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Group photo with Bishop Leslie Rogers Tomlinson, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Saint Francis of Assisi statue, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Owen Cole.
On May 12, 2018, as the Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa Retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche drew to a close, some of the retreat participants were able to join in the unveiling and blessing of a new statue at the Peace Park outside of the retreat venue, The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Long-time Australian student Owen Cole shared this story of interfaith harmony in Bendigo, Australia:
The renunciation and compassion of Saint Francis of Assisi was acknowledged in the closing stages of the retreat in Bendigo with an interfaith blessing of a life-size statue of the famous twelfth-century Catholic monk.
Bishop Leslie Rogers Tomlinson and Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
The statue is the first item to be placed in an interfaith Peace Park on the grounds of The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. It will be joined by religious works from other faiths and was blessed by the Catholic Bishop of Sandhurst, Bishop Leslie Rogers Tomlinson, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Bishop Tomlinson said Saint Francis, the patron saint of the environment and animals, through his life of simplicity and poverty invites us to look at our present-day culture of excessiveness.
Rinpoche, who has deep respect for the saint, said Saint Francis renounced attachment to the pleasures of this life and through his miracles, showed great spiritual attainment.
During his April 28 teaching at the retreat, Rinpoche talked about Saint Francis, saying, “Saint Francis wore ragged clothes, with many holes and patches, very similar to the Kadampa geshes, renounced practitioners. He was wearing ragged clothing, but his mind is actually the same as a bodhisattva.”
Rinpoche went on to explain that just like the bodhisattvas who can stop floods, Saint Francis of Assisi stopped the water from flowing in Assisi so his disciples could meditate in silence.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche addressing the audience, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Rinpoche added, “We have in Tibet many statutes who spoke to great yogis or those who actualized bodhichitta, those who actualized the higher path, many in Tibet and Nepal, even in Solu Khumbu. Similarly, a picture of Jesus spoke to Saint Francis of Assisi.”
Watch Ven. Tenzin Tsultim’s video of the Unveiling of the St. Francis of Assisi statue:
https://youtu.be/mSyFsHBT51Q
Additions to the Peace Park will include an Ik Onkar, a 2-meter (6.5-foot) high character-symbol that represents a central tenet of Sikh philosophy, from the Sikh community; a 1.5-meter (5-foot) high mosaic from the Islamic Council of Victoria to be incorporated into an installation that recalls a story from the Quran; a statue of Ganesh from the Hindu community; a statue from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and a representation from the local Aboriginal community.
Gathered for the interfaith blessing, Bendigo, Australia, May 2018. Photo courtesy of Ian Green’s Twitter page.
Ian Green, director of The Great Stupa, also spoke at the event, commenting that FPMT is establishing Buddhism in the West and, as Australia is a multicultural and new country, The Great Stupa should reflect that.
“Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama both thought it was a good idea to use the stupa to foster interfaith harmony,” Ian said.
The statue of Saint Francis was sponsored by the Catholic Church and will remain their property but will be maintained by the stupa organization.
Artist Lucy Wang, who also contributed to the artwork inside The Great Stupa, painting the Saint Francis of Assisi statue, Bendigo, Australia, April 2018. Photo courtesy of The Great Stupa’s Instagram page.
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings from the Bodhicaryavatara and Rinjung Gyatsa Retreat in Australia:
https://fpmt.org/media/streaming/teachings-of-lama-zopa-rinpoche/lama-zopa-rinpoche-teachings-in-bendigo-2018/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation, and community service.