Living Buddha, Living Christ

In my series about the church in the future, I discussed the power of working together with ecumenical and interfaith communities. Mutual cooperation can be a game-changer. Let me share an example.

A young Vietnamese man came to our church and attended one of my classes. When he was growing up, religion was not a part of his or his family’s life. As a young man, he became interested in Buddhism and then Christianity. In my class, he mentioned the book Living Buddha, Living Christ (published by Riverside Books in 1995) written by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who wrote how ecumenical and interfaith dialogue can foster more understanding and cooperation.

I was fascinated by the title, ordered it, and started reading it, but this book was so provocative that I realized I could absorb only a short section every day. It became part of my daily morning quiet time. I am now in my sixth reading and still find new and helpful information in my ongoing journey.

The most powerful concept was mindfulness. It reminded me that I had spent nine decades being project-oriented and had forgotten to stop and smell and inspect the roses. I then signed up for a course on mindfulness on the site the Great Course to learn how to be mindful and aware of who I am and the world around me. It’s fascinating!

Hanh compares Christianity with Buddhism, stressing our commonalities, not so much our differences. Although some of his theology is ancient, his understanding is modern. He stopped me short with the quotes “A good theologian is one who says almost nothing about God” and “Discussing God is not the best use of our energy.” He then refers to what he calls negative theology and that the 1960’s idea of the Death of God is not about the nonexistence of God but about the death of ancient concepts of God and how God is constantly changing.

He opened the idea that the Kingdom of God and Love is inside and outside of us. The practice of mindfulness allows us to see more deeply that Kingdom inside.

Hanh calls the Holy Spirit “the energy sent by God,” which is similar to my idea that the Holy Spirit is God and Goodness within every human being but needs to be nurtured.

As a Buddhist, he is a nonviolent pacifist and a lover of his enemies. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating compassion. As I read his book, I thought of all the lives just in my lifetime that could have been saved by living agape instead of violence and killing.

I could go on and on about this book’s power. However, my point is about the power of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and the opportunity to get to know and understand each other on a deeper level. The future church demands that we build bridges, not walls.

I would love to belong to a church where I could sit down with American Indians, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and other religions to talk about how much we think alike and what we can do to make this a better world to live in.

If you need an inspirational book that encourages rather than depresses you, I suggest ordering a copy of Living Buddha, Living Christ.

PeaceLoveJoyHopeKindness

Bil

Get my book at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon!

P.S. People often ask me provocative questions about current events, both religious and secular. I have found that some of these questions are being asked universally. I’ll be periodically alternating regular articles with one of those questions and my answer. I invite you to send me your question to bilaulenbach@yahoo.com.

 

Photo courtesy of peterhershey (public domain)