"We must be quite a sight," I thought to myself as I took
my place in the line of beaming faces stretching out from the
retreat center's front door. Pakistani diplomat, Chinese nun,
Indian doctor, Native American shaman, American biologist,
Austrian monk. And across from us, another line, parallel with
ours, making a near perfect aisle out to the curb:
African-American minister, Sri Lankan activist, Thai social
critic, Chilean economist, Brazilian guru.
If any of the locals had been able to see us through the
driveway's house-high iron gates, they could only have thought
one thing. We must have been waiting to greet the Pope. A few
blocks from the pontiff's seasonal residence in Castelgandolfo,
on the rim of an ancient volcano overlooking the breathtaking
Lago di Albon, the spacious retreat center had been built for
the express purpose of hosting his summer audiences. But as the
gates parted and the police-led procession of cars rushed to a
stop, it was to be a different spiritual leader who would soon
hold our collective attention in thrall. A wave of joy rippled
through the crowd as the Dalai Lama climbed out, looking
surprisingly bright after his long flight from India (on one of
only two planes allowed in Italian airspace that day, the other
being Air Force One), and exchanged a low bow with the group.
From the outside, it might have looked like the
beginning of just another day of speechmaking and handshaking
for the exiled Tibetan leader. But this was no ordinary
audience. As world-renowned Thai social activist Sulak Sivaraksa
stepped forward from the crowd and bent to touch the smiling
monk's feet, His Holiness reciprocated the gesture, making it
clear that in his own eyes, he was among peers.
It was the kind of gathering that most new-paradigm
pundits would die for. Forty luminaries called together from the
corners of the globe for a week of dialogues on "The Courage of
Evolutionary Leadership." On hand were renowned social activists
like South Africa's Ela Gandhi (yes, his granddaughter) and Sri
Lanka's A.T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodhya movement
(widely hailed as the most successful grassroots social change
effort in the world); religious luminaries like Brother David
Steindl-Rast, Rabbi Marc Gafni, and Dhyani Ywahoo; a handful of
scholars, scientists, thought leaders, and philanthropists; and
at the helm, a cadre of progressive ministers who make up the
Association for Global New Thought (AGNT) leadership council.
The brainchild of conversations between the Dalai Lama,
his longtime friend Brother Wayne Teasdale, and AGNT executive
director Barbara Bernstein, the gathering, known as "The
Synthesis Dialogues," was first convened in 1999 as an attempt
to cultivate a group of "visionary-activists" who "can help
restore global sanity by reuniting the inner and outer, heaven
and earth, in an earnest endeavor toward synthesis." Aiming far
beyond conventional modes of discourse, the Dialogues' stated
goal is nothing less than the establishment of a "meta-mind," or
group intelligence, from which to tackle the challenges facing
our planet. In a time when more and more people are recognizing
the need to harness our collective wisdom for the sake of the
future, this super-powered spiritual/social think tank—now in
its third incarnation—seem to be just what the doctor
ordered.
We had begun our adventure a few days before His
Holiness's arrival with an entire day of formal introductory
speeches—a daunting prospect in any other circumstance, but in
this company it was riveting. Jawdat Said, a Syrian Sufi
activist, gripped the room with his passionate declaration that
only a commitment to truth can transform the world. Ela Gandhi
spoke about her desperation over her inability to impact the
declining state of the poor in her country. Investment banker
Azim Khamisa told of the crisis he faced when his
nineteen-year-old son was killed by a gang member, and the
redemption he found in enlisting the murderer's grandfather in a
nationwide campaign against gang violence—a campaign that will
soon be joined by his son's killer himself, upon his release
from prison. By the end of the first day, after listening to one
impassioned heart after another give voice to their deepest
concerns and highest ideals, there was a tangible sense that we
were indeed becoming one body, unified in a field of respect and
admiration for each other and for the universal aspiration that
had called us together.
On this foundation, we would proceed over the coming
days to grapple with a series of questions on our designated
topic, under the facilitation of the AGNT leadership team. Each
session was carefully orchestrated, beginning with a serenade or
singalong led by New Thought Gospel diva Rickie Byars Beckwith,
a period of prayer or meditation, and a seed question or
dialogical exercise to guide our inquiry. Cutting a swath
between the theoretical and the practical, the personal and the
political, the dialogues were at times lively, at times sober,
and at times even poignant—like when the Dalai Lama spoke of a
conversation with one of his monks who, upon recounting
harrowing tales of oppression under the Chinese, confessed that
his greatest fear was that he would lose his compassion for his
oppressors.
As anyone who has attempted interreligious dialogue
knows, however, it can be a tricky business—particularly when
those in the circle are leaders whose participation in groups
usually takes the form of inspiring and guiding others. And as
the microphone passed from one set of hands to the next, we soon
realized we were by no means the exception to the rule. At
times, we had trouble following a thread of conversation. Nearly
all of us found it easier to make passionate speeches than to
respond simply and directly to what another had said. And when
the Dalai Lama joined us midway, almost everyone had a hard time
knowing how to meet him on the level ground he offered. (With
perhaps a few notable exceptions—such as when Sulak Sivaraksa
boldly, if lightheartedly, suggested that perhaps the next Dalai
Lama should be a woman.) But I think it was our collective
response to these difficulties that, more than anything,
produced the magic that would leave such a deep impression on
all of us. Seeing the humility and generosity of spirit
expressed by all in the face of these simple human challenges,
and the genuine desire to be together that kept shining through,
had the effect of fusing us at the level of the heart, however
difficult it seemed to attain the "meta-mind."
In the midst of all this, I don't know whether we
managed to get any clearer about "The Courage of Evolutionary
Leadership," but Synthesis director Barbara Bernstein had
explained to me at the beginning of the week that her own goals
for the Dialogues were ultimately more relational than topical.
She felt that if we could get such a high-level group of people
to connect in a meaningful way, what would come out of that
would be its own kind of success. And beyond simply creating
this cohesive group, Bernstein also wanted to foster a
commitment to working together over the months and years ahead.
So it was no surprise when, at her prompting, a host of ideas
for potential ongoing collaborative projects began to emerge in
our closing sessions—among them an internationally publicized
interfaith Middle-East pilgrimage, uniting thousands of Muslims,
Christians, and Jews in retracing "The Footsteps of Abraham." In
the midst of this brainstorm, the recognition dawned in the
group that if we were all to unite behind a single cause, with
our combined spheres of influence we could reach tens if not
hundreds of millions of people worldwide with one message. And
in this light, the true significance of the bond that had formed
between us began to reveal itself.
After breakfast on our last morning, amid the sea of
warm good-byes, I went for a last walk with my newfound friend
Rabbi Marc Gafni in the retreat center's well-groomed gardens.
"How did this measure up to other interfaith meetings you've
attended?" I asked as we traversed the stone paths. "I don't
usually come to these sorts of gatherings," replied the Rabbi,
who presides over a large spiritual community in Israel. "I went
to one in my early twenties, but it was a kind of superficial
love-fest in which there was no real engagement with ideas. The
message was, 'We're all the same. We all love each other.' But
that sameness actually isn't real love. Real love comes from
differentiation, profound engagement with ideas, even conflict,
and then the transcending of conflict to realize our deep,
common, profound oneness. I think here we were closer to that.
At the beginning I think we were in sameness, which was very
sweet, very nice. But by the last day, we got to a real level of
oneness. And that was good. I'm really glad I came."
As I boarded my bus for the airport, I wondered to
myself when I would possibly have a chance to spend time with
such an extraordinary group of people again. As fate would have
it, I didn't have to wait long. Returning to the office, I
learned that plans were already underway for our journey to the
next interfaith gathering, the Parliament of the World's
Religions, where, as it turned out, in just
three weeks' time I'd have an opportunity to see many of my new
friends again.