From July 27-30, 2017, the "First World Meeting on Teresian Mysticism and Interreligious Dialogue. Theravāda Buddhism and Teresian Mysticism: meditation and contemplation, paths to peace" in the medieval city of Avila, organized by the International Teresian-Sanjuanist Center (CITeS) in collaboration with the Center for Buddhist Studies (CBS) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Invited by the Discalced Carmelite Order, a delegation of Theravāda Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Myanmar, the United Kingdom and Taiwan traveled to Avila for an interfaith conference attended by more than one hundred people from thirty countries. Among other participants, the conference featured Theravāda and Carmelite monks and scholars, including some of the most renowned exponents of their respective traditions, for four days of dialogue, meeting and scholarly exchange. The Discalced Carmelites envisioned this gathering, primarily, as the first in a series with the goal of establishing a dialogue between Carmelite mysticism and other religious traditions. The Carmelites' motivation was to facilitate and promote mutual understanding and to promote peace among peoples with different cultures, languages and points of view. In this first forum, the interlocutor was Buddhism.
theravāda, and the dialogue offered participants the possibility of spiritual enrichment from religious people of another faith and the opportunity to explore the similarities and differences between the two traditions in a spirit of concord, integrity and mutual respect. The theme chosen for the conference was "Meditation and Contemplation: Paths to Peace". More specifically, attention was given to the comparative study of the paths of Buddhist theravāda meditation and the Carmelite path of prayer and contemplation, for which spiritual cartographers and main interlocutors Ācariya Buddhaghosa and St. Teresa of Avila were appointed.
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