In 1994, Patna Province took a significant step to promote Inter-religious Dialogue and Harmony in Bodhgaya, the birthplace of Buddhism. (late) Fr. Sumit Edwin Menezes S.J. was deputed to prepare the ground for full-fledged Dialogue Ministry. Initially Fr. Sumit developed a good rapport with a few Venerable Buddhist monks and organized joint activities to promote clean and green Bodhgaya by planting trees and plants in collaboration with Tarumitra, a Patna Jesuit Organization founded to care for Mother Earth. To strengthen Inter-religious Dialogue and Harmony, Ven. Vimalsar Thera, a Sri Lankan monk, Fr. Sumit and a few members from Jainism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism founded an Inter-Faith Forum around 1996. Since then this Forum has been promoting Inter-religious Dialogue and Communal Harmony through Inter-religious Prayers Services, Peace Processions, Inter-religious Seminars, workshops for eradicating illiteracy among the poor and environment preservation.
Fr. Soosai Lawrence S.J. joined Bodhgaya Jesuit Mission in January 2003 and worked up to December 2006 to promote Inter-religious Dialogue further. Realizing the importance of study of Buddhism in Buddhist-Christian Dialogue he was commissioned to do doctoral studies in Theravada Buddhism to Sri Lanka in 2007. In March 2006 Fr. Jose Kariakatt, S.J. joined Bodhgaya Mission and worked up to May 2019, to enhance the Ministry of Inter-religious Dialogue.
Meanwhile in 2014 Fr. S. Lawrence returned from Sri Lanka after completing his doctoral studies and since then he has been involved in many peace-promoting activities in various ways. A few significant Inter-religious events were organized since 2015 in Bodhgaya. To name a few: i) The 6th International Buddhist-Christian Colloquium of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue was organized in Bodhgaya in 2015, February with the leadership of the Jesuits in Jeevan Sangham, Bodhgaya; ii) As a follow up action an Inter-religious organization named Iner-religious Friends Assocaiton IRFA) was founded in March 2015 under the leadership of Fr. S. Lawrence in collaboration with friends from six religions, Since its birth, the IFA has been organizing many activities, programmes and events for students, teachers and lecturers of schools and colleges in and around Bodhgaya to promote the values of respect and reverence towards all religions and collaboration with people of all faiths; iii) And the third important event hosting the Jesuit-Buddhist International Conference of the Asia-Pacific Jesuits in 2016 March in Bodhgaya with the local leadership of Patna Jesuits.
The proposal to set up an exclusive centre for dialogue in Jeevan Sangham campus was discussed recently. Bodh Gaya being an international Buddhist centre is a very important place for dialogue with Buddhists who have many institutes such as Root Institute, Mahabodhi Society, etc besides viharas.
