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Christianity and Buddhism: A Multicultural History of Their Dialogue
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December 12, 2019
This book by a German historian and a Chinese American academic is an abridgement and translation of a German book originally published in 1997. It is an ambitious attempt to describe in outline the course of Buddhist-Christian dialogue in certain key areas of the world.
Three reasons are given for studying this dialogue (2):
First, Buddhism is a world religion that spans the entire continent of Asia, one of the most dynamic regions of the earth.
Second, Buddhism shares a common history with Christianity, deeply marked by Christian colonization.
Third, Buddhism, over the past hundred years has established a foothold in Europe and America (and, I may add, Australia).
The methodology used is historical and comparative. The authors emphasize that descriptions of each religion must take account of the historical context in order for comparisons to have any validity. In their introduction, they discuss the problem of “mutuality”, ie. the difficulty of mutual understanding between adherents of each religion. The difficulties arise in the use of different languages as well as different mythological and historical assumptions.
The book is structured in six chapters which look at the history of the meeting of Buddhism and Christianity in selected countries that can serve as examples.
India, the homeland of Buddhism, is treated in spite of the fact that Buddhism had almost entirely disappeared there for centuries. In the last fifty years, however, the presence of Tibetan exiles and Ambedkar’s Neo-Buddhist movement amongst the outcastes (sic) has renewed Buddhism there and made dialogue with Christians possible.
Sri Lanka, China and Japan are treated in the next three chapters. The dialogue in Germany and the United States of America are described in the final two chapters.
An interesting comparison comes out in these last two chapters. In Germany, dialogue is not limited to libraries and academic conferences, but is increasingly evident at the level of meditation practice. “A certain double residence in Christianity and Buddhism is no longer a rarity for many engaged Christians; a certain synthesis of elements from both religions distinguishes this practice” (191). On the other hand, in the US, academic dialogue has been institutionalized at a high level and is particularly dynamic there as a result of the present structure of the university system and America’s own religious history, starting with the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. However, most Protestant churches in the US remain aloof from practical dialogue with Buddhism (234).
The strength of this book lies in the breadth of the material covered. For depth, one would need to go to the various reports, articles and monographs detailed in the footnotes.
I was personally delighted to find details of dialogues initiated by Lutherans in India, specifically, Gurukul Lutheran College in Madras, in the 1980’s. The participants in these dialogues, which included the Dalai Lama, asked from what particulars of the two religions might each side learn? “Both sides agreed that Buddhists could above all learn from Christians in the field of organized love of neighbour and social engagement, while Christians could best learn from Buddhism in the area of meditation” (20)
Three reasons are given for studying this dialogue (2):
First, Buddhism is a world religion that spans the entire continent of Asia, one of the most dynamic regions of the earth.
Second, Buddhism shares a common history with Christianity, deeply marked by Christian colonization.
Third, Buddhism, over the past hundred years has established a foothold in Europe and America (and, I may add, Australia).
The methodology used is historical and comparative. The authors emphasize that descriptions of each religion must take account of the historical context in order for comparisons to have any validity. In their introduction, they discuss the problem of “mutuality”, ie. the difficulty of mutual understanding between adherents of each religion. The difficulties arise in the use of different languages as well as different mythological and historical assumptions.
The book is structured in six chapters which look at the history of the meeting of Buddhism and Christianity in selected countries that can serve as examples.
India, the homeland of Buddhism, is treated in spite of the fact that Buddhism had almost entirely disappeared there for centuries. In the last fifty years, however, the presence of Tibetan exiles and Ambedkar’s Neo-Buddhist movement amongst the outcastes (sic) has renewed Buddhism there and made dialogue with Christians possible.
Sri Lanka, China and Japan are treated in the next three chapters. The dialogue in Germany and the United States of America are described in the final two chapters.
An interesting comparison comes out in these last two chapters. In Germany, dialogue is not limited to libraries and academic conferences, but is increasingly evident at the level of meditation practice. “A certain double residence in Christianity and Buddhism is no longer a rarity for many engaged Christians; a certain synthesis of elements from both religions distinguishes this practice” (191). On the other hand, in the US, academic dialogue has been institutionalized at a high level and is particularly dynamic there as a result of the present structure of the university system and America’s own religious history, starting with the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. However, most Protestant churches in the US remain aloof from practical dialogue with Buddhism (234).
The strength of this book lies in the breadth of the material covered. For depth, one would need to go to the various reports, articles and monographs detailed in the footnotes.
I was personally delighted to find details of dialogues initiated by Lutherans in India, specifically, Gurukul Lutheran College in Madras, in the 1980’s. The participants in these dialogues, which included the Dalai Lama, asked from what particulars of the two religions might each side learn? “Both sides agreed that Buddhists could above all learn from Christians in the field of organized love of neighbour and social engagement, while Christians could best learn from Buddhism in the area of meditation” (20)
Displaying 1 of 1 review