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On the surface Christianity and Zen Buddhism can appear to be worlds apart, even antithetical. Christianity affirms the reality of the Tri-personal God and the eternal salvation of mortal human beings; Zen denies both the existence of God and the soul. Yet Thomas Merton, the Catholic spiritual master, and D. T. Suzuki, the famous teacher of Zen, engaged in an extensive dialogue and found ways of mutually affirming shared meanings of God and person that each regarded to be true. This book explores that dialogue within the larger context of Merton’s attraction to Buddhism and considers the implications of their achievement for contemporary theologies of religious pluralism.
On the surface Christianity and Zen Buddhism can appear to be worlds apart, even antithetical. Christianity affirms the reality of the Tri-personal God and the eternal salvation of mortal human beings; Zen denies both the existence of God and the soul. Yet Thomas Merton, the Catholic spiritual master, and D. T. Suzuki, the famous teacher of Zen, engaged in an extensive dialogue and found ways of mutually affirming shared meanings of God and person that each regarded to be true. This book explores that dialogue within the larger context of Merton's attraction to Buddhism and considers the implications of their achievement for contemporary theologies of religious pluralism.
How Catholic was Thomas Merton? Since his death in 1968, Merton’s Catholic identity has been regularly questioned, both by those who doubt the authenticity of his Catholicism given his commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and by those who admire Merton as a thinker but see him as an aberration who rebelled against his Catholicism to articulate ideas that went against the church. In this book, Gregory K. Hillis illustrates that Merton’s thought was intertwined with his identity as a Catholic priest and emerged out of a thorough immersion in the church’s liturgical, theological, and spiritual tradition. In addition to providing a substantive introduction to Merton’s life and thought, this book illustrates that Merton was fundamentally shaped by his identity as a Roman Catholic.
This work proposes a theological investigation of the community of the Church as outlined by liberation theology and a possible conversation with liberation from suffering in Tibetan Buddhism. What unites both is the human process of sublimation for others, whereby liberation theologians as well as enlightened lamas give the best of themselves for the liberation of others. At this stage of discussions between inclusivists and exclusivists this work proposes that dialogue with world religions and therefore with Buddhism is not about finding possible dogmatic similarities but a common place, a common purpose through a common humanity.
The analysis of the relationship between center and periphery is one of many theoretical approaches found in all fields of the Humanities. Looking at this special relationship from several disciplinary perspectives is an effective methodology for establishing connections between various fields of study. Consequently, the issue contains articles dealing with, among others, the Russian enterprise in Alaska, German polar exploration, gender in Islamic contexts in Europe, labor relations, 'economic securitization', cultural nationalism in Ghana, and Robert Rodriguez's movie Machete. The historical perspective of cultural reception, the economic relationship between central and peripheral areas a...
Thomas Merton proclaimed, over sixty years ago, that we were living in a post-Christian world. Since then, in an increasingly secular society where the influence of the institutional church is under doubt, Thomas Merton's reflections are more salient than ever. David Oberon's discussion and analysis brings this mystic, monk and spiritual leader's view of the opportunities presented to Christians by cultural changes to the forefront, focussing on how the individual's witness can take precedence. Oberon situates the reader in the current cultural context, and handles Merton's work with care and clarity. He illuminates Thomas Merton's unique view of his own society, which credibly speaks to our present, aiding Christians in navigating a post-Christian, post-truth world.
Mario Aguilar skillfully, elegantly, and clearly presents the life and thought of some of the major spiritual forces of our time as a starting point for his own compelling reflections on the relationship between contemplation and politics... We need more books like this one. Professor Ivan Petrella, University of Miami
Between Human and Divine is the first collection of scholarly essays published on a wide variety of contemporary (post 1980) Catholic literary works and artists. Its aim is to introduce readers to recent and emerging writers and texts in the tradition.