Investigation of religious pluralism and the concept of tolerance in India

这一研究项目试图澄清印度宗教多元化及其相关领域的宽容概念，该项目团队由近20名来自不同专业领域的学者组成，他们通过研究包括佛教在内的印度哲学和宗教各种体系的相关文本或图像材料，或通过在印度或其他国家的不同领域进行相关田野工作，采用从文献学、历史学、哲学到人类学的各种研究方法来研究这一主题。因此，人们对西方的宽容概念和印度各种形式的宽容之间的差异有了新的认识。具体地说，重新评估印度“包容性”在当代全球社会中的重要性似乎非常重要，因为它可以被视为解决当今多宗教紧张局势的实际解决方案，通过将其他宗教纳入自己的教义框架来保持与其他宗教的友好关系，并通过以自我为中心采用其他宗教来减少潜在的冲突程度。

This research project has made an attempt to clarify the concept of tolerance in the religious pluralism of India and related areas, pursued by the project team which consists of nearly twenty scholars of various fields of specialization who have approached the research topic by studying relevant texts or iconographic materials of various systems of Indian philosophy and religion including Buddhism, or by making relevant field works in various areas of India or other countries, with research methods ranging from philological, historical, philosophical to anthropological ones. As a result, a new light has been shed on the difference between the Western concept of tolerance and various forms of Indian tolerance. Specifically it seems very important to re-evaluate the significance of Indian 'inclusivism' in the contemporary global societies because it can be regarded as a practical solution to multi-religious tension of today, with a friendly relationship with other religions retained by integrating them into its own doctrinal framework, with a potential degree of conflict lessened by a self-centered adoption of others.