Events > Representations

Recent Representation - From Bryan Appleyard – Vice President and Chairman

The year began with an invitation from the BBC Director-General Mark Thompson for a presentation by himself entitled ‘The Trouble with Trust. Building confidence in institutions’ followed by questions and answers and a reception. The talk was widely reported in the press the following day and the confidence referred to related particularly to the BBC itself. The event was chaired by John Lloyd, Director of Journalism, Reuters Institute and Contributing Editor, Financial Times and was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster.

The following evening I was a guest of Stephen Twigg, Director of The Foreign Policy Centre, at the FPC’s Annual Reception at the India Office Council Chamber at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, hosted by the Rt. Hon David Miliband MP, Foreign Secretary.

This function encompassed a wide variety of interests covered by Foreign Policy and there was no shortage of well known faces from amongst others, the world of business, politics, the diplomatic service, environmental groups, the military, and of course faith groups.

In his speech the Foreign Secretary gave an over view of the importance to the Foreign Office of all these diverse strands.

An annual event which I try not to miss, is the Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony held in The Chamber, City Hall where I was present at the invitation of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the London Assembly. This is always a moving occasion and is held on the 24th January, the day of the liberation of Auschwitz - Birkenau Concentration Camp.

The ceremony included a welcome by the Chair of The London Assembly, Sally Hamwee, music, a powerful testimonial by Ben Helfott, a reading by the Mayor and a personal remembrance and reflection by 6th Form pupils of St Francis Xavier College who had visited Auschwitz and been profoundly affected by the experience.

Among the guests were Mayors and representatives of all The London Boroughs and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. A reception followed the ceremony.

The 14th February proved to be a most interesting day spent at Church House, adjoining Westminster Abbey, and the headquarters of the Church of England. The Inter Faith Network for the UK, of which myself and the Society are among the oldest members, were invited to hold their February forum there in the morning by the Archbishop’s Council, and after lunch and following a brief presentation on the structure and functioning of the Church of England, the faith representatives were invited to attend the afternoon meeting of the General Synod in the impressive Conference Hall.

The General Synod is the general assembly of the Church of England and consists of three Houses of Laity, Clergy and Bishops. It is constituted by parliament through the constitutional arrangements that provide for the establishment of the Church of England.

Upon taking our seats in the gallery, our presence was announced by the Synod President and we received a very warm round of applause by the delegates, which was much appreciated.

This Synod week was headline news because of the controversial remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, regarding Sharia Law. We were present at the fourth day of the Synod by which time the Archbishop had weathered some of the storm. This proved to be an interesting and enjoyable day and all the faith representatives present were grateful for the invitation by the Church of England.

In the evening I was invited to attend a dinner at the Mansion House, City of London, by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Alderman and Mrs David Lewis, held in honour of the Archbishop’s and Bishop’s, this being the culmination of the Synod week.

On 28th February I attended a seminar held at Portcullis House, House of Commons, at the invitation of The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC).

The speakers were Gareth Thomas MP, Parliamentary under Secertary of State for The Department of International Development (DfID), Roger Black, BBC Environmental Correspondent and Graham Wynne, Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), with Stephen Twigg FPC in the Chair.

The theme was that the threat posed by climate change is just one symptom of a wider problem – that Global Society is living beyond the Earth’s natural capacity. The speakers all agreed that though climate change was a major issue, it has been targeted by governments at the expense of more important problems such as deforestation, poor water supplies, pollution etc.

Though there was nothing especially spiritual in the seminar, matters concerning the harm being done by ourselves to our planet are relevant to the first Buddhist precept, which emphasises respect for all life.

For the third successive year I was invited to the Muslim News Awards for Excellence and Gala Dinner held on 25th March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, with guests from the world of public service, business, sport, the arts and religion as well as senior officials from all the UK political parties.

The main speaker was the Rt. Hon David Miliband MP the Foreign Secretary, but due to a prior engagement I arrived too late for his speech. Among the politicians presenting awards was William Hague MP Shadow Foreign Secretary, Vince Cable MP of the Liberal Democrats and London Mayoral candidate, Brian Paddick. Most of the awards were for members of the Muslim community, but this year’s special award went to the former palestinian hostage BBC journalist Alan Johnson.

This was another thoroughly enjoyable evening, with a congenial atmosphere and stimulating conversation with my companions on my table, most of whom were Muslims.

A series of lectures entitled “Faith and Life in Britain” is taking place this Spring at Westminster Cathedral, the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, with eminent speakers invited by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, to approach some of the key issues concerning faith in the public domain and its contribution to the life of our society today, and to recognise that the spiritual life is indispensable to a healthy society.

The first lecture entitled “Faith and Globalisation” was delivered by former Prime Minister, Tony Blair on 3rd April to a packed cathedral. This public lecture was sold out but I was an invited guest. The central themes of the address were to urge politicians not to dismiss religion as out of date or extremist and to emphasise the importance in a challenging world of inter-faith relations, particularly as a counter-balance to religious extremism. He commended the work of several inter-faith bodies, including The Inter-Faith Network for the UK, of which The Buddhist Society and myself are senior members and saw these movements as the way forward. Tony Blair is himself set up a foundation to promote inter-faith relations along the lines of a similar body founded by former American President Bill Clinton.

He could have added that there are now over four hundred faith bodies in the UK - a fact to which the media in this country, which continues to be obsessed only with negative reporting, seems to be oblivious. This speech was, therefore, both significant and welcome. It was warmly received and appreciated by those present.

The facilitator for this lecture was the prominent journalist and broadcaster, Edward Stourton.

The following week I was again the guest of an Archbishop, this time the leader of the Church of England, the most Reverend and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Each year the Archbishop holds lectures on interfaith relations held at Lambeth Palace and to which I am invited. This year’s talk was given by Professor Anantanand Rambachen, Professor of Religion, Philosophy and Asian studies at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota and entitled Hindus and Christians: Celebrating Friendship and Facing Challenges with Hope.

Quite a lot of the lecture was inaudible due to poor acoustics, but one point that did not escape my attention was his criticism of the need to convert and proselytise in Christianity. This runs contrary to Hinduism and, I would add, all the Dharmic traditions including Buddhism.

A lively discussion followed.

I was at the Mayor of London’s Office on 9th April for what would prove to be the last time under Ken Livingstone’s eight year tenure as mayor. This was a meeting for faith representatives to discuss plans for an open house week where religious bodies would be open to visitors of all faiths (or none at all) especially school children, with the aim of increasing awareness of the different faiths in this multi-faith, multi cultural city. It was hoped that the event could take place in May this year, but it was agreed that more time was required, with next year being a more realistic option. Hopefully, this initiative will continue under the new Mayor Boris Johnson.

An annual event I always enjoy is the Spring Reception held on the Terrace, House of Commons, by the all Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is. This it was held on 22nd April to celebrative the festival of Ridvan. The All Party Friends of the Baha’is exist to defend the rights of the Baha’is who are persecuted for their religious beliefs, as well as working to promote universal human rights and greater social cohesion.

The Chairman Lembit Opik MP gave the address and it was at his invitation that I attended.

The following week, on 29th April, I participated on a panel discussion entitled ‘An Evening For Burma – opening up a dialogue’ held at St. Ethelburger's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, Bishopsgate the City of London. The event was convened to address the human rights, environmental, political and religious problems of Burma/ Myanmar and to discuss how the West should engage with a country where a military government oppresses its people. What effect do sanctions have? Does humanitarian aid work? Is foreign investment ethical under such a brutal regime?

My fellow panellists were Derek Tonkin, Ambassador to Vietnam 1980-1982 and Ambassador to Thailand and Laos 1986-1989 who also has a long-standing interest in Burma, on which he frequently writes, and Mark Farmaner, Director of Campaign for Burma UK. Each of us addressed the gathering , myself from a Buddhist spiritual viewpoint, emphasising the impact that the passive, non violent stance of the protestors, especially the monks, had upon world opinion in September last year and how this can be a much more powerful weapon than taking up arms, as well as being the expected Buddhist response.

Dialogue then followed between the speakers with the debate eventually opened up with the audience. Many present had first hand knowledge and experience of life in Burma and I learnt much from their contributions. In conclusion, we all agreed that the problems of Burma were very complex and there were no simple or easy solutions, but there was a strong informed opinion that they military junta were having to reluctantly accept that there would have to be changes.

Within a few days of this event, the suffering of the Burmese people was exacerbated by a natural rather than a man made catastrophe.

In July last year, I was a guest at a luncheon at The House of Lords, and was seated next to Rosie Marsh, who is the fundraiser for Concordis International, a charity whose aim is to build relationships for sustainable peace, with its main focus centred on Darfur. This is originally a Christian based organisation, but Rosie has strong Buddhist leanings and asked if the Society would lend its support and name to this worthy cause, especially in its non-violent stance.

As a consequence of this contact I was invited to a reception held by Concordis International and as guest of its patron Lord Ahmed of Rotherham. The principal speakers were Lord Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and the High Commissioner for Darfur. During the course of this reception I had the opportunity to talk at length with expatriates from the Darfur region and gained some insight into the complexities of the tribal based conflicts of this part of Africa.

On the 8th May I was interviewed as the Buddhist representative for the bi-annual Foreign & Commonwealth Office survey which covers a wide variety of strands, of which religion is one, with nine faiths represented.

The following day I appeared on a one hour discussion programme of Inter Faith dialogue for Press TV, an international news network with 24 hours news and various discussion programmes. This includes a weekly talk show covering religion, culture and spirituality. Press TV is especially popular in the USA.

I had previously been interviewed by Press TV last July.

My fellow guests were Sister Maureen from Brahma Kumaris and Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid, who is held in high regard in Inter Faith circles. The interviewer was Rebecca Masterton. I appreciated the opportunity to be given the time for an in-depth discussion on faith topics and especially enjoyable to have an exchange of views with Imam Sajid, a feeling that I am sure is mutual. Needless to say, there was much agreement and harmony amongst the panellists.
The programme is available on our online archive, please just click in the following link http://www.presstv.com/prg_detail.aspx?SectionID=3510513 see Interfaith Dialogue 11th May.

An important debate entitled Science, Ethics and Faith – A Conversation about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill, was hosted by The Wellcome Trust at the Wellcome Collection, Euston Road, London, on 16th May. This was a precursor to the hugely controversial Bill to be debated in Parliament the following week. I was part of a small, select and distinguished audience at the invitation of The University of Oxford and The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales. This discussion focused on clause 4 of the HFE Bill, which would in addition to research on normal human embryos (up to 14 days), allow research on various forms of embryo that contain both human and animal material.

The meeting was recorded for BBC Radio 4 and chaired by Edward Stourton, presenter of BBC Radio 4 Today Programme.

The discussion was introduced by Archbishop Peter Smith and Professor Colin Blakemore and the panel of eminent Scientists and Ethicists included Professor Stephen Minger, Professor Chris Shaw, Professor John Haldane and Baroness Onora O’Neill.

I had no preconceived views on the subject and there could be no reference to Buddhists teachings other than the First Precept, on what is a product of modern science. However, over a period of two hours my knowledge on the issues was greatly expanded. Responses were taken from the audience but time did not allow everyone, including myself, to contribute.

The discussion was commendable, not only for the clarity of views presented, but also for facilitating a rational and un-emotive dialogue.

A reception followed the discussion.

The same day I was invited to appear on the BBC Asian Networks Radio programme ‘Nihal’ and its weekly feature called ‘Divine Debate’. The topic was ‘Can a child with same sex Parents get the same childhood as one with a Mother and Father?’

After some discussion with the producer we both agreed that there was little that I could contribute from a Buddhist perspective as Buddhism has no views on homosexuality, let alone same sex parents, which is a very recent social issue.

The producer did however, express to have me on some future programme.