Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation

by Susan J. Stabile

Although raised Roman Catholic, Susan Stabile was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and devoted 20 years of her life to practicing Buddhism before returning to Catholicism in 2001. In Growing in Love and Wisdom , she draws on this unique dual perspective to explore the value of interreligious dialogue, the spiritual dynamics that operate across faith traditions, and how Buddhist meditation practices can deepen Christian prayer. She begins by examining the values and principles shared by the two faiths and shows that both traditions seek to effect a fundamental transformation in the lives of believers. Both stress the need for experiences with deep emotional resonance that goes beyond the level of concepts to touch the heart. The center of the book offers 15 Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practices, adapted for Christian use. Stabile provides clear instructions on how to do these meditations and helpful commentary on each, explaining its purpose and the relation between the
Buddhist original and her Christian adaptation of it. Throughout, she highlights the many remarkably close parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha. The meditations offered in this unusual book will be extremely useful to thoughtful Christians, to those responsible for giving spiritual direction, and also to Buddhist sympathizers who will be intrigued and pleased to see familiar contemplations handled so skillfully by a former Buddhist practitioner who has gratefully learned so much from her former religion and now introduces the riches of that tradition to her fellow Christians.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2012

About the author

Susan J. Stabile, J.D. is Professor of Law and Director of the University of St. Thomas Office for Spirituality in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

She holds a JD from New York University's School of Law and a BA from Georgetown University.

Stabile is also a spiritual director and has significant experience in giving retreats and other programs of spiritual formation as well as in offering individual spiritual direction. She is the author of Growing in Love and Wisdom: Tibetan Buddhist Sources for Christian Meditation (Oxford 2013) and of the blog, Creo en Dios! She blogs at Mirror of Justice, a group blog devoted to the development of Catholic Legal Theory. Prior to moving to Minneapolis in 2007, Susan was a member of the adjunct ministerial staff of St. Ignatius Retreat House in New York.

Professor Stabile is among the nation’s leading scholars on pensions and employee benefits, and on the intersection of Catholic social thought and the law. She is the co-author of the leading casebook, Pension and Employee Benefit Law (Foundation Press). Her publications include articles in the NYU Law Review, Yale Journal on Regulation, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Notre Dame Law Review, Wake Forest Law Review, Cardozo Law Review, the Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, and the Journal of Catholic Social Thought, among many others.

Reviews

[Tahlia Newland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing in Love and Wisdom is a well thought out book on authentic Buddhist meditations adapted for Christian practitioners. It begins with chapters on the value of inter religious dialogue, core truths that operate across faith traditions and how using practices from other traditions can help our spiritual practice. After spending time as a Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition, the author returned to her Catholic roots and adapted her Buddhist practices to a Christian context. This book is simply to share what she has found helpful for her own spiritual practice, and I think it will be extremely helpful to any Christian practitioner wanting to deepen their compassion practice.

Though she acknowledges the shared truths, Ms Stabile does not try to minimise or ignore the differences between the Buddhist and Christian traditions, nor does she have any bias towards either of them, rather she takes an intelligent approach of simply using the practices of one traditions to enrich those of another.

It was clear very early on that Ms Stabile knows her stuff. She has an excellent grasp not only of the Buddhist practices, but also of the philosophy behind them, and she interprets them with very appropriate language for a Christian practitioner. The practices she lays out here are primarily analytical meditations, or contemplations, designed to help you to become more loving and compassionate, understand the nature of life and death and generally to grow closer to God.

Contemplations on equanimity, boundless love, compassion, and joy; exchanging self and others , tonglen and he eight worldly concerns are just some of the practices explained here. I think this is an excellent book of its kind. 5 stars.

[Grimm Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely reimagining of many Tibetan meditation practices for Christian practitioners. I had the opportunity to visit with the author on my podcast "Find the Good News" with Brother Oran Parker, and it's a great complement to the book.

[Phillip Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's more than one way to look at faith and spirituality. You may not have all the "right" answers that you think you do if you think your approach is the only correct one. God is bigger than all of us, and refuses to fit into any particular box as some traditions insist.

[HQ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was more a how-to book than an intellectual experience for me, which is why I gave it a 2 rather than a 3, and in all honesty I did not entirely finish it (due at the library & couldn't renew). The book is in three parts: a rationale for how traditions from other faiths can inform one's own spiritual development, an explanation of major principles of Tibetan Buddhism and its meditative practices, and a series of Buddhist meditation exercises, adapted for a Christian context.

Since it was suggested that one try the exercises before reading their specific explanations, I thought I'd return to this book when I was ready to actually try out the meditations. Otherwise, I did get a better understanding of Buddhism as a whole and Tibetan in particular.

[Genet · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Christian interested in meditation I found this book interesting and enlightening. New ways to approach God and expand your prayerful experiences. However the audiobook is read by the same woman who read The Magic Treehouse series and u could never quite get over it!

[E. Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very highly recommended as a practical daily guide to meditation and prayer. Christians should not be frightened away by the title; rather find their prayer life rejuvenated by the transformative nature of these meditations.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan Stabile returns to her roots as a Catholic after years of practicing Buddhism. She writes of the core teachings that bind both religions, and she offers a series of meditations based in Buddhism but adapted to a faith with God at the center.