Experiments in Buddhist-Christian Encounter: From Buddha-Nature to the Divine Nature by Peter Feldmeier

Abstract

Reviewed by: Experiments in Buddhist-Christian Encounter: From Buddha-Nature to the Divine Nature by Peter Feldmeier Duane R. Bidwell (bio) Experiments in Buddhist-Christian Encounter: From Buddha-Nature to the Divine Nature. By Peter Feldmeier. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019. 261pp. $40.00 Reading and re-reading this complex work by Peter Feldmeier served as my accidental Advent discipline in the last days of 2019—a fortuitous if not providential coincidence. As comparative theology, it is both accessible and immensely learned; as devotional reading, it journeys toward a profoundly Christological destination. The book’s final sentence echoes the Heart Sutra, a key Buddhist text, to proclaim “the great mantra of life, the mantra that eliminates all suffering, all fear, all greed, all separation: alleluia hoti ebasileusen kurios ho theos ho pankrator” (231)—that is: Alleluia! For God, sovereign of the universe, reigns! (Rev. 19.6, my translation) If that’s not Advent material, I need another vocation. Although the final chapter allows “the philosophical presuppositions . . . in the prajnaparamita [ultimate wisdom] of Buddhism to ground the mystery of Christ” (230), this book does not try to synthesize the traditions or search for “the hidden Christian message in Buddhism” (6). It also does not provide a theology of religions or a broad spiritual vision. It is a Christian text that seeks “to help the reader enlarge her own soul” (10–11), shedding light on a Christian spirituality of practice through dialogue with Buddhist wisdom. Feldmeier, professor of Catholic studies at the University of Toledo (Ohio), wants to discern whether dialogue with “Buddhism enlarges our very sense of the sacred, of the cosmos, of ultimate things” (10). The answer, of course, is “yes.” Feldmeier refuses to flatten religious differences while presuming “that different religions, and in this case Buddhism and Christianity, are not so different, so incommensurable, that they cannot understand each other or learn from each other” (6). This search for mutual understanding and enrichment leads to compelling insights: Feldmeier understands Mahayana Buddhism as a theistic tradition; argues that Christians can have satori-like experiences akin to the “initial taste” of enlightenment in Zen Buddhism; and suggests that spiritual depth in both traditions does not necessarily lead to responsible ethics or uses of power. Chapter 1 introduces Feldmeier’s purpose and method, positioning the work as an effort to deepen mutual understanding and enrich Christian perspectives. Chapter 2 summarizes the Buddha’s teachings, especially those central to the text. The four middle chapters compare key concepts and thinkers. Chapter 3 looks at purification and the Dark Night by engaging Buddhaghosa and John of the Cross. Here, Feldmeier acknowledges different doctrinal and metaphysical commitments but affirms a shared agenda at the level of practice: “deconstruction of what and who you think you are” (57). Chapter 4 considers the via negativa of Christianity in light of the Madhyamika understanding of emptiness. Chapter 5 extends this reflection by placing Buddha-nature and the bodhisattva ideal into conversation with the mysticism of Meister Eckhart. Chapter 6 considers spiritual discernment in light of Shantideva and the spiritual exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. The book takes an implicit turn toward devotion in Chapter 7, “Zen Mind / Christian Mind.” Through rich developmental and ethical reflection, including attention to his own Christian satori, Feldmeier concludes that Zen overestimates the transformative power of enlightenment experiences. “I am convinced,” he writes, [End Page 115] “that conversion or radical realization, like all things human, has to be integrated, and the spiritual life has to continue to be cultivated in every aspect of one’s life for one to be fully holy or enlightened” (162). Attending sufficiently to the complexity of the human mind and the realities of finitude leads Feldmeier to a less idealistic vision of transformation. Chapter 8 offers a Christian commentary on the Zen ox-herding pictures as an account of spiritual development. Chapter 9 examines Buddhist experience and Christian grace, highlighting the Pure Land practice of nembutsu, the recitation of Amida Buddha’s name, and the Christian practice of the Jesus Prayer. Chapter 10 provides both a Christian commentary on the Heart Sutra and Feldmeier’s own “Christian Heart Sutra.” The book makes a distinct contribution to comparative theology...