Buddhism and Christianity
are major religions that both make universal and often competing claims and the
nature of the world and ultimate reality. These claims are difficult to
reconcile and often go to the core of Buddhist and Christian world views. Buddhism
and Christianity can forge friendship through common spirituality commitments
and actions. This research is into a Christian and Buddhism context.
Buddhism and Christianity
are some of the world religions that that make universal and often competing
claims about the nature of the world and ultimate reality. These claims are
difficult to reconcile and often go to the care of Buddhist and Christian philosophical
and theological world view. The absence of a personal and transcendent creator,
and believe in the transmigration, and the no self-doctrine in the Buddhism are
some, among many of these radically different claims.
These differences can be tolerated or brought to
light through interreligious dialogue focused on theology and philosophy
engagement. These will come with their challenges. The philosophical and
theological inclinations sometimes turns out to be obstacles rather than
reconciliation and rich religious experiences from the Buddhists and Christians
on the divide. The Buddhists monk and Christian friars have differences which
can be reconciled in the current environment. But there is a common ground to
be found in the area of spiritual commitments and practice.
The spirituality of St.
Francis, can be a true model of austerity of walking without shoe, advocating
stricter observance of poverty and mendicancy outside of monastic dwellings and
yet their name came to be slowly by slowly known as bothers without shoes or
wearing simple sandals.[1] Many of these
values were recognized and mirrored by Buddhist monks and lay people, their
lifestyle carried in it a sense of diplomacy which resembled Buddhist monks, and
they walked, lived and practiced spiritual devotions communally. The Franciscan
habit communicated ascetic values of humility and poverty, tonsured, sandaled,
shoeless, carried a shoulder bag to collect alms in order to maintain an
emphasis on mendicancy and poverty. Friar M. Ribadeneyra remarked that the appearance
of the friars wearing a habit in all seasons and weather conditions, and going
bare foot around the Buddhist temple, allowed locals to feel comfortable
approaching them.[2]This
displayed markers similar to those of Buddhist monks. Especially in the
Theravada tradition, monks often went bare footed or sandaled, wore robes,
shaved their heads, carried a bowl for food staff during alms-walks, and
sometimes wore a cloth bag for transporting other items. Buddhist robes signify
poverty, as early texts suggest that the materials need by the Buddhist monks were
taken form funeral pyres, while the friars preferred to describe monks’ robes as
“habit” “el habito”.[3] The
word they used for their own religious material clothing, representing poverty,
charity and obedience. Its stated in the rule of St. Francis; The rule of the
friar minors in this, namely to observe the Holy Gospel of our lord Jesus Christ,
by living obedience without anything of our own, and in chastity, solet
Annuere, Chapter 1, Nov.29, 1223[4]. As
religious figures that resembled Buddhist monks, friars were used as diplomat
envoys of Spain, they were even requested by the Japanese as more refutable and
trust worthy than traders.[5]
A religious Buddhists
monk and Christian friars were perceived to share a common goal of promoting
peaceful and friendly relations. This had its freedom of freedom of promoting
religious freedoms. Their spiritual discipline caused curiosity and
administration from Japanese observes:
Although we were by
ourselves, we observed the same rules and regulations of prayer, fasting and abstinence,
self-discipline, and mortification as well as silence. Our gentile neighbors
who were constantly but surreptiously watching us, marveled at our regulated
life, and being edified by our behavior, started gradually to ask questions
about the Christian God, and even requested…a brilliant preacher who happened
to be with us to deliver a sermon about this God.[6]
Spiritual practice
opened doors to further dialogue and friendship among the Japanese. Their
spiritual devotion was something to market at and created the impetus for
further engagement. Japanese Buddhists admired the spiritual discipline of the
friar as well as the devotion of new converts.[7]The
friars were so much conscious of their effort to gain trust and friendship
through their committed spiritual practice:
The first missionaries
to japan observed their vows of poverty as perfectly as they could. They slept
on straw pallet over wooden beams on the floor. Whether it was winter or summer
they were always wore strapped sandals. They learned from experience that the
best way to win over the hearts of the gentiles was by concrete example. They
did this everyday of their lives.[8]
Today, the dialogue is
on high demand, especially once a man starts to walk on the path to true mutual
understanding and peace to create harmony between religions. The science and art of dialogue seems to be thrown through the windows
in our globalized world divide due to religious intolerance, hatred, and
terrorism.
In this research, we
would like to venture into the whole reality of Interreligious dialogue to get
new paradigm shifts in understanding religion, its manifested forms in
pluralistic communities. We find ourselves sailing and not knowing which port
we would like to go, then we think every wind will sail us to any port so long
as we land. Much of the academic work looks very impressive but the negotiation
or dialogue remains an art rather than science. Richard Holbrook is quoted by
Jonathan Powell in his book, Talking to Terrorists, How to End Armed Conflicts
in these words:
The primary difference between negotiating and
chess is that in a practical sense negotiation has no rules other than those
which are able to be imposed on the game by one of the parties to it…In
diplomacy, process can often be as important as substance. This is especially
true early on when long-time adversaries are prone to maximize differences
rather reach out for agreement.[9]
The Franciscan approach
to engaging Buddhism provides important avenues for imaging and enacting
contemporary interreligious dialogue and brotherhood-dialogue of spirituality,
as monks and friars exchange their spiritual life and experience and even with
overlapping realities like trusted diplomatic advocates. The expression of the
spiritual tradition among modern-day catholic religious of various order, most
prominently in lectio Divina.[10]
Many of the friars
found their spirituality as vehicle to win over Japanese hearts. With an
increase in trust and more lay people open to deeper changes, the community of friars
and Christians grew. The spiritual exchange between the catholic religious and
Buddhist monks has continued to be a fruitful area of deepening amity and
friendship. The life of religious dedication, discipline in spirituality and
celibacy with leading monastics has served as a foundation for extended efforts
of the Franciscans to host Christian and Buddhist spiritual retreat.[11] This
can be seen in the interpersonal relationship between Thomas Merton, a Trappist
monk (order of the Cistercians of strict observation) and the 14th Dalai
Lama. The Cistercian tradition, forming officially in 1892 but rooted in the reform
in 1660s, focuses on the life of contemplation in monastic setting.
Christian contemplative
spiritually and Buddhist spiritual practice of meditation and chanting are
potential areas of dialogue in spiritual experience. Merton expresses his
gratitude in his journal that he had “great affection” for Holiness, observing,
“there is a real spiritual bond between us.” “Spiritual brother” and as a
catholic geshe”(learned monk).
From the fertile ground
of dialogue in spiritual experience and shared monastic commitments to their
respective faiths, grew several programs of spiritual exchange. The monastic
interreligious dialogue facilities ongoing spiritual exchange between Buddhist
and Catholics monastics. There are also aptly named spiritual exchange program
in Europe and monastic hospitality programs in the united stated.[12]
From the examples of
the Franciscans and Cistercians extensions of interreligious friendship through
spiritual exchange are based on monastic affinity. The shape of this efforts is
not unlike some of the early agreement or affinity on theological and
philosophical ground is explicitly not the basis of exchange. Neither is the
exchange based on progress towards some agreed upon teleos or ultimate goal. Both the basis of spiritual life and its
ultimate end are potential areas of significant difference that these
interreligious gatherings don’t attempt fuse or resolve. Instead friendship is
built on spiritual progress as it is defined by each respective tradition.
Building friendship
through spiritual exchange is not, however, limited to those who are have
chosen a monastic or religious order. Spiritual exchange can also be extended
to lay practitioner such was the basis of a retreat trappist monk Father Kevin
Hunt and Dharma master José Ramírez of the Delaware valley Zen Center. This
gathering is based on the understanding that Christian’s contemplative prayer
and Buddhist mediation use similar techniques.[13]
Similar efforts that focus on spiritual might also be used to build friendship
across religions.
[1] L.Iriate, Franciscan History: The Three Orders of St. Francis
of Assisi, Trans. Ross P. Chicago, Franciscan Herald Press 1993, 176-177.
[2] M. Ribadeneiryra, Historia de Archipielgo y Otros. History
of the Philippines and Other Kingdoms, Trans. Fernandez P.G Manila: Historical Conservation Society, Book IV
Chapter 19, 37.
[3] The Buddhist robes are described more fully in vinaya, one of the three
baskets of Buddhist pali canon, and the book of discipline for Theravada
monastic community (Class lectures and discourse with Prof. Kanakkapally).
[4] M. Ribadenieryra, Historia, Book II, Chapter 23, 24.
[5] M. Ribadeneiryra, Historia, Book V, Chapter 2, 38.
[6] M. Ribadeneirya, Historia
Book V, Chapter 8, 674.
[7] M. Ribadeneiraryra, Historia, Book V, Chapter 9, 677.
[8] M. Ribabeneiryra, Historia Book V, Chapter 9, 666.
[9] J. POWELL, Talking
to Terrorists, How to End Armed Conflicts, Vintage, Penguin Random House,
UK, 2014, pp. 203-4.
[10] S. Kriangchaiporn, The Role of Meditation in Spiritual Learning
for Christian Discipleships in Thailand, PhD Thesis, Biola University 2015,
109.
[11] The Christian- Buddhist
Interfaith Dialogue-OFM Thailand,
http://ofmthailand.org/thechristian-budhist-interfaith-dialogue
, accessed on 12.March.2019, 10:35pm.
[12] P.F. Béthune, de,
preface. Gethsemani Encounter: A Dialogue on Spiritual Life by Buddhist and
Christian Monastics, (eds) D. Mitchell-
J. Wiseman New York continuum 1999, xi.
[13] Christian- Buddhist retreat with Father Kevin Hunt and Jose Ramirez
JDDSM. Providence Center (blog), http://providencezen.org/event/christian_buddhist_retreat,
Accessed 12 March 2019, 12:54.
