12/03/2026
Religious Friendship (Interfaith Amity)
On 11 November 2023,
Venerable Phra Medhivajirodom (V. Vajiramedhi), Director of the Rai Chern Tawan International Vipassana Meditation Center, was invited to deliver a keynote lecture entitled “Idappaccayatā and the Healing of the Global Environmental Crisis.”
The lecture was held at the conference hall of Nalanda University Mahavihara, a contemporary institution recognized as the largest Buddhist university in the world today. The university draws its inspiration from the historic Nalanda University in India, which flourished more than 800 years ago before eventually declining with the passage of time.
The present university was established by the Nembutsu-shū Buddhist Order in Kobe, Japan, with the aspiration of creating an academic institution dedicated to Buddhist studies integrated with modern disciplines.
Earlier, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously presided over the official inauguration of the university on 13 September 2023, together with Buddhist leaders from around the world.
The lecture on this occasion marked the first keynote address in the university’s history following its introduction to the global community.
The keynote address was translated into English and Japanese and distributed to the several hundred participants attending the seminar. It was also broadcast live by the university’s television station to Buddhist communities across Japan.
This event represents a meaningful expression of religious friendship between Thai Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, and signifies the flourishing of Buddhist scholarship through collaboration among monks of different traditions and lineages. Despite their differences, they share a common aspiration:
to contribute to peace and harmony in the world through the teachings of the Buddha—
through Vipassanā meditation,
and through education grounded in Right View (Sammā-diṭṭhi) and enriched by contemporary fields of knowledge such as education, economics, political science, social sciences, and the natural sciences.
(Recorded in the stream of time.)