Serene Compassion: A Christian Appreciation of Buddhist Holiness

145 Pages·1996·2.17 MB·English

by  Denise Lardner Carmody, the late John Tully Carmody

SERENE
COMPASSION
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SERENE
COMPASSION
A CHRISTIAN APPRECIATION
OF BUDDHIST HOLINESS
Denise Lardner Carmody
John Tully Carmody
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1996
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York
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and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 1996 by Denise Lardner Carmody
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carmody, Denise Lardner, 1935-
Serene compassion : a Christian appreciation of Buddhist holiness
Denise Lardner Carmody, John Tully Carmody.
p. cm. ISBN 0-19-509969-9
1. Buddhism—Doctrines—Introductions. 2. Buddhism—Relations—
Christianity. 3. Christianity and other religions—Buddhism.
I. Carmody, John, 1939-1995. II. Title.
BQ4132.C37 1996
261.2'43—dc20 95-42758
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
PREFACE
This book builds on two prior volumes that we have published on
Christian appreciation of the spirituality of other religious traditions;
Christian Uniqueness and Catholic Spirituality (1990) and Catholic Spiritu-
ality and the History of Religions (1991), as well as on our recent In the
Path of the Masters (1994). Here, we take up an appreciation of Buddhist
holiness from a Christian point of view, in effect setting Christ in dia-
logue with the Buddha. Specifically, we expose for a Western audience
interested in the riches of Buddhist spirituality six topics at the heart of
the Buddhist enterprise: the Buddha himself, his teaching, the com-
munity that he founded, meditation, morality, and Buddhist wisdom.
In each case, we stress the insight and beauty that Buddhists have
generated before suggesting what Westerners may find problematic. By
the end of the study, readers should be able to estimate how what
Christians call "grace" has been at work abundantly in the tradition
and community flowing from the Awakened One.
Although we are going our own way in this work, we acknowledge
gladly the help we have found in the writings of such pioneers of in-
terreligious dialogue as Ramon Panikkar, Leonard Swidler, Hans king,
and Paul Knitter. We also acknowledge, with affection as well as grat-
itude, our debts to the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research
at Collegeville, Minnesota, and to the Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dia-
logue sponsored by the National Conference and the Journal of Ecumen-
ical Studies.
Santa Clara, Calif. D. L. C.
May 1995 J. T. C.
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CONTENTS
1. Introduction 3
2. The Buddha 12
3. The Dharma 30
4. The Sangha 48
5. Meditation 67
6. Morality 86
7. Wisdom 105
8. Conclusion 124
Index 133
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SERENE
COMPASSION