A Mounting East-West Tension. Buddhist-Christian Dialogue on Human Rights, Social Justice & a Global Ethic

255 Pages·2009·3.108 MB·English

by  Keith Soko

A Mounting EAst–WEst tEnsion
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield

KEith soKo
A Mounting EAst–WEst tEnsion
Buddhist-ChristiAn diAloguE on
huMAn rights, soCiAl JustiCE, & A gloBAl EthiC
Marquette stuDies in theoLogy
no. 66
anDrew taLLon, series eDitor
© 2009 Marquette University Press
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-3141
All rights reserved.
www.marquette.edu/mupress/
founded 1916
Library of Congress CataLoging-in-PubLiCation Data
Soko, Keith, 1957-
A mounting East-West tension : Buddhist-Christian dialogue on human rights, so-
cial justice & a global ethic / Keith Soko.
p. cm. — (Marquette studies in theology ; No. 66)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-87462-743-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-87462-743-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Human rights—Religious aspects—Buddhism. 2. Human rights—Religious
aspects—Catholic Church. 3. Buddhism—Relations—Catholic Church. 4.
Catholic Church—Relations—Buddhism. 5. Human ecology—Religious aspects—
Buddhism. 6. Human ecology—Religious aspects—Catholic Church. I. Title.
BQ4570.H78S65 2009
261.7—dc22
2009030242
Cover Design anD art by CoCo ConnoLLy
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
table of contents
Preface .........................................................................................................9
Acknowledgements .....................................................................................10
Introduction ...............................................................................................11
Chapter 1: ..........................................................................................................19
The Concept of Human Rights & Its Importance
Chapter 2: ..........................................................................................................67
Human Rights & the Individual in Current Buddhist Thought
Chapter 3: ........................................................................................................111
Human Rights & the Individual in Current Roman Catholic Thought
Chapter 4: ........................................................................................................163
Eco-Justice: The Necessity of Ecological Duties as a Correlate to Human Rights
Chapter 5: ........................................................................................................209
A Global Ethic
Conclusion..........................................................................................................229
Works Cited .......................................................................................................233
Index ..................................................................................................................251

Those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics
do not know what religion means.
– Mohandas K. Gandhi

PrEFACE
The initial motivation for this study can be traced back to my
undergraduate years in religious studies, where, intent on
finding answers to “the big question” of God’s existence, I felt
“sidetracked” by having to take courses in other world religions. Those
courses eventually altered the question from “Does God exist?,” al-
though always a healthy nagging doubt, to the question “What is God
like?” Primarily, Hinduism and Buddhism offered Eastern worldviews
which often contrasted, yet also often complemented, my own Roman
Catholic upbringing. My own fascination with Buddhism stems from
its radically different religious concepts, on one hand, (no God, no
soul, no self, no personal afterlife, at least at first glance), to its often
similar ethical insights with Christianity, on the other hand. Life, even
if the answer to the “God question” was “Void” or “Emptiness,” was not
nihilistic, but was ethical.
This interest in Buddhism and in comparative ethics was put into
sharper focus by my dissertation director’s suggestion for an earlier
study to focus on “human rights.” This initial comment provided the
direction for this study as well, which includes multiple interests of
mine. The concept of “human rights” combines religious aspirations
with political ramifications. An intellectual and spiritual interest in
comparative religions, along with a practical and moral concern in
comparative ethics, was now wed to global concerns for social activism
and justice. Thus, one is reminded that religion has never been merely
an intellectual endeavor, but is a way of life, as in the Eastern concept
of dharma.
Despite the prominence of the concept of “human rights” in this
study, by its completion the “secondary” issue of “ecological duties” was
looming larger and larger. It is one of my hopes that this study will
aid in bringing the concept of human rights into greater dialogue with
overall concerns for the environment. In addition, by reviewing the
past and present work of Roman Catholic authors involved in human
rights advocacy and interreligious dialogue, I hope to acknowledge the
Catholic, and in that sense “universal,” contribution in these endeav-
ors. May the spirit of these earlier authors continue on in this study