A Trappist Meeting Monks from Tibet

BERNARD DE GIVE, for many years a member of the Society of
Jesus, was for eight years a seminary professor, first in Sri
Lanka then in India, before pursuing oriental studies at Oxford,
where he formed friendships with Tibetan monks.
Since becoming a Trappist in 1972, the author has enjoyed
meeting monks of other religions: Hindu Swamis, Jain ascetics,
Buddhist monks and, above all, Tibetan Lamas.
In 1977, a Benedictine and Cistercian Commission for
Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIM - MID) was
established, and it was under these auspices that the author was
able to visit numerous Tibetan centres in Western Europe but
also in India and in Tibet itself.
The invasion of Tibet by the Chinese communists in 1950,
followed by the voluntary exile of the Dalai Lama and large
numbers of Tibetans, overturned the political and cultural
circumstances of a country which, though fiercely isolated for
centuries, now found itself suddenly propelled beyond its
borders. This traditional culture thus became accessible to
Westerners who were eagerly seeking a form of spirituality
which corresponded to their needs and their anxieties. The
author, though he has a most real sympathy towards the
Dharma and its followers, is not a Buddhist, nor even a seeker.
While stressing the 'obvious and considerable' doctrinal
differences, he experiences an undeniable sense of encounter in
depth with Tibetan Buddhists: 'The truest essence of the
dialogue partners, especially when they are monks, encounters a
kindred spirit. Whether in conversation or in silence, they find
themselves in total dialogue.'