The
Los Angeles Buddhist - Roman Catholic Dialogue
Buddhists
and Christians have lived among each other from the early
years of Christianity. Small communities of Christians existed
in India, possibly as early as the first century C.E., and
certainly by the 7th century, at which time there was also
a Christian community in China, but records of dialogues between
these communities have not come to light. At the beginning
of the modern era, the European voyages of exploration and
the subsequent expansion of commercial and colonial powers
in Asia set the stage for the first major encounter between
these religions. The explorers as well as the missionaries
who accompanied them saw themselves as part of a divine mission
to spread the gospel; they brought the word of God into Asia,
but they also instituted European structures of power and
domination over the indigenous peoples, Buddhists, as well
as Hindus and members of other religions. This was not an
atmosphere which fostered true dialogue.
Today
something new is occurring in the relations of these two
religions. In this city named after the most sacred "Queen of Angels" of
Christianity, large Buddhist and Christian communities
live side by side. the great wave of Asian immigration
into Los Angeles coincided with a new openness towards
other religions in Catholicism, promulgated by the decree,
"Nostra Aetate," (Declaration
of Non-Christian Religions) of the Second Vatican council
in 1965. It set the stage for a real dialogue.
In Los
Angeles a unique situation for Buddhism developed. All the
major Buddhist schools and ethnic traditions, each with its
own language and customs, are found here. The great diversity
within Buddhism stimulated inter-Buddhist dialogue. In 1980
the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California was formed,
the first such Buddhist organization to embrace all forms
of Buddhism. The Sangha council, while establishing its own
dialogue among Buddhist groups, began to explore inter-faith
dialogue.
During
these years the Roman Catholic community followed through
with the guidelines of Nostra Aetate. In 1969 the Catholic
Archdiocese of Los Angeles with other religious communities
founded the Interreligious Council of Southern California;
in 1971 Buddhist communities joined. In 1974 the Archdiocese
formed the Commission of Ecumenical and Interreligious
Affairs to coordinate and expedite its relations with other
religious communities. Through the Commission and the Council
of Interreligious Affairs one on one exchanges began between
Catholics and Buddhists. Some highlights of these exchanges
included the fifthteenth anniversary celebration of Nostra
Aetate in 1980; the twentieth anniversary in 1985; the
1986 Los Angeles observance of the assissi World Peace
Day; and the multireligious celebration of the 1987 visit
of Pope John Paul II in Little Tokyo, "Nostra
Aetate Alive." This history of cooperation laid the foundation
for the Los Angeles Buddhist-Cathlolic Dialogue, which began
February 16, 1989.
The Buddhist
Leaders of Los Angeles agreed to enter the dialogue in spite
of some feelings of reticence. Fears and distrust of Christians
formed during the colonial period still linger among much
of the Buddhist population. Nevertheless, some of the Buddhist
leaders had developed friendly relations with leaders of other
religious groups, particularly with the Roman Catholics, and
were able to assuage the fears of their colleagues. The Buddhist
community saw this dialogue as an opportunity to help increase
understanding and sympathy toward Buddhism, a process which
could be helpful to the Buddhist community.
There
was also the tradition of Buddhism in the course of its long
history to work with other religious groups. Since the essence
of Buddhism is to abandon all forms of attachments, its hallmark
has been not to criticize or condemn any other religion. The
Buddha himself often visited other religious centers and leaders,
and followers of Buddhism have often been encouraged to study
and experience different systems of religion or philosophy.
Among
Catholics, Nostra Aetate initiated a fundamental change in
the way the Church viewed other religions. For the first time
it encouraged dialogue with them. A profound rethinking and
appreciation of the intrinsic validity of other religions
has gone on; Catholics have become eager to explore and learn
about other religions. Dialogue for both groups became timely
and appropriate.
The dialogue
is sponsored by the Buddhist Sangha council and catholic office
of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. It was formed as
an official, on-going, core group dialogue. The core group
was designed to accommodate approximately eight Buddhist representatives
and eight Roman Catholic representatives. Meetings were to
be held every six to eight weeks, rotating between Buddhist
and Catholic locations.
The committee
from the beginning recognized that this was a very early and
preliminary dialogue, with a great need for mutual patience
and simple getting to know one another. We have become aware
first hand that we have gifts to give each other and we have
gifts to receive from each other. Herein lie some of the first
fruits of our dialogue.
The
Essence of the Journey
There
are vast differences in our histories and spiritual lives.
Yet, we all entered the dialogue with a spirit of openness
and the expectation that we could understand each other; we
were not disappointed. Our dialogue experience unfolded into
four dynamic processes.
First,
we discovered that learning about each other's tradition was
learning the vocabulary that it uses to express itself. This
proved to be more difficult that we expected, because the
vocabulary comes from such different worlds. Many words have
no reference in the other tradition. For example, Buddhists
were perplexed with the Christian notions of soul and creator
God, while at the same time, Catholics had great difficulty
with the concepts of anatman (no-soul) and a cosmos without
a God. At times we spent an entire session on just one word
or concept. We learned not to attempt to cover a lot of material
in a single meeting, for we found it took time to get in-depth
understanding.
Second,
while each dialogue session has brought us some knowledge
and understanding of the other's tradition, at the same time
we discovered that we were re-encountering our own. The novel
questions and fresh approaches required us to look anew at
our own traditions, to see inconsistencies, to discover what
we needed to think through, it challenged us to articulate
to one another what we took for granted among ourselves. Sometimes
this gave us a whole new perspective on our own beliefs. We
expected to be teacher of each other, bet became students
or our own traditions.
Third,
there were discoveries. Catholics unexpectedly learned about
the negative attitude towards Christianity among Asian Buddhists,
the legacy of Christianity's involvement with western colonialism,
which began in the sixteenth century and continued in parts
of Asia for more than four hundred years. This legacy made
all the more powerful the Buddhist's discovery of the extraordinary
practice of compassion exemplified in the life of Jesus in
all its simplicity and beauty. At the same time Catholics
discovered how important compassion is in Buddhism, as comparable
in its transcendence to divine basis of love in Christianity.
We discovered in the lives of simplicity and compassion shared
by the founders of our religions something basic to both.
it is noteworthy that in spite of the differences, we share
something so fundamental in our orientations. This brought
up the mystery of how our traditions could share something
so important, yet come from such radically different origins.
Fourth,
sometimes even after spending a whole session on a word, we
found that we could not understand it completely. At the same
time, we also found that we could continue to speak and to
hear each other even if we did not have a precise understanding
of each other. Nonetheless, we have the expectation that if
we continue to talk with each other long enough, we will.
Among
the topics we discussed were concepts of love: the Buddhist
four Brahma Viharas (sublime states of living) of Metta (loving-kindness)
, Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy) and Upeksa
(equanimity) were compared to the Christian concepts of Eros,
Philia and agape. We also discussed concepts of Soul and No-Soul
(anatman), of resurrection and rebirth, and of Gnosis, saving
knowledge.
Looking
for common points of reference has turned out to be more difficult
that one could imagine. But, in view of the compassion central
to each tradition, a concern for the welfare of all beings
stands out. Each tradition seeks to draw people towards a
greater, purer more loving reality than that found in the
ordinary human context of life, so that they may realize their
full potential.
The great
models of this process in both traditions are their founders,
who provide the key to the spiritual life of their disciples.
The importance of the founders can be seen in their lives
of their disciples.
The
Buddha and the Christ
The
Buddha: the "Awakened One." born Siddartha Gautamma, a
prince of the Sakya clan in northern India, c. 624 B.C.E.
Through
his own efforts he achieved Enlightenment, the realization
of ultimate reality (truth), perfect in wisdom and compassion.
He set the Wheel of the Dharma in motion, showing all humankind
(and ultimately all sentient beings) the way to attain release
from suffering and attain Nirvana, that ultimate state beyond
all description.
The
Christ: the "Messiah," or "Anointed One," born Jesus of
Nazareth in Judea; crucified outside of Jerusalem by Roman
authorities, c. 33 C.E.
Anointed
by God to save humankind by death on a cross and resurrection
from the dead, God became human so humanity could be divinized.
He was the total and complete manifestation of God, the Son
of God, the second person of the Trinity.
Past
and Present
Buddhist
The
Buddha was born in northern India of a princely family, as
Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakya clan. His mother died when
he was one week old and he was raised by his stepmother and
trained to become the successor of the kingdom. He married
and had one son. Leaving home at age 29, he gave up his princely
life and became a wandering ascetic, seeking the answer to
the question of why people suffer. At age 35, finding that
extreme asceticism brought him no closer to enlightenment
than did an indolent, luxurious life, he turned to the middle
path of moderation. He attained enlightenment by turning his
meditation inward, achieving the realization of ultimate reality
and becoming "The Buddha," the Awakened One.
In
his enlightenment experience the Buddha discovered the
Four Noble Truths, the causes of and methods to eradicate "dukkha", unsatisfactoriness,
which underlies all life. He then "turned the Wheel of the
Dharma" (began teaching the Path to enlightenment/liberation)
and devoted the next 45 years of his life teaching others
so that they might also attain liberation from suffering.
He died at age 80 and entered into parinirvana, ultimate
reality, that state of complete peace and quiet that goes
beyond concepts of existence or nonexistence.
Buddhism
does not recognize a beginning or an end to the cosmos, but
rather recognizes that there is a non-ending arising, maturing
and dying of universes, all by natural law rather than by
a primary cause. Thus, many different Buddhas have existed
in many different aeons in many different universes. All sentient
beings have Buddha nature, the potentiality of attaining enlightenment.
While it would be difficult for a non human to become a Buddha,
all beings still have the potentiality of that potentiality
of achieving human form and eventual enlightenment. What distinguishes
a Buddha from other enlightened beings is that the Buddha
has achieved supreme enlightenment, and so has discovered
the truths that Sakyamuni also discovered, and initially expounds
the Dharma in a universe or an age.
Thus,
while Sakyamuni is the historical Buddha of our time period
and is honored by all, in some traditions the central figure
is not Sakyamuni, but a different Buddha. The most popular
of these is Amitabha Buddha, Lord of Infinite Life and Light,
and he is venerated as the central Buddha in the Pure Land
schools.
As Buddhism
spread from India to other countries, outward appearances
changed as it took on indigenous ethnic characteristics. Eventually
three major Buddhist traditions emerged. Theravada (the School
of the Elders) became most prevalent in south and southeast
Asia: Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos. Mahayana
(the Great Vehicle) emerged as a major tradition around the
second century C.E. and spread into east Asia: China, Korea,
Japan and Vietnam. By the eighth century C.E., the third school,
Vajrayana (the Diamond Vehicle) merged in central Asia: Tibet,
Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and eventually southern Siberia. By
the twelfth century, virtually all of the specific schools
within Buddhism were well developed into their modern form.
While
Theravada remains a fairly cohesive whole, it is more conservative
in its attitudes and resembles most closely the Buddhism
practiced during the Buddha's life time. Mahayana Buddhism
added more scriptures to the canon, presenting the Buddha's
teachings from a more non dualistic view of reality. Vajrayana
Buddhism added some elements of Tantrism* (esoteric, mystical
rituals). Each developing school added layers on to the
already existing canon, so that changes in practice come
not only from an interpretive base, but from a canonical
one as well.
Catholic
Jesus
of Nazareth lived for approximately 33 years at the beginning
of the Common Era in Judea and was crucified by Roman authorities.
He was a Jew, and he collected around himself a community
of disciples who discovered that in this Jesus of Nazareth,
YAHWEH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, the God
who had revealed himself historically to the Jews, had become
completely human. They recognized Jesus as the Son of God,
the Christ, the Messiah prophesied in the Bible and expected
him to return to institute the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
His life of proclaiming the Kingdom, his healing and forgiving,
his passion and death upon the cross, and his resurrection
from the dead, were the ultimate revelation of God and established
for eternity God's identification with humanity and the means
of humankind's redemption from sin and death.
The
community of disciples, inspired and graced. by God's Holy
Spirit, proclaimed the salvation found in the Christ to
the world, a proclamation that has never ceased. Christ
has been proclaimed on every continent, in every culture:
Each ethnic group has found in Jesus something uniquely
its own which they celebrate through their own cultural
genius and add, in this way, to the ongoing revelation
of the Christ. In the world today, great spiritual creativity
is being expressed by "Third World" Christianity:
that of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Though
originally persecuted in the ancient world, faith in Christ
became the foundation of Western civilization. Throughout
the Middle reserved and perpetuated in Ages this faith
was perpetuated in the hierarchical structures of bishops,
patriarchs and popes; in the heroic spirituality of monastics;
in the theology debated and refined in the great universities
of medieval Europe; and in the devout lives of countless
individuals, serfs and nobles alike. In the eleventh century,
with the breakdown of the old Roman Empire complete, theological
and political disputes which had long threatened the unity
of the eastern and western branches of Christianity resulted
in the tragic separation of the Church of Rome from the
Churches of the East. At the beginning of the modern era,
a renewed understanding of the prophetic ministry of Jesus
was expressed in the Protestant Reformation. Protestants,
contending that Christianity should never be tied to a
single institutional expression or interpretation, broke
with the Roman Church and western Christianity was splintered.
Today there are three major branches of Christianity: Roman
Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Each
community contributes, in its own capacity, to the presence
of Christ as the divinely transforming agent and goal of
human history. Across the ages, he remains the Alpha and
Omega of history, the baby born in poverty, the preacher
proclaiming a coming reign of peace and justice, the prophet
offering himself on the cross, the suffering servant and
glorified Lord of humanity, its judge and saviour.
The
Founder and the Follower
Buddhist
The
Buddha, either sitting in meditation or standing to teach,
is the usual image that adorns Buddhist altars and shrines.
As the Buddhist follower looks upon this image of the serene
figure and the compassionate, smiling face, he/she again
pays homage to the teacher, the great enlightened one,
who shows the way of peace and spiritual development to
all. To him is given the greatest reverence, for he has
shown the way to liberation. He is not a god, nor is the
Buddhist concerned with god concepts. He is the human teacher,
one who has raised himself out of all suffering and attained
perfection and has revealed that path which can be followed
by any person. In some Buddhist schools, emphasis is placed
upon "self-power" and the individual
strives for perfection and enlightenment. In other schools,
the individual seeks guidance and assistance from Amitabha
Buddha or one of the great Bodhisattvas (highly developed
spiritual beings who devote their lifetimes to helping
others) for help in attaining that state which leads to
enlightenment
Buddhist
practice is three-fold: ethical behavior, mind development
and intuitive wisdom. Ethics is usually seen as the foundation
for all Buddhist practice. To proclaim oneself as a Buddhist
is to willingly take on the practice of certain precepts
as a guide for behavior. The way in which a follower determines
whether any particular action is moral or not rests upon
the ultimate question: "Is this behavior harmful to myself or
others? Is this behavior beneficial for myself and others?" One
should always act in ways which are wise, ways which are
non-harmful to oneself and others. Besides trying to act
in non-harmful ways in body, speech and mind, one also strives
to develop the perfections of generosity, ethical behavior,
patience, spiritual endurance, mental discipline and wisdom,
as well as the development of the Four Noble states of living:
loving kindness, com passion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.
Serious
Buddhist practitioners constantly examine their behavior to
discover their strengths and weaknesses. They attempt to strengthen
those behaviors which are wholesome and to discourage those
which are unwholesome. There is always the awareness that
the precepts cannot be kept perfectly; guilt is discouraged
as counter productive. The precepts are not commandments,
but are guidelines for living a wise life. Thus, Buddhists
do not sin if they break a precept, rather, they have behaved
in a harmful way, the results of which will return to them.
The
second aspect of practice is mind development, which is
considered necessary for Buddhist practice. Meditation,
or the practice of mindfulness or awareness, helps the
individual to calm the mind and free it from self-involvement
and self-attachment, from ideas and emotions. The practice
of meditation helps a person to observe how the mind functions
and to produce understanding, to experience insight, and
eventually liberation. Meditation is not an activity that
is done only at a special time. Meditation is the state
of mind of one-pointed concentration, of awareness and
mindfulness, that allows one to see clearly without the
mental fetters of me and mine" which usually determine
the way one perceives reality. While sitting meditation
is extraordinarily important in some traditions of Buddhism,
in others self-awareness is developed through other practices.
Rituals,
chanting, and practice of mindfulness during daily life are
important tools in helping the individual to develop disciplined
behavior. Thus, Buddhists perform pujas or offerings to the
Buddha, in order to recall his great virtuous qualities and
to remind them of their spiritual goal. Prostrations are done
to help lessen pride. Chanting and study of the sutras is
also an important part of developing discipline and understanding.
The third
part of practice is the development of intuitive wisdom that
comes only when one can break free of the three poisons of
greed, anger and delusion. And this can occur only when we
understand that there is no separate identity, no self, no
soul. Only when we see that our ordinary perception of things
is an illusion, coming from a self-centered deluded mind,
can we hope to experience complete ultimate reality.
Catholic
The
crucifix, the image of Jesus dying upon the cross, is the
universal symbol of Catholicism. To gaze upon it is to
witness the horror of what humanity can do to itself, but
at the same time, to see the power of God's love to save
humankind through it. To see the dying Christ is to see
God in the most vulnerable form of humanity, and, at the
same time, humankind's hope of reconciliation. He is the
path to our union with God and imitation of him, the key
to our salvation. "Love one another
as I have loved you," Jesus said. "Take up your cross and
follow me."
Though
the crucifix is displayed in many places, the richness
of its meaning and power is most visible when it stands
over the altar. Upon that altar, as the head of the congregation
gathered in the church, the priest celebrates the Eucharist,
the sacrament of the suffering, death, and resurrection
of Jesus. He repeats the words and gestures of Jesus at
his last meal, when, with his disciples, he broke bread
and shared wine, identifying them as his body and blood
about to be broken and shed to redeem all humanity. "This is my body; this is
my blood," speaks the priest as Jesus did that night. The
body he speaks of is the body of Christ upon the cross and
also glorified at the resurrection; it is the bread he consecrates;
it is the congregation participating; it is the world-wide
Church and all Christians who have ever lived; in all of
these Jesus is fully present. Each Eucharistic celebration
renews and reactualizes the central mystery of Christ's conquest
over sin and death in which all Christians participate as
members of the Body of Christ.
At the
center of our lives as Christians is the sacramental unity
of life in Christ. We became Christians through the sacrament
of Baptism. In earlier times the person was fully submerged
in water, a kind of symbolic burial, and then raised up again,
symbolically resurrected with Christ. It means a new beginning
-- a new life -- a life of union with Christ. This participation
in the death and resurrection of Christ is a life long process,
not completed until our own deaths and resurrection. It is
a process of personal purification and divinization, but the
process ultimately includes the cosmos itself. The presence
of the resurrected Christ is drawing all of humanity and the
cosmos towards a final reconciliation with their creator,
towards a new creation.
To
sign oneself with the cross, as we do, is to take up a
life of exemplary love. It is especially to take up the
cause of those who have no one else to act on their behalf,
the powerless and oppressed, for they are humanity at its
most vulnerable. Christian spirituality must be manifested
in involvement with one's social community and in the pursuit
of justice. "Whatever
you do to the least of these, you do to me," Jesus said.
The pursuit of justice and concern for others imitates the
earthly life of the Christ.
Reading
scripture and praying are the other chief practices of our
spiritual lives. Both are done as encounters with Christ.
The Divine Office, for example, consisting of prayers and
scriptural readings, is the daily offering of the I Church
itself to God. The practice of meditation and contemplation,
which dates from the earliest years of the Church, continues
to enrich the lives of Christians today. Through such prayer
one can be drawn to the highest levels of prayer, mystical
union with God. In recent years Christians have found certain
practices from the Buddhist tradition helpful and consistent
with their own tradition.
Original
Dialogue Members
Catholic Members
Msgr.
Royale M. Vadakin, Co-Chair: Commission on Ecumenical
and Interreligious Affairs
Sr. Thomas
Bernard, CSJ: Archdiocesan Spirituality Center
Br. Lucius
Boraks, CFX: Alemany High School: Commission on Ecumenical
and Interreligious Affairs
Dr. Michael
Kerze: Loyola Marymount University
Rev. Flavian
Wilathramuwa, CMF: San Gabriel Mission
Buddhist
Members
Ven.
Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara, Co-Chair: Buddhist Sangha
Council of Southern California
Ven. Dr.
Karuna Dharma: International Buddhist Meditation Center
Rev. Masao
Kodani: Senshin Buddhist Church
Ven. Walpola
Piyananda: Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara
Ven. Phra
Setthakit Samahito: Wat Thai Temple
Mrs. Heidi
Singh: Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara
Ven. Dr.
Thich Man-Giac: Chua Vietnam Temple
