What the Buddha said on inter-faith dialogue

Buddhism always included a form of proselytism, monastics being sent away to spread the Dharma, and yet it is (or should be) neither invasive nor argumentative.

In the Udumbarika sutta (DN 25), the Buddha clearly rejected that he might be interested to make anyone give up their teacher or practices:

Nigrodha, you might think: ‘The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants pupils.’ But you should not see it like this. Let your teacher remain your teacher.

You might think: ‘The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to give up our recitation.’ But you should not see it like this. Let your recitation remain as it is.

You might think: ‘The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to give up our livelihood.’ But you should not see it like this. Let your livelihood remain as it is.

You might think: ‘The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to start doing things that are unskillful and considered unskillful in our tradition.’ But you should not see it like this. Let those things that are unskillful and considered unskillful in your tradition remain as they are.

You might think: ‘The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to stop doing things that are skillful and considered skillful in our tradition.’ But you should not see it like this. Let those things that are skillful and considered skillful in your tradition remain as they are.

In remaining solely focused on the cessation of dukkha (unsatisfactoriness, stress, anguish, suffering…), the Buddha was perfectly fine with using whatever is wholesome / constructive in other traditions as pedagogical means.

In Mahāyāna terms, one might see here a basis for one of the Four Encompassing Vows: « Dharma gates are innumerable; I vow to master them all.… … … …