Sunday, March 17, 2019

BUDDHISM VS CHRISTIANITY, THE LEITMOTIV OF THE SPIRITUAL EXCHANGE


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.

GIVING LIFE TO THE NEW UNDERSTANDING OF EVANGELIZATION ( Evangelii Gaudium)

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