, at least for our usual life...
Let's not forget about genocides, about II World War, but let's also not allow this kind of cases to reoccur.
Does it depend on...?

Workshop at "Unia Izerska"

2009-07-29T10:59:00.000+02:00

During the last week of July, Ketevan and I (Marina) visited for a few days a workcamp which was hosted by the organization "Unia Izerska", based in the South-West of Poland, close to the borders with Germany and Czech Republic. It's a beautiful place, surrounded by nature, and we spent two full days with the volunteers, working with them at the construction of a bus stop.
On the second day of our visit, we run for the first time our workshop about interreligious dialogue with the volunteers. The group was very nice and included people from different countries and religious beliefs (Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, agnostics); everybody was interested in the topic, so we had very good discussions about it. I had never run a workshop before and I found this experience absolutely rewarding, especially in view of the fact that all the activities had been conceived and prepared by ourselves.

The atmosphere was very nice and open for dialogue, and each one of us could learn something valuable from this experience. We said goodbye to the volunteers with a sense of gratitude for the moments we had shared, and I can say after this first try I'm looking forward to the opportunity of running new workshops and trying to improve more and more.

First workshop at Unia Izerska

2009-07-28T19:01:00.000+02:00

In the second part of our project, we had to create our own workshops about interreligious dialogue. We separeted into groups and the first visit of our group was at Unia Izerska: there were 8 participants, and some of them were Buddhists, Catholics, Muslims and so on. It was very interesting to run a workshop with mixed religious representatives.

Preparation of our own workshops

2009-07-24T12:04:00.000+02:00

Preparation of our own workshops: creating activities, painting trees for a definition of interreligios dialogue...

Meeting with religious communities in Poland

2009-07-20T16:46:00.004+02:00

Meeting with Mormons

Meeting with Jews

Meeting with Buddhists

Meeting with the Muslims

The first part of our project included meetings with religious communities in Poland. We had very interesting meetings with Muslims, Catholics, Mormons, two currents of Buddhists and Jews; we had discussions with them, they were very friendly and open with us and we could understand more about other religions and also see some rituals. These meetings were very interesting and very useful for our workshops.

Workshops with Iza and Sophie

2009-07-18T23:59:00.000+02:00

Workshop with Sophie

The workshop with Sophie was very useful and important for us, because after this we had to create our own workshops and she taught us and gave us very interesting advice about how to do it.

Workshop with Iza

After the meetings with religious communities, we had two meetings in the SCI office with Iza and Sophie, about how to prepare our own workshops. The meeting with Iza was very deep and very interesting, we also made presentations of our countries on a map and we were coming from 7 different countries: Rafael from Spain, Iza from Poland, Sophie and Laetitia from France, Marina from Italy, Tuyana from Russia-Buriatia, Anna from Armenia and Ketevan from Georgia.

Learning to create a workshop

2009-07-18T22:15:00.000+02:00

After meeting the various religious communities in Poznan, we were ready to start another phase of our project. For three days in a row we attended workshops at the SCI office, where our friends Sophie and Iza helped us understand the principles of non-formal education and how we could use all the information we had learnt to create educational activities for young people.

Polish lessons

2009-07-15T17:49:00.000+02:00

Our project also gave us the opportunity to learn some basic Polish language, which is necessary for us during our stay in Poland, and these lessons were very useful for us.

Visit to the Museum of Agriculture

2009-07-10T18:00:00.000+02:00

One day, our friend Milosz from SCI-Poland took us to Puszczykowo for a visit to the Agricultural Museum and Tatars Museum in Poland, which was very interesting and very useful for us to create our workshops.