“Golden rule in action: Vasu Bandhu’s journey” – published!

Golden rule in action: Vasu Bandhu’s journey

Golden Rule Moments

Albert Celoza | Guest columnist

Every Monday at the start of the work week, Arizona Faith Network’s Interfaith Manager, Vasu Bandhu, brings people together in peace through guided meditation. His gentle demeanor has a healing effect and offers participants moments of mindfulness and peace.

The name Vasu Bandhu was given to him during his conversion to signify his affinity for a historical Buddhist figure with the same name. Vasu Bandhu was an important figure in the development of Mahayana Buddhism in India — circa fourth or fifth century. He is also admired in Tibetan Buddhism and was referred to as the ‘Second Buddha’. The name Vasu Bandhu translates from Sanskrit as ‘kinsman of wealth’—a fitting name for someone who is intentionally building relationships across faith communities and sharing his wealth of knowledge. Vasu Bandhu

In a podcast with Pastor Sanghoon Yoo, Vasu Bandhu talked about growing up in both the Catholic and Latter-day Saints churches before converting to Buddhism. He made this decison without rancor and degrading one belief against another. It was a process of finding one’s own identity freely through faith.

Born in Mexico, Vasu Bandhu was sent to El Salvador to work as a missionary. Leaving the comfort of home introduced him to new challenges and people of diverse backgrounds. In the neighboring country, he learned about Religions for Peace, a global organization and a broadly-based multi-religious coalition.

For many years, Religions for Peace has been engaged in impactful work promoting the role of women and other marginalized groups, and advancing common action among faith communities for peace, human development, and environmental protection—while respecting distinct religious identities. Religions for Peace believes in including everyone and promoting a healthy planet for the present and future generations. These goals resonated deeply with Vasu Bandhu and became the inspiration for his interfaith work.

While Buddhism posits that life entails suffering, its resultant course of action for its practitioners is to alleviate suffering through compassion. Vasu Bandhu’s conversion brought him to embody the Golden Rule: ‘Treat others as you want to be treated.’

His work focuses on the prevention of violent extremism and fundamentalism. In the process of achieving his religious identity, Vasu Bandhu found a profound expression of the Golden Rule.

It is important to note that however lofty one’s goals, they can be fraught with perils. By being collaborative with everyone, one is not immune from harsh criticism from those with rigid religious beliefs. These conflicts often center on questions of who possesses the ‘truth’ and who practices the correct path.

Hate and controversies are magnified in the digital age. One is not spared from vicious critics and detractors. Yet Vasu Bandhu has worked tirelessly beyond Arizona through his service with international organizations, including the International Youth Committee of Religions for Peace, the Global Council for North America of the United Religions Initiative (URI), and his leadership in the North American Interfaith Network (NAIN).

Continuing his mission of interfaith understanding remains the guiding light of Vasu Bandhu’s life. He continues with his understanding of the Golden Rule that of expressing Buddhist ‘karuna’ (compassion) and meditating with others on ‘metta’ (loving-kindness). Through interfaith work he demonstrates that religions are indeed more powerful, inspiring, and impactful when people work together.

The Arizona Faith Network (AFN) aims to build bridges, encourage dialogue, and foster understanding among diverse faith communities. AFN hopes to create opportunities for meaningful collaborative action and advocates for the common good. arizonafaithnetwork.org/