The Problem of Self in Buddhism and Christianity by Lynn A. de Silva (review)

494 BOOK REVIEWS " total " is used at least 158 times.) In Altizer's world there are no shades of grey, blue, or green. There is only black and white, and even they are only the dialectical reversals of each other. What is odd, however, is that, while Altizer's dialectical categories become quickly predictable, their application remains almost arbitrary. He neither explicitly nor implicitly explains how we are to differentiate dialectical opposition from mere difference. He seems to admit (p. 40) that cultural realities can be in opposition without being dialectically opposite, but gives little hint about how to go about telling one from the other. Altizer remains one of the few American theologians willing to risk elaborating a comprehensive theology through a number of books. Nevertheless, his methods, his conclusions, and perhaps even his fundamental vision of the nature of Jesus's message are inadequate for the development of a theology for contemporary Christian existence. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Columbia, South Carolina MICHAEL ROOT The Problem of Self in Buddhism and Christianity. By LYNN A. DE SILVA. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., Barnes & Noble Import Division, 1979. Pp. 185. $~2.50. This book falls into the growing tradition of Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Rather than pursuing historical scholarship, however, de Silva tries to understand, and resolve in his own terms, one of the most significant Buddhist-Christian contrasts: diverging views on the nature of the soul or self. Detailing the teachings of each tradition-the Buddhist refusal to take a final stand on the question of the soul (saying it is ultimately unimportant for salvation) and the Christian (=Biblical) affirmation of the resurrection of the body and eternal life for the individual soul-de Silva then proposes a meeting point which, he hopes, will open the door for a the concept of anatta-pneuma. Anatta-pneuma, or, as John Hick says in his foreword, " nonegocentric mutuality " (p. ix) , is based on the notion that individuals are not isolated entities, but participants in a dynamic system of interpersonal relationships whereby the boundaries of their own egoity are ultimately transcended in and for the community. It is in light of this " communal selflessness " that de Silva then recasts the original inspirations of the Buddhist and Christian traditions. While his efforts are commendable, and certainly worth working through for anyone with background in either field, the problems of method and context are almost insurmountable. It is important to remember at the outset that de Silva's method is not that of a scholar but that of a theologian, who builds his own philosophical system by taking from each tradition those elements which are most useful BOOK REVIEWS 495 in the construction of a common Buddhist-Christian eschaton. By drawing his own conclusions about the intersection of the two traditions on the self/soul, de Silva denies himself the scholarly status he might have had if he had been more faithful to the historical and philosophical contexts from which the two teachings came. And, in fact, had he been more contextually oriented, the affinities and complementarities which he finds would have been seen to be strained, if not groundless. De Silva's book is an attempt at dialogue, and indeed he does move back and forth with ease between the two traditions. But this ease is deceptive, and in the end proves inappropriate to each tradition. By using Christian terms to clarify Buddhism, for instance, de Silva adds something to the early Buddhist discovery that was not necessarily there before. He selectively chooses concepts, matching them to get a doctrine that is satisfactory to him, but not necessarily approprfate to each tradition. And what appears to be satisfactory to him is whatever will somehow vindicate the Christian message. The hidden agendum of his book, it seems, is to affirm the validity of the Christian Kingdom of God in Buddhist terms: "In the idea of the Kingdom of God, I suggest, we have an answer to the Buddhist quest for self-negation as well as for a form of self-fulfillment . . ." (p. 130) . It is the Kingdom of God, then, which for de Silva provides the symbol for the Buddhist-Christian eschaton whereby there will be...