Chanita.Shannon's review
Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh
Chanita.Shannon's review
bookshelves: buddhism, comparative-religion, non-fiction, post-christian, progressive-theology, spirituality, to-read, to-read-wish-list
bookshelves: buddhism, comparative-religion, non-fiction, post-christian, progressive-theology, spirituality, to-read, to-read-wish-list
Did you know that Jesus meditated? In Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh delivered a powerhouse bestseller about the affinities of Buddhist and Christian ideals. In Going Home, he focuses on fundamental concepts that still drive a wedge between the two religions--such as rebirth vs. eternal life, God vs. nirvana, and so on. After praising the differences between Christianity and Buddhism, Nhat Hanh proceeds to dissolve them in virtuosic style. Not only did Jesus meditate, he says, but God is equivalent to nirvana. This effort to free us from limiting concepts is Nhat Hanh's way of paving a road back to Christianity for Christians who have been attracted to Buddhism but alienated from their original faith. In effect, Nhat Hanh is dressing up Christianity in the garb of philosophical Buddhism, which isn't too far off from what certain progressive Christian thinkers have themselves done in different terms. Mindfulness engenders concentration, concentration leads to understandin...more
