Living Buddha, living Christ
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Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over the course of two millennia. If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other's spiritual views and practices?
Thich Nhat Hanh has been part of a decades-long dialogue between the two greatest living contemplative traditions, and brings to Christianity an appreciation of its beauty that could only be conveyed by an outsider. In a lucid, meditative prose, he explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and reawakens our understanding of both. "On the altar in my hermitage," he says, "are images of Buddha and Jesus, and . . . I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors."
>A rare combination of mystic, scholar, and activist, Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most beloved Buddhist teachers in the West.
"[Thich Nhat Hanh] is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. . . . His ideas for peace . . . would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity."
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in nominating Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967
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Lovely book exploring the intersections between Buddhism and Christianity, which I think benefit greatly from the interchange. Christianity could use a good dose of Buddhism to bring it back to its original emphasis on love and compassion and away from its current status as a tool of domination and oppression. And I'd venture to say that when handled rightly, the individual consciousness fostered by Christianity can help to bolster what can become formless and impotent, through an overdose of Buddhist non-self.
My personal belief is that all religions should be seen as windows on a common spiritual reality and that the historical wars between them now have to be overcome, so that we can better understand that multidimensional reality from many sides. Books like this are a help in that endeavor.
I just learned from a Buddhist monk how to be a better Christ follower. <3
