(from right) Ven. Chang Wen, Ven. Guo Yuan, Amb. Wang and Bhiksuni Chuehmen.
In the morning of March 21st, three Buddhist Monks called on ROC Ambassador to the Holy See H.E. Larry Yu-yuan Wang. They were Ven. Guo Yuan, Chief Master of the Dharma Drum Mountain Taipei, Ven. Chang Wen, Director of the Dharma Drum Retreat Center in New York, and Bhiksuni Chuehmen, Coordinator of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order of the South East Asian Branch.
They came to Italy to attend the international conference hosted by the Focolare Movement commemorating the 6th anniversary of the passing away of Chiara Lubich, founder of the said movement. The conference was held in Castel Gandolfo from March 17 through 19, with a conclusive meeting on March 20, and the three Buddhist monks contributed significantly to its success.
This event brought together about 230 members of various religions; such as Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Shintoists, Taoists, and Christians from 31 countries in the world. The Buddhist monks heartily thanked Ambassador Larry Wang for having introduced them to the Focolare Movement and for having the chance of engaging in interreligious dialogue to the benefit of all the participants.
The ROC Embassy to the Holy See also arranged the tour of the monks of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, so that they had the opportunity to visit and appreciate the heart of the Catholic culture.