Berlin, Germany -- 50 years is a long time and it is highly commendable, that Das Buddhistische Haus (The Berlin Vihare) has withstood the passage of time and the challenges and continued to serve the noble ideals of the “visionaries” who stepped in to fill a void, a void of spirituality in the German world soon after the trauma of the 2nd World War.
The Buddhist world would naturally wish to see Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin, grow from strength to strength and continue to provide an environment conducive for Germans and the German speaking people, to study, discuss and enjoy the profound philosophy of Lord Buddha through which, they will inevitably find solace and inner peace for themselves and those around them. In the modern competitive world of commercialism, many are the people who wish to get away from it all and seek peace of mind. The Berlin Vihare must take up the challenge and continue it’s noble cause for another 50-100 years or more!
At a time when The Berlin Vihare is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary which fell on 15th June 2007, there has been “a storm” in the form of a communication among individuals who, in one way or another are involved in Buddhist work in Germany and abroad that has lasted almost through the whole month of June.
The “storm” was initiated by Dr.Marianne Wachs when she accused Ven.Nyanatilloka Maha Thero of being a Nazi sympathizer who discriminated against Jews-these statements made by her were obviously distorted information she received or rather that she was being used by a hidden hand for whatever purpose. The Buddha has taught us, to verify what we hear and accept only if we are convinced that it is the truth-He has never advised us to accept speculations or hearsay!
Whatever the purpose may be, it was most heartening to note in the “Asian Tribune” of 20th June, that Dr.Wachs had realized the grave mistake she made and tendered an apology to the Theravada Buddhists. If we are practicing Buddhists we need to accept her apology if it is given in all sincerity and hope that similar mistakes are not made in the future.
There is no necessity to quote from The Buddha Dhamma because all those who contributed towards the dialogue that followed are scholars in Buddhism or involved in Buddhist work. One noteworthy fact that surfaced was that the majority of those who championed and defended the late German Monks Nyanatilloka Maha Thero and Nyanaponika Thero and helped to set the records straight were mostly living on German soil who appreciated the great contributions of the late Monks. This indeed, is the strength of Buddhism in Germany! We are indeed grateful to Ven.Bhikku Bodhi (an American)who had the privilege of working extremely closely with Ven. Nyanaponika Thero with BPS work and at the Forest Hermitage in Udawattekale, Kandy for having explained clearly the roles played by the above mentioned erudite German Buddhist scholars who left an indelible mark in the dissemination of The Buddha Dhamma to the Germans and German speaking westerners. These contributions cannot be erased from history as was exhibited by the manner in which German Buddhists came forward to defend the late Venerable Monks and the role played by The Berlin Vihare during the past 50 years.
Through a period of 50 years, there are bound to be ups and downs in the running of any organization and certainly, there can be improvements in the future. From the outside, any individual trying to understand the workings of either The Berlin Vihare or The German Dharmadutha Society may find it difficult to understand in its entirety, operational problems that may crop up from time to time. It is important for individuals to try and understand and offer whatever assistance we can, to solve such problems. We must not in anyway attempt to speculate